According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Federal Courts, bankruptcy filings, both personal and business, are on the rise. Bankruptcy filings are reported quarterly, with the most recent quarter being the third straight quarter of increased filings. The entire announcement from the Courts is included, below:

Total bankruptcy filings rose 13 percent, and business bankruptcies rose nearly 30 percent, in the twelve-month period ending September 30, 2023. This continues a moderate rebound after more than a decade of sharply dropping totals.

According to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, annual bankruptcy filings totaled 433,658 in the year ending September 30, 2023, compared with 383,810 cases in the previous year.

Business filings rose 29.9 percent, from 13,125 to 17,051, in the year ending
September 30, 2023. Non-business bankruptcy filings rose 12.4 percent to 416,607, compared with 370,685 in September 2022.

Bankruptcy totals for the previous 12 months are reported four times annually.

This is the third straight quarter that total bankruptcy filings have risen, following a decade-plus decline. Bankruptcies fell especially sharply after the pandemic began in early 2020, despite some COVID-related disruptions to the economy.

Even with the recent increases, total filings remain far lower than in September 2010, when filings peaked at just less than 1.6 million.

Published on October 26, 2023, on www.uscourts.gov, the website maintained by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts on behalf of the Federal Judiciary.