The Bankruptcy Code is Title 11 of the United States Code. You can find it published annually in individual pamphlet editions. It is also included in looseleaf sets on bankruptcy, as well as their online database versions.
The Bankruptcy Code is also available in Title 11 of any set of the U.S. Code, print or online, including the annotated versions on Westlaw and Lexis.
The most recent major revision to the Bankruptcy Code was the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA), P.L. 109-8, 119 Stat. 23, April 20, 2005.
You can find information on and status of bills that would amend the Bankruptcy Code on the ABI’s Legislative News page and on Congress.gov (see bills by policy area).
Previous bankruptcy acts, and other statutes related to bankruptcy, include:
Bankruptcy research projects frequently involve reviewing the legislative history or congressional intent behind sections of the Bankruptcy Code. Compiled legislative histories of bankruptcy statutes can be found in:
The Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure are usually available with sources for the Bankruptcy Code. Most Bankruptcy Code volumes and sets include the rules. The Collier and Norton bankruptcy treatises include text of the Bankruptcy Rules. In the USC print set, the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure can be found in the Title 11 Appendix; in the USCA print set, the FRBP can be found in the Title 11 Appendix; in the USCS, they are found in the Court Rules volumes.
You can find the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure online in:
Local Court Rules for Bankruptcy Courts are usually available on the court’s website. Links to the federal courts are available on the Administrative Office of the Courts site; the Local Court Rules for the Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Georgia are on the court’s website.
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, and other federal rules and official forms, with any pending and proposed rules amendments.
Historical and draft versions of the federal rules are available in Hein Online Judges and the Judiciary
Agency Rules and Federal Register notices are available from the U.S. Trustee Program.
Opinions of the Federal Bankruptcy Courts are published in West’s Bankruptcy Reporter, along with appellate decisions concerning bankruptcy. Bankruptcy court decisions can also be found in other bankruptcy–specific reporters and online with other federal cases.
The Administrative Office of the Courts has a page of Bankruptcy Forms, with official and procedural forms, and instructions. Local forms are usually available on court websites. The Administrative Office of the Courts also has proposed and pending changes to forms.
Westlaw has a Bankruptcy Form Finder to find forms by publication or state. Lexis includes bankruptcy forms from Collier publications.
You can also use documents in actual cases as models for forms:
Bloomberg Law: Find dockets for bankruptcy cases and request documents to use as examples for forms. Bankruptcy Practical Guidance includes forms, and step-by-step guidance and examples of petitions, reorganization plans, and other bankruptcy documents.
Lexis+: Lexis Topics and Tasks for Bankruptcy has practice notes, templates, clauses, articles, and checklists on topics like commencing a bankruptcy proceeding, bankruptcy litigation, and prepackaged plans and workouts.
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