Filing Fee
(a) Petition Filing Fee/Installments.
(1) Payment of Filing Fee. If an individual debtor files a petition without payment of the full filing fee, the case will be dismissed without further notice unless within fourteen (14) days of the filing of the petition the debtor (a) pays the full filing fee, (b) files an application to pay the filing fee in installments accompanied by an initial payment of $80.00 or (c) files a fee waiver request.
(2) Installment Payments or Waiver. Only an individual debtor may file an application to pay the fee in installments and only an individual debtor in a chapter 7 case may file an application for waiver of the fee. If counsel represents a debtor, an application to pay in installments may only be filed after counsel discloses the compensation paid as required by FRBP 2016(b).
(b) Adversary Proceeding Filing Fee.
(1) The filing fee required by 28 U.S.C. § 1930(b) must be paid upon the filing of a complaint or the notice of removal initiating an adversary proceeding.
(2) When an adversary complaint is filed by a chapter 7 trustee, if there are insufficient estate funds, the trustee may request that the fee be deferred until the estate holds sufficient funds.
(3) Failure to pay the filing fee may result in dismissal of the adversary proceeding.
(c) Miscellaneous Proceeding Filing Fee.
(1) The fee required by 28 U.S.C. § 1930(b) must be paid to register a judgment entered by another bankruptcy court or to commence a miscellaneous proceeding.
(2) Failure to pay the fee will result in no further action being taken on the filing and the Clerk closing the miscellaneous proceeding after fourteen (14) days.
(d) Form of Payment.
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), all filing fees and other court costs payable to the Clerk must be made by certified check or money order, or by check drawn on the account of an attorney admitted to practice before this court or a business check of a process server or trustee and shall be made payable to "Clerk, U.S. Bankruptcy Court."
(2) For electronic filings by counsel, the fee must be paid by using counsel’s credit or debit card on-line through the ECF Internet filing fee payment process no later than seventy-two (72) hours from the filing of the document. The Court may take no further action until the filing fee is paid. Failure to pay the filing fee constitutes cause for the Clerk to suspend the filer’s ECF password until all outstanding fees are paid.
(3) The Clerk will assess a fee on any attorney, process server, or trustee whose check is dishonored. This fee must be paid within forty-eight (48) hours of notice of the dishonor. Check paying privileges will be revoked in the event of a failure to timely pay the fee or in the second instance of a dishonored check.
(e) Appellate Filing Fee.The fee must be paid to the Clerk at the time of the filing of the notice of appeal or cross-appeal. The fee incurred when the Circuit Court of Appeals accepts a direct appeal from the Court must be paid to the Clerk.
Notes 2018: Clarifies that in a represented case, the attorney is responsible for paying the filing fee. Makes clear that only individual debtors may pay filing fees in installments or obtain a fee waiver. Establishes new procedure specifying that an application to pay in installments by a debtor represented by counsel may be filed only after counsel files a FRBP 2016(b) disclosure. Increases the minimum installment payment from $50.00 to $80.00.
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