How Much Does Chapter 7 Cost?

Filing Chapter 7 costs $338 in court fees, plus the lawyer’s fee if you hire one. The court also requires two short courses that typically run $50 or less each. If money is tight, the $338 can be split into four installments or waived entirely for low-income filers. At our firm, qualifying filers pay one $999 flat fee that covers the lawyer, both courses, a credit report, and the filing-fee waiver application. Here’s the whole cost picture, with nothing danced around.

Cost	Amount	Can it be reduced?
Court filing fee	$338	Yes. Four installments, or waived for low-income filers
Credit counseling course	Typically $50 or less	Yes. Often free below 150% of the poverty line
Debtor education course	Typically $50 or less	Yes. Often free below 150% of the poverty line
Lawyer’s fee	Varies by case	Our qualifying filers pay a $999 flat fee, all of the above included

The court costs: $338, set by federal law

Every Chapter 7 case starts with $338 paid to the bankruptcy court. That number comes straight from federal law: a $245 filing fee, a $78 administrative fee, and a $15 payment to the trustee who handles your case. It’s the same whether you file in Philadelphia, Camden, or anywhere else in the country, and it doesn’t change based on how much debt you’re wiping out. You don’t necessarily have to pay it all at once, or at all. We’ll get to that below.

The two required courses

Federal law requires two short courses for every filer. Credit counseling happens before your case is filed, and debtor education happens after. Both are usually done online in about an hour each. Providers have to be approved by the U.S. Trustee Program, and under the program’s rules a fee of $50 or less per course is presumed reasonable, so most people pay somewhere under that for each one. If your household income is under 150% of the poverty line, providers are expected to waive or reduce the fee. Our $999 flat fee includes both courses, so our qualifying clients never pay for them separately.

The lawyer’s fee, honestly

This is the biggest variable, and it’s the number most cost articles dance around. There’s no standard price, because there’s no standard case. What a lawyer charges depends on things like your income and the means test, whether you own property that needs exemption planning, prior filings, and how complicated your paperwork is. Most consumer bankruptcy lawyers charge a flat fee for Chapter 7 rather than billing by the hour, which means you should know your full price before you commit to anything. That’s exactly how we work: a flat fee for your Chapter 7 with payment plans, quoted up front at a free consultation, with no surprise charges later. And if you’re weighing Chapter 7 against a repayment plan, our Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13 comparison covers how the costs differ.

The $999 flat fee, and who qualifies

For a straightforward case, qualifying filers pay a single $999 flat fee. It covers the lawyer’s fee from start to finish, both required courses, your credit report, and an application to waive the $338 court fee. If the court denies the waiver, you pay the filing fee to the court in four monthly installments of $84.50. Qualifying means you live in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, you don’t own a home, you haven’t filed bankruptcy in the last 8 years, and your household income is below 150% of the current federal poverty guideline for your household size. You can check in about two minutes on our $999 Chapter 7 page, which spells out the fine print in plain English. If you’re wondering whether you can file at all, our do I qualify for bankruptcy checker settles that in five quick questions. And if the offer doesn’t fit your situation, you’ll still get a clear flat-fee quote for your Chapter 7 before you commit to anything.

Ways to pay less: waiver, installments, legal aid

The Bankruptcy Code builds in real relief for people who can’t cover the court costs, and it’s worth knowing all three doors. First, the fee waiver: if your income is under 150% of the official poverty line for your family size and you can’t pay the fee in installments, the court can waive the entire $338. You apply on Official Form 103B, usually filed together with your petition. Second, installments: Official Form 103A asks the court to split the $338 into up to four payments, generally all due within 120 days of filing. Third, the course fees can typically be waived or reduced at the same income level. Beyond the court costs, free and low-cost legal help exists too. Legal aid organizations across Pennsylvania and New Jersey handle bankruptcy cases for people who qualify, and we keep a list on our assistance programs page. Affordable help is out there. You shouldn’t have to stay in debt because getting out of it seems expensive.

What filing without a lawyer really means

You’re allowed to file Chapter 7 on your own. It’s called filing pro se, and for a truly simple case, no assets, steady low income, nothing contested, some people do it successfully. Honesty requires saying that, and it also requires saying where it usually goes wrong. Three spots cause most of the trouble: the means test (using the wrong income numbers can get a case dismissed or converted), exemptions (Pennsylvania and New Jersey filers usually elect the federal exemption list, and claiming the wrong ones can put property at risk), and reaffirmation agreements (signing one you don’t need can leave you legally stuck with a debt that could have been discharged). Missing a course deadline can sink a case too. None of that makes pro se filing wrong, but it does make it riskier than the price tag suggests. If cost is the only reason you’re considering it, look at the fee waiver, legal aid, and our $999 flat fee first. You can read how the whole process works on our Chapter 7 bankruptcy page, or book a free consultation and get a real number for your exact situation.