Need Chapter 13 plan forms (PDF) & fill them out

The Chapter 13 plan form is your official proposal that tells the court exactly how you will pay back creditors over the next three to five years. It transforms your financial situation - income, living expenses, secured debts, and priority obligations - into a single, binding payment schedule the judge can approve or reject.

The form functions like a repayment blueprint, not a simple list of debts. It categorizes each creditor into a specific legal class (priority tax claims, secured car loans, or general unsecured credit cards), then spells out how much each class receives each month. For instance, you might propose paying your mortgage arrears in full through the plan while offering unsecured creditors a small percentage of what they are owed. The form also calculates your disposable income to prove the proposed monthly payment is both realistic and compliant with bankruptcy law. A trustee will use this document to distribute your payments, so every dollar you commit on the form directly controls what actually gets paid and when.

To start, you'll need the official Chapter 13 plan form and a handful of supporting documents the court requires to open your case. The exact forms depend on your local district, but most filers need these right away:

• Official Form 113 (Chapter 13 Plan): This is the core repayment plan document. You'll detail how you'll pay secured debts (like a car loan), priority debts (like recent taxes), and unsecured creditors over three to five years.
• Official Form 101 (Voluntary Petition): The five-page document that officially opens your bankruptcy case and lists basic information about you, your debts, and your assets.
• Official Form 122C-1 (Chapter 13 Statement of Your Current Monthly Income): This calculates whether your income triggers a longer five-year plan commitment instead of three years.
• Official Form 122C-2 (Disposable Income Calculation): If your income is above the state median, this form figures out the minimum monthly amount that must go into your plan.
• Schedules A/B through J (Official Forms 106A/B to 106J): These are the comprehensive lists of everything you own, everyone you owe, your income, and your expenses. The court needs the full financial picture alongside your proposed plan.

Always check your local bankruptcy court's website before downloading. Many districts publish a slightly modified version of Form 113 with local rules baked in. Filing the wrong version can get your case dismissed quickly.

Finding the right version of your Chapter 13 plan form means downloading the correct PDF directly from your local bankruptcy court, not a generic national template. Each federal judicial district has its own mandatory or preferred plan form, and using the wrong one is a common reason a filing gets rejected.

Go to your local bankruptcy court's website.

Start by searching for "[Your District] bankruptcy court" (for example, "Eastern District of California bankruptcy court"). The court's official site is the only source you should trust for the most current plan form.

Locate the "Forms" or "Filing Without an Attorney" section.

Most court sites have a dedicated area for local forms, often separate from the national ones. Look specifically for a "Chapter 13 Plan" or "Model Chapter 13 Plan." Some courts offer a fillable PDF, while others provide a standard PDF you must print.

Verify you have the right version for your specific judge.

A few districts require different plan forms for different judges or divisions. Before you fill anything out, check your case assignment notice or call the clerk's office to confirm you are using the form assigned to your specific judge. Filing a generic local form when a judge-specific one is required will cause an immediate delay.

Before you start filling out the Chapter 13 plan form, having the right numbers and documents at your fingertips prevents most common errors. A missing pay stub or guessed creditor balance can delay confirmation or sink your plan entirely. The form demands precise, current figures, not rough estimates from memory.

• Pay stubs and proof of income for the last 6 months. This establishes your current monthly income for the means test and your proposed plan payment. Include any regular income from side jobs, rental property, or business operations, not just a standard salary.
• A complete list of every creditor. For secured debts like a mortgage or car loan, you need the current balance owed, the monthly payment, and the collateral's market value. For unsecured debts like credit cards and medical bills, gather the full amount owed and the account number.
• Tax returns and recent bank statements. Many local court rules require you to submit your most recent federal tax return with the plan. Two to six months of bank statements help verify the income and expenses you list on the form.
• Documentation for priority debts and ongoing obligations. Gather the most recent bills for recent taxes owed, domestic support obligations (alimony or child support), and any wage garnishment orders. You must account for these payments in full through your plan.

Filling out the form becomes straightforward when you work through the boxes in order. Start with your personal details at the top, then list every creditor in the exact format your earlier paperwork used, because mismatched names or amounts are a common reason clerks reject a plan. Use the middle section to propose how each class of debt gets treated, specifying the estimated percentage unsecured creditors will receive and the length of your plan, which is commonly three to five years depending on your income.

The final block connects the math. Enter your monthly plan payment and show that it covers secured arrears, priority debts, and the promised dividend to unsecured claims. Before signing, confirm that the trustee's fee, often a flat percentage baked into your payment, is accounted for so your bottom-line total reflects what you actually hand over each month. If your court's local form includes a liquidation analysis, a quick comparison to a Chapter 7 outcome verifies creditors are getting at least as much as they would in a straight liquidation.

Most first filings get rejected or delayed by the same handful of simple, fixable errors. The core mistake is treating the Chapter 13 plan form as a rough draft rather than a binding contract. Trustees and judges read the form literally, so even small inconsistencies between your plan, your schedules, and your actual paycheck can stall your case.

