What This Site Is
voluntarypetition.org is an educational resource operated by the Open Bankruptcy Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. It's part of the Bankruptcy Transparency Network — a collection of free, public-interest sites that translate federal bankruptcy court data, statutes, and procedures into language ordinary people can use.
The Open Bankruptcy Project
The Open Bankruptcy Project builds free, open-source tools that make public bankruptcy court data accessible to the people it affects most — debtors, advocates, researchers, journalists, and policymakers. Every screening tool, analysis script, and dataset is published on GitHub. Anyone can audit, reproduce, or build upon the work without permission or payment.
Our research is derived primarily from the Federal Judicial Center's Integrated Database covering all federal bankruptcy filings 2008 through 2024, cross-referenced with PACER docket data via the Free Law Project's RECAP archive and independent court-scraping tooling. Methodology and source code are public.
What This Site Is Not
This site is not a law firm. We do not represent clients, file bankruptcy cases, or give legal advice. We do not receive referral fees, affiliate commissions, or advertising revenue. We do not sell data.
If you need legal advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed bankruptcy attorney in your state.
Research Contributions
Our research supports two accepted suggestions to the Federal Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules:
- Suggestion 26-BK-3 — procedural screening for 11 U.S.C. § 1328(f) re-filing eligibility
- Suggestion 26-BK-5 — Rule 9037 / Form 121 / Form 309E1 amendments addressing systematic unredacted Social Security number exposure on federal bankruptcy dockets
Contact
General inquiries, data requests, research collaboration, and media: info@openbankruptcyproject.org
Privacy and Data Handling
See our privacy policy for details. Short version: aggregate analytics only; no data sold, no advertising, no attorney referrals, no financial information collected.