OFFICIAL FORMS
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Introduction and General Instructions
Rule 9009 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure states that the Official Forms prescribed by the Judicial Conference of the United States "shall be observed and used." The Official Forms, accordingly, are obligatory in character.
Rule 9009 expressly permits the user of the Official Forms to make such "alterations as may be appropriate," and the use of the Official Forms has been held to be subject to a "rule of substantial compliance." Some rules, for example Fed.R.Bankr.P. 3001(a), specifically state that the filed document need only "conform substantially" to the Official Form. A document for which an Official Form is prescribed generally will meet the standard of substantial compliance if the document contains the complete substance, that is, all of the information required by the Official Form.
Rule 9009 also expressly permits the contents of Official Forms to be rearranged, and the format of the Official Forms traditionally has been quite flexible. The forms of the voluntary petition, the schedules, and the statement of financial affairs are printed and sold by private publishers. Design features such as type face, type size, layout, and side and top margins were not prescribed by the Judicial Conference, but rather left to the professional judgment of each publisher.
A great deal of variation, accordingly, has developed. Some publishers also add forms that are not official but which have been drafted by the publisher. A form for a chapter 13 plan, for example, frequently is included with commercially printed packages of forms for filing cases under chapter 13, although there is no Official Form for this purpose. The variety of formats has accelerated since the introduction of computer software for generating the petitions, schedules, and statements of affairs. It is the policy of the Judicial Conference that such diversity is desirable and should be encouraged.
The sheer volume of bankruptcy cases, however, has compelled the Judicial Conference, for the first time, to prescribe the format of certain Official Forms. In particular, the format of Form 1, the Voluntary Petition, now is prescribed. This format is designed to assist the clerk of the bankruptcy court to enter the case in the court's computer database and ensures that all required information is available to both the clerk and the United States trustee at the inception of the case. The rule of substantial compliance continues to apply, however. Accordingly, publishers may vary the size and style of the type and may alter the size and shape of the boxes on the form, within the bounds of that rule.
The Official Forms of the petitions, schedules, and statement of financial affairs, (Forms 1, 5, 6, and 7), are to be printed on one side of the paper only. Each page is to be prepunched with two holes at the top, and sufficient top margin allowed so that neither caption nor text is destroyed or obscured. Compliance with these standards will facilitate both the securing of the papers in the case file and review of the file by the public.
Although Rule 9009 permits alteration, for most of the Official Forms, alteration will be appropriate only in rare circumstances. The special forms for chapter 11 cases, on the other hand, seldom will be used without alterations. Forms 12 through 15, while legally sufficient in any chapter 11 case, are intended by the Judicial Conference, and most often will be used, as a framework for drafting a document specially tailored to the particular case. These alterations generally will take the form of additions to the prescribed elements.
Rule 9009 provides for a balance of prescribed substance, to which full adherence is expected in all but the most unusual cases, and flexible formatting, under which requirements are kept to the minimum necessary for proper operation of the courts and the bankruptcy system. While Rule 9009 recognizes the overall need for flexibility, Rule 9029 makes it clear that the Official Forms must be accepted in every bankruptcy court.
Under Rule 9029, courts may not reject documents presented for filing in novel or unfamiliar formats if those documents contain the substance prescribed by the Official Form and meet the requirements for one-sided printing, pre-punched holes, and adequate top margins. Nor are courts authorized to impose local forms which vary in substance from the Official Forms or reject papers presented for filing on Official Forms on the basis that the proffered documents differ from a locally preferred version.
special instructions for computer-generated forms
In Form 1, the Voluntary Petition, if a box contains multiple choices, a computer-generated petition that shows only the choice made is acceptable for filing. All sections of the petition must be shown and completed, however, unless instructions on the Official Form of the petition state that the box is applicable only to cases filed under a chapter other than the one selected by the debtor. If the debtor has no information to provide for a particular box, for example if the debtor has no prior bankruptcies to report, a computer-generated petition should so indicate by stating "None."
Form 6, the Schedules, on which the debtor reports all of the debtor's assets and liabilities, has been prescribed in a columnar format. Columns help to organize the information which the debtor is required to report and should be used when the printed schedules are completed on a typewriter. In a computerized law office, however, the organizational structure of the schedules can be built into the computer program, and a rigid columnar format may be a hindrance rather than a help. Schedules generated by computer which provide all of the information requested by the prescribed form are fully acceptable, regardless of the format of the printed page. The information must be appropriately labeled, however. In Schedule B, for example, all of the categories of personal property must be printed on the filed document together with the debtor's response to each. The space occupied by each category may be expanded, however, so that attachments are not needed. Instructions provided on the printed forms can simply be built into the computer program; they need not be reprinted on the filed document.
Form 7, the Statement of Financial Affairs, contains a series of questions which direct the debtor to answer by furnishing information. If the answer to a question is "None," or the question is not applicable, an affirmative statement to that effect is required. To assure that the trustee and the creditors can review the debtor's statement properly, the complete text of each question must be printed on the filed document.