The most common errors that trigger a rejection or an objection include:

• The math doesn't add up. Your proposed monthly payment must equal at least what your disposable income calculation shows you can afford, and it must pay all required priority debts in full over the plan term.
• Incomplete or outdated forms. Using a generic form instead of the specific version mandated by your local court rules is a fast track to having the filing bounced back.
• Liquidation test failures. The plan must show that unsecured creditors will receive at least as much as they would in a Chapter 7 liquidation. Guessing on asset values instead of using defensible figures frequently sinks a plan at the confirmation hearing.
• Missing treatment of a personally guaranteed business debt. If you personally guaranteed a loan for an LLC or business, that debt is a personal liability that must be listed and addressed within your plan's payment structure. Assuming it is automatically excluded can unravel your entire filing.
• Incorrect student loan handling. Filing a plan that simply lists a student loan balance as discharged without a separate legal finding of undue hardship will not work. The standard method still requires filing a formal adversary proceeding in most jurisdictions, not just a motion inside the bankruptcy case.

Before you file, cross-check three specific numbers: the payment listed on the plan form, the income on Schedule I, and the expenses on Schedule J. They must tell the same financial story. The supporting documents you gathered in the earlier step serve as your fact-checker for every dollar you enter.

Your finished plan must match your local court's specific formatting and filing rules, or the clerk will reject it. Even if you used the correct national form, every bankruptcy district can (and usually does) tweak what it requires.

• Mandatory local forms: Many courts replace Part 2 or Part 3 of the national form with a district-specific supplement. Check if your court requires a fully local form version instead.
• Nonstandard provisions: Some judges require specific language in section 9 (nonstandard provisions) that you must copy verbatim from the local rules.
• Payment and address details: Trustee addresses, lockbox PO boxes, and wage order instructions vary by district. Using the wrong one delays your automatic stay protection.
• Formatting quirks: Rules commonly dictate font size, page limits, or whether the creditor matrix must be attached as a separate PDF.

The easiest way to catch these is to compare your draft directly against a sample plan posted on your court's website. Skipping this step is the most preventable reason plans get bounced on the first filing.

Once your Chapter 13 plan form is filed with the court, the most immediate and powerful effect is the automatic stay. This court order immediately stops most creditors from calling you, sending bills, garnishing your wages, or continuing a foreclosure sale. The clerk mails a notice of the filing to every creditor you listed, and from that moment, any collection action must stop.

The stay also triggers a specific protection for any co-signer on a consumer debt you listed in the plan. Under the bankruptcy code, creditors are generally stayed from trying to collect that debt from your co-signer while your Chapter 13 case is active, unless your plan proposes not to pay the debt in full or the court lifts the protection. This shield only applies to consumer debts, not business obligations, and it is a temporary layer of protection your co-signer receives simply because you filed.

Beyond the automatic stay, your case enters a structured timeline:

• The court assigns a Chapter 13 trustee who will review your plan form and tax returns. This trustee acts as the gatekeeper, distributing the payments you will soon start making.
• A first payment is often due within 30 days of filing, even before your plan is confirmed. You send this payment directly to the trustee, not your creditors, and it signals that the repayment process has begun in good faith.
• A meeting of creditors, sometimes called a 341 meeting, is scheduled about a month after filing. You must attend and answer questions under oath from the trustee and any creditors who choose to appear. It is typically brief and focused on the accuracy of your paperwork.

The plan itself is not approved yet. The court will hold a confirmation hearing, usually a few weeks after the creditors' meeting. At that hearing, the judge will either approve the plan as filed, ask for changes if the trustee or a creditor objects, or deny confirmation if it does not meet legal requirements. Until the judge confirms your plan, the terms are only proposed, not binding. Make every scheduled payment on time while waiting; a missed payment can derail confirmation before it happens.

When a creditor or income source is genuinely missing from your paperwork, the court mainly cares whether your proposed payment still passes the best interests of creditors test (paying unsecured creditors at least what they would get in a Chapter 7 liquidation) and the disposable income test. A missing debt does not automatically sink your case, but you must fix it quickly, often before the 341 meeting of creditors. The safest path is to file an amended Schedule I (for missing income) or Schedule E/F (for missing debts) as soon as you spot the gap, then adjust your Chapter 13 plan form to match.

Using a placeholder is risky and commonly triggers a trustee objection. Instead, if you absolutely cannot locate a precise figure, mark the form with your best reasonable estimate and label it clearly (for example, ‘*amount unknown, pending creditor statement*’). Immediately follow up by contacting the creditor in writing. For income you expect but cannot document yet, you can attach a short sworn statement explaining the situation, but local court rules vary sharply on whether a judge will accept an estimated plan. Always review your district’s specific local rules on amendments, because filing a corrected Chapter 13 plan form later is far better than having confirmation denied for inaccurate baseline numbers.

When time is tight and a filing deadline is looming, using the official Chapter 13 plan form is non-negotiable, but you can prioritize the critical income and expense sections to get a compliant draft filed. The form itself acts as your structured checklist, so start by entering your name and case number, then immediately fill out the proposed plan length and your monthly payment amount. From there, focus on the secured debt and priority debt schedules because missing child support or a car payment can derail your plan instantly. If you cannot locate every single unsecured creditor balance before the deadline, you can often list the name and an estimated amount, then amend the plan later with precise figures.

Most courts accept a good-faith filing that captures your core budget and secured obligations, but you absolutely must verify your local court rules for any emergency filing shortcuts or required cover sheets. One practical habit is to staple a simple “Information to be Amended” note to the front of your filing, clearly listing the few items you plan to correct within the following two weeks, which signals transparency to the trustee. The goal is to lock in the automatic stay and your proposed payment, then use the brief window after filing to perfect the smaller details you skipped under pressure.