U.S. bankruptcy filings continued to climb in 2026, extending a rebound that began after filings reached a multi-decade low four years ago.
Bankruptcy filings rose 12.2% during the 12-month period ending June 30, 2026, according to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. A total of 608,511 bankruptcy cases were filed during the period, up from 542,529 during the 12 months ending June 30, 2025.
The increase was widespread among both consumers and businesses.
Non-business bankruptcy filings, which primarily involve individuals, increased 12% to 581,570, compared with 519,486 during the previous 12-month period. Business bankruptcy filings increased at an even faster rate, climbing 16.9% from 23,043 cases to 26,941.
The latest figures continue a sharp reversal from the long-term decline in bankruptcies that followed the Great Recession and continued through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Total U.S. bankruptcy filings peaked at nearly 1.6 million during the 12 months ending in September 2010. Filings then declined almost continuously for more than a decade, reaching 380,634 cases during the year ending June 2022.
Bankruptcy filings have increased in every quarter since that low, although they remain well below the levels recorded following the 2008 financial crisis.
Personal bankruptcies have been rising particularly quickly. According to a LendingTree analysis, personal bankruptcy filings increased 47% between 2022 and 2025, with more than 500,000 Americans filing during 2025 — an average of nearly 1,500 filings per day.
The upward trend has continued in 2026. Bankruptcy data provider Epiq AACER reported that personal bankruptcy filings during the first half of the year were more than 12% higher than during the same period in 2025.
The American Bankruptcy Institute has pointed to higher borrowing costs, rising household expenses and economic uncertainty as factors contributing to the increase.
Consumers have faced significantly higher credit card interest rates in recent years, while inflation has increased the cost of necessities including housing, food, insurance and utilities. For households already carrying substantial debt, higher monthly expenses can leave less money available to make credit card, medical and other debt payments.
Despite the recent increase, personal bankruptcy remains much less common than it was following the Great Recession.
Approximately 1.5 million personal bankruptcy cases were filed in 2010, compared with roughly 368,000 in 2022. Filings have climbed steadily since then but remain far below their post-recession peak.
Bankruptcy laws have also changed significantly over the past two decades.
The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 made several major changes intended to make bankruptcy more difficult to use and encourage consumers who could afford to repay some of their debts to do so.
Among other provisions, the law established income-based eligibility requirements for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, required consumers to complete credit counseling before filing and mandated a financial-management course after filing.
Bankruptcy filings initially dropped sharply following passage of the law before rising again during the Great Recession, which lasted from late 2007 through mid-2009.
After peaking around 2010, filings declined for more than a decade. During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, federal stimulus payments, expanded unemployment benefits, pauses on some loan payments and other government assistance also helped many households avoid bankruptcy.
That trend began reversing in 2022 as pandemic-era assistance ended and consumers encountered rapidly rising inflation and interest rates.
Bankruptcy generally allows individuals who can no longer meet their financial obligations to seek protection through the federal court system. Depending on the type of bankruptcy, qualifying debts can either be discharged or reorganized under a court-supervised repayment plan.
Because bankruptcy can have significant long-term financial consequences, including damage to a consumer’s credit and restrictions on obtaining new loans, financial experts generally regard filing as an option of last resort after alternatives such as budgeting, negotiating with creditors, credit counseling or debt restructuring have been considered.
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts releases bankruptcy totals for the previous 12 months four times each year.
