Motion to Reopen Chapter 7, 12, or 13 Bankruptcy Case

Rev. 02/05/2025

Fed. R. Bankr. P. 5010
11 U.S.C. § 350(b)
Miss. Bankr. L.R. 5010-1(a) (c) and (d)

The court may reopen a case to administer assets, grant relief to the debtor, or for any other cause.

The motion to reopen must set out the specific reason for reopening, and for Chapter 7, 12, and 13 cases, state whether the movant believes a trustee is necessary to protect the interests of the creditors and the debtor or to ensure efficient administration of the estates. See Miss. Bankr. L.R. 5010-1(a).

It is not necessary to reopen a case to file:

An application to release unclaimed funds or
A motion to redact information from the case record. See Redact Document and Restrict Public Access.

See Reopening to Reinstate Bankruptcy Case which has been dismissed.

Note: When an ECF user selects the event for a motion to reopen a bankruptcy case in an open case, the system displays a message and stops the filing process.

Motion Docket Events:

[Bankruptcy > Motions/Applications > Reopen Chapter 12]

[Bankruptcy > Motions/Applications > Reopen Chapter 13]

[Bankruptcy > Motions/Applications > Reopen Chapter 7]

Motion filed by Debtor

In a Chapter 7 or 13 case, the debtor must file a 21-day notice when the reason to reopen is to:

Reinstate the case.
File a post-petition financial management certificate to receive a discharge.
Set aside the dismissal of a case (generally, the court will set the motion for a hearing.)

KMS Cases	JAW Cases
Motion with Certificate of Service Serve the case trustee, the US Trustee, and any affected party	Motion with Certificate of Service Serve the case trustee, the US Trustee, and any affected party
Filing Fee	Filing Fee
Proposed Order	Proposed Order
When reopening to file the debtor's post-petition personal financial management course certification or certificate to receive a discharge, the debtor must file a 21-day notice to all parties on the mailing matrix. (See Miss. Bankr. L.R. 5010-1(d)) Notice Event: [Bankruptcy > Notices > 21 Day Notice]

Motion filed by Interested Party (other than the Trustee or US Trustee)

KMS Cases	JAW Cases
Motion with Certificate of Service Serve the debtor, case trustee, US Trustee, and any affected party	Motion with Certificate of Service Serve the debtor, case trustee, US Trustee, and any affected party
*Filing Fee	*Filing Fee
Proposed Order	Proposed Order

Motion filed by the Trustee or US Trustee

KMS Cases	JAW Cases
Motion with Certificate of Service Serve the debtor, case trustee, US Trustee, and any affected party	Motion with Certificate of Service Serve the debtor, case trustee, US Trustee, and any affected party
Proposed Order	Proposed Order
*Filing Fee unless the case trustee or UST is exempt from the fee.	Filing Fee unless the case trustee or UST is exempt from the fee.

How to File an Amended Motion to Reopen

File amended motion using the above docket event;
In the receipt field enter the receipt number for the filing fee payment made for the original motion; and
Select "Amended" from the drop-down prefix list.

Exceptions to the Filing Fee

No Reopening fee:

To correct an administrative error by the Court or clerk's office.
File an action related to the discharge.
When the movant is exempt from the filing fee. i.e., The United States (Federal Agency)