Commercial chapter 11 filings increased 20% in calendar year 2024 to 7,879 from 6,583 filings the previous year, according to data provided by Epiq AACER, a provider of U.S. bankruptcy filing data. Overall commercial filings increased 17% to 30,009 from the 25,731 registered the previous year.
Small business subchapter V elections within chapter 11 also experienced a substantial increase in calendar year 2024, as the 2,381 filings represented a 32% increase from the 1,808 recorded in 2023. Note that the pace of subchapter V and consumer chapter 13 filing increases slowed after enhanced debt limits for both filing categories expired on June 21, 2024.
Total bankruptcy filings in calendar year 2024 were 508,758, a 14% increase from the 445,286 registered during calendar year 2023. While representing a substantial year-over-year increase, total bankruptcy filings remain lower than the pre-pandemic total of 757,816 recorded in CY2019.
“As anticipated, we saw a steady increase in bankruptcy filings throughout 2024 and expect that growth trend to continue throughout 2025,” Michael Hunter, vice president of Epiq AACER, said. “If the current trend continues, new bankruptcy filings will return to pre-pandemic normalized volumes over the next 24-30 months. Modest rises in household debt and elevated delinquency rates reveal the stress households are experiencing and are reflected in the steady increased bankruptcy filing trends.”
Overall consumer filing totals for calendar year 2024 were 478,749, representing a 14% increase from the 419,555 consumer filings the previous year. Consumer chapter 7 filings increased 19% to 288,968 in CY 2024 from the previous year’s total of 242,919. The 188,934 consumer chapter 13 bankruptcy filings during calendar year 2024 registered a 7% increase over 2023’s total of 175,977.
“The continued increase in bankruptcies over the past year reflects the growing list of economic challenges faced by consumers and businesses,” Amy Quackenboss, executive director of the American Bankruptcy Institute, said. “Rising interest rates, inflation, increasing geopolitical tensions and shifts in post-pandemic consumer spending have more struggling businesses and families turning to bankruptcy for a financial fresh start from their growing debt loads.”
Total bankruptcy filings were 38,121 in December 2024, an 11% increase from the December 2023 total of 34,486. The consumer bankruptcy filing total of 35,793 also represented an 11% increase from the 32,391 consumer filings in December 2023. Consumer chapter 7 filings were 21,918 in December 2024, up 17% from the 18,718 chapter 7 filings in December 2023, while consumer chapter 13s only increased 1% to 13,804 in December from 13,629 the previous year.
Overall commercial filings also increased 11% in December 2024, as the 2,328 filings were up from the 2,095 commercial filings registered in December 2023. The 553 commercial chapter 11 filings in December represented an 8% increase from the 510 chapter 11 filings in December 2023. Subchapter V elections within chapter 11 increased slightly, as the 188 filings in December 2024 were up 2% over the 185 filings recorded in December 2023.
