You may be able to file for bankruptcy more than once. But if you have discharged your debts in bankruptcy before, your ability to discharge them again is subject to certain time limits. The time limits for determining whether you may obtain another bankruptcy discharge are measured from the date the previous bankruptcy was filed. The date of discharge in the previous bankruptcy has no bearing on the question of whether you can discharge your debts again.
You cannot obtain a discharge under Chapter 7 if your debts were discharged in a Chapter 7 case filed within the past eight years. You cannot obtain a discharge under Chapter 7 if your debts were discharged in a Chapter 13 case filed within the past six years unless payments under your Chapter 13 plan totaled at least 70 percent of your unsecured claims, and the plan was proposed in good faith and was your best effort.
You cannot obtain a discharge under Chapter 13 if your debts were discharged under Chapter 7 in a case filed within the past four years. You cannot obtain a discharge under Chapter 13 if your debts were discharged under Chapter 13 in a case filed within the past two years.
The dismissal of a previous bankruptcy case is another event that may impose a time limit your ability to file again. An individual (as opposed to a corporation) cannot file under either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 if, during the preceding 180 days, a prior bankruptcy petition under any chapter was dismissed due to the debtor’s willful failure to appear before the court or comply with a court order, or if the debtor voluntarily dismissed the previous case after secured creditors sought to recover the collateral pledged for their loans.
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