Form 9, the Notice of Filing under the Bankruptcy Code, Meeting of Creditors, and Fixing of Dates, will be prepared by the clerk of the bankruptcy court in most cases. The form is designed for use with automated printing and mailing equipment. Two free lines, which do not appear on the printed blank form, have been programmed into the form. Courts may use this space to add local information, such as directions for obtaining copies of the debtor's schedules.
Conversion Table for Official Bankruptcy Forms
Former Official Form Number
1. Voluntary Petition
[Revised; see new Official Form 1.]
2. Application and Order to Pay Filing Fee in Installments
[Renumbered; see new Official Form 3.]
3. Order for Payment of Filing Fee in Installments
[Abrogated and combined with Form No. 2; see new Official Form 3.]
4. Unsworn Declaration under Penalty of Perjury on Behalf of a Corporation or Partnership
[Renumbered; see new Official Form 2.]
5. Certificate of Commencement of Case
[Abrogated.]
6. Schedules of Assets and Liabilities
[Revised; see new Official Form 6.]
6A. Schedule of Current Income and Current Expenditures for Individual Debtor
[Revised; see new Official Form 6, Schedules I and J.]
7. Statement of Financial Affairs for Debtor Not Engaged in Business
[Revised and combined with former Form No. 8; see new Official Form 7.]
8. Statement of Financial Affairs for Debtor Engaged in Business
[Revised and combined with former Form No. 7; see new Official Form 7.]
8A. Chapter 7 Individual Debtor's Statement of Intention
[Renumbered; see new Official Form 8.]
9. List of Creditors Holding 20 Largest Unsecured Claims
[Renumbered; see new Official Form 4.]
10. Chapter 13 Statement
[Abrogated; see new Official Forms 6, 7, and 8.]
11. Involuntary Case: Creditors' Petition
[Revised, combined with former Form No. 12, and renumbered; see new Official Form 5.]
12. Involuntary Case Against Partnership; Partner's Petition
[Abrogated and combined with former Form No. 11; see new Official Form 5.]
13. Summons to Debtor
[Abrogated.]
14. Order for Relief
[Abrogated.]
15. Appointment of Committee of Unsecured Creditors in Chapter 9 Municipality or Chapter 11 Reorganization Case
[Abrogated.]
16. Order for Meeting of Creditors and Related Orders, Combined with Notice Thereof and of Automatic Stay
[Revised and renumbered; see new Official Form 9.]
17. General Power of Attorney
[Renumbered; see new Official Form 11A.]
18. Special Power of Attorney
[Renumbered; see new Official Form No. 11B.]
19. Proof of Claim
[Revised and renumbered; see new Official Form 10.]
20. Proof of Claim for Wages, Salary, or Commissions
[Abrogated and combined with former Form No. 19; see new Official Form 10.]
21. Proof of Multiple Claims for Wages, Salary, or Commissions
[Abrogated and combined with former Form No. 19; see new Official Form 10.]
22. Order Appointing Interim Trustee and Fixing Amount of Bond
[Abrogated.]
23. Order Approving Election of Trustee and Fixing Amount of Bond
[Abrogated.]
24. Notice to Trustee of Selection and of Time Fixed for Filing a Complaint Objecting to Discharge of Debtor
[Abrogated.]
25. Bond and Order Approving Bond of Trustee
[Abrogated.]
26. Certificate of Retention of Debtor in Possession
[Abrogated.]
27. Discharge of Debtor
[Renumbered; see new Official Form 18.]
28. Order and Notice for Hearing on Disclosure Statement
[Renumbered; see new Official Form 12.]
29. Order Approving Disclosure Statement and Fixing Time for Filing Acceptances or Rejections of Plan, Combined with Notice Thereof
[Renumbered; see new Official Form 13.]
30. Ballot for Accepting or Rejecting Plan
[Renumbered; see new Official Form 14.]
31. Order Confirming Plan
[Renumbered; see new Official Form 15.]
32. Notice of Filing Final Account
[Abrogated.]
33. Final Decree
[Abrogated.]
34. Caption of Adversary Proceedings
[Renumbered; see new Official Form 16C.]
35. Notice of Appeal to a District Court or Bankruptcy Appellate Panel from a Judgment of a Bankruptcy Court Entered in an Adversary Proceeding
[Revised and renumbered; see new Official Form 17.]
Note Concerning Continued Availability of Certain Abrogated Forms
Forms No. 5, 13, 14, 26, 32 and 33, although abrogated as Official Forms, continue to be available as procedural forms issued by the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. Members of the bar and the public may consult the Bankruptcy Forms Manual, which is available in the clerk's office at every bankruptcy court location. The contents of the Bankruptcy Forms Manual may be copied without restriction, subject to any applicable copy fee charged by the clerk.
Forms No. 15, 22, 23, 24 and 25, also abrogated as Official Forms, pertain to functions now performed by the United States trustee. Any forms deemed necessary for carrying out those functions will be issued by the Department of Justice.
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