What Should I Do If I Lose My
Bankruptcy Discharge Copy?

It's important to keep your bankruptcy discharge copy (or copies) in a safe place. However, life happens - and at some point in time, you may find that you need this document, but for one reason or another, you can't find it.

Luckily, there are several ways you can go about replacing your copy of this document. Following are three different methods you can use to obtain one:

1. Call the attorney who handled your case.

Many attorneys keep client files for several years before purging them. There is a good chance that your lawyer will still have a copy in his or her file. If not, he or she may be able to access the Court's records electronically to print the requested document.

If you are concerned about the document retrieval fees that your attorney may charge for this service, ask first! There's a good chance that he or she will provide this service at no charge. However, to avoid any unwelcome surprises, it is a good idea to find out in advance what fees will be charged. If it is more than you are willing to pay, explore your other options (see below) for getting a copy of the bankruptcy discharge.

2. Request it from the Bankruptcy Clerk's Office.

You can also request a bankruptcy discharge copy from the Clerk's office located in the district and division where the bankruptcy case was filed. The bankruptcy clerk will charge a small fee for this service. If the case has been closed for some time, there may be an additional retrieval fee for the Clerk to access their archived files.

You can locate the contact information for your Clerk's office using the state links on the right side of this page.

3. Open a PACER account.

Do you know if your case was electronically filed with the bankruptcy court? If you filed bankruptcy within the past few years, there is a good chance that it was, and for cases that are electronically filed, many of the documents in the case are stored online in the Court's PACER system. If you are comfortable working with computers, you can set up a PACER account from the comfort of your home office, and download a bankruptcy discharge copy for a small fee (currently $0.08 per page).