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Filing Fees

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Filing Fees1 - Effective 12/01/23

The Filing Fee schedule is for the payment of fees of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court - Southern District of California.

The court does not accept personal checks or credit cards from debtors to pay fees. 

The court accepts the following forms of payments:

  • Cash (exact amount only; do not send cash through the mail).
  • Cashier’s check or money order in U.S. dollars, payable to U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
  • Debit card or PayPal through Pay.gov forms.

In addition to the above forms of payments, the court accepts the following from an attorney, law firm, courier service or non-debtor:

  • Credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express & Discover).

In addition to the above forms of payments, the court accepts the following from an attorney, law firm, or courier service:

  • Check, in U.S. dollars, payable to U.S. Bankruptcy Court and must be pre-printed with name and address of attorney, law firm, or courier service.

For more information, refer to Administrative Procedure 1.10 - Fees.

Chapter 7 Filing Fee Waiver or Installments

In some situations, the court may approve a filing fee to be paid in installments or waived completely. Note that if an installment payment plan is approved, the payment schedule must be complied with, or the bankruptcy case may be dismissed without the debtor obtaining a discharge of debts.

If a debtor files a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case and the debtor's income is less than 150% of the federal H.H.S Poverty Guidelines, the court may waive the filing fee completely.

The debtor must complete form CSD 1006 to pay the filing fee in installments, or CSD 1020 for a fee waiver, and mail or submit to the Clerk's Office intake window at the time the bankruptcy petition is filed.

The current fees for filing documents with the United States Bankruptcy Court - Southern District of California are as follows:

 New Petitions  
Chapter 7 $338.00*
Chapter 7 - Involuntary $338.00*
Chapter 9 $1,738.00
Chapter 11 $1,738.00*
Chapter 12 (Family Farmer) $278.00*
Chapter 13 $313.00*
Chapter 15 $1,738.00
Case Reopening2  
Chapter 7 $260.00*
Chapter 9 $1,167.00
Chapter 11 $1,167.00*
Chapter 12 $200.00*
Chapter 13 $235.00*
Chapter 15 $1,167.00
Act Cases: Same as original fee  
Case Conversions  
Chapter 7 converted to Chapter 11 $922.00*
Chapter 7 converted to Chapter 13 No Fee
Chapter 11 converted to Chapter 7 $15.00*
Chapter 12 converted to Chapter 7 $60.00*
Chapter 13 converted to Chapter 7 $25.00*
Chapter 13 converted to Chapter 11 $932.00*
Division of Joint Case (Bifurcate)  
Chapter 7 $338.00
Chapter 11 $1,738.00
Chapter 12 $278.00
Chapter 13 $313.00
Amendments  
Amendment to add or delete to the debtor's schedules of creditors, list of creditors, mailing list, amount owed, or classification of debt. $34.00
Motions  
Motion for Relief from Stay $199.00
Motion to Compel Abandonment of Property $199.00
Motion to Withdraw Reference of Case or Proceeding to U.S. District Court $199.00
Motion to Sell Property of the Estate Free & Clear of Liens $199.00
Motion to Redact/Restrict a Record, per affected case $28.00
Motion for Leave to Appeal when accompanied by the required notice of Appeal.

If leave is granted, the $293 Appellate Docket Fee becomes due**.

 $5.00
Other  
Abstract of Judgment (includes $34 search fee, $12 certification fee) $46.00
Any payment returned or denied for insufficient funds $53.00
Certifying any document $12.00
Adversary Proceeding Complaint or Removal $350.00
Notice of Cross-Appeal to District Court, Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, or Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (includes the $5.00 Notice of Appeal Fee**) $298.00
Exemplifications $24.00
Filing and indexing any document not part of local case $52.00
Transfer of claim (per claim) $28.00
Federal Records Center Electronic Record Retrieval $20.90
Federal Records Center Electronic Record Retrieval (per page) $0.65
Notice of Appeal to District Court, Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, or Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (includes the $5.00 Notice of Appeal Fee**) $298.00
Copies made by court staff (does not include certification) (per page) $0.50
Printing electronic records from courthouse public terminal (does not include certification) (per page) $0.10
Audio recordings of court proceedings (per recording) $34.00
Request for Authority to file Direct Appeal or Cross Appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals including Appellate Docket Fee

  If authorized, an additional fee of $207 becomes due.

 $298.00
Retrieval of records from Federal Records Center (first box) $70.00
Retrieval of multiple boxes from Federal Records Center (each additional box) $43.00
Search of court records (per name or item searched) $34.00
Reproducing & transmitting a copy of a record stored outside of the court's electronic case management system, included but not limited to, document files, audio, or video recording. (audio recordings of court proceedings continue to be governed by a separate fee). $33.00

 

Admission to Practice in the United States District Court
under U.S. District Court - Southern District of California
Civic Local Rule 83.3		  
Full Admission $224.00
Pro Hac Vice Application $224.00

*Only one fee is due when a joint petition is filed by married debtors.

**If the appellant is the trustee or debtor-in-possession, the $293 Appellate docket fee shall be paid from the assets of the estate.

1 Issued in accordance with 28 U.S.C. §1930(b) and FRBP 1006

2 The Court collects the fee unless a party files a complaint to obtain a determination under Rule 4007(b); or when a debtor files a motion to reopen a case based on alleged violation of the terms of the discharge under 11 U.S.C. §524; or whether the reopening is to correct an administrative error.