Announcements

Please click here to view the Notice of Vacancy from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland.

Please click here to view the Notice of Vacancy from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland.

Pursuant to U.S. District Court Standing Order 2026-04, effective November 2, 2026, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland will implement a new policy regarding portable electronic devices. The policy prohibits visitors to the federal courthouses in Baltimore and Greenbelt from bringing portable electronic devices into the courthouses.   Portable electronic devices include laptop computers, cellular phones (including smart phones), electronic tablets, cameras, smart watches, smart glasses, and any other instruments capable of photography, video recording, audio recording, or wireless communications (including earpieces and fitness trackers). 

Persons excepted from this policy may possess portable electronic devices inside the courthouses, provided they present credentials necessary to confirm their status to court security personnel upon request.  Excepted individuals include:

• Members of the Bar of the District of Maryland, pro hac vice attorneys, and counsel of record in scheduled proceedings, who must present an electronic bar membership credential to court security personnel upon entry to the courthouse.  Attorneys authorized to practice will receive an email from the U.S. District Court with instructions on obtaining their electronic bar credential.[i]  Please activate your electronic bar credential promptly upon receipt of this email.

   

• Employees and contractors of the United States Courts, federal, state, and local law enforcement officers, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services Office, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Federal Public Defender’s Office, the U.S. Trustee’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the General Services Administration, who must present a photo identification card, personal identity verification (PIV) card, or electronic credential to court security personnel upon request. 

   

• Excepted individuals other than those listed above, including pro se litigants appearing for a scheduled proceeding, individuals with a special need, accompanying members of an attorney’s staff, and members of the media, may request prior permission to bring an electronic device into the courthouse through the Electronic Device Request form available here on the Bankruptcy Court’s website.

All individuals who qualify for an exception and have not obtained prior permission may request an Electronic Device Pass from the Clerk’s Office. Any portable electronic devices not permitted to be brought into the courthouses will be securely stored in lock boxes located in the lobby until the owner retrieves the devices upon departure from the courthouse. 

Use of portable electronic devices is strictly limited to approved purposes as provided for in Standing Order 2026-04.  For further information and a complete list of exceptions, please review the Standing Order. 

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland is pleased to announce that the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has appointed Lisa Yonka Stevens and Stephen A. Metz as the next U.S. Bankruptcy Judges for the District of Maryland, each subject to a successful background investigation.

Please click here to view the Notice of Vacancy from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland.

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland  entered an Administrative Order restricting electronic access to sealed documents effective April 20, 2026. Click here to read the Administrative Order.  Parties will continue to file sealed documents in CM/ECF, however sealed documents will no longer be accessible or viewable by electronic means. Parties must serve sealed documents through appropriate means as provided by the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure.  The Court will serve sealed orders, notices, and other Court-generated documents by either secure electronic means or U.S. Mail.  A party with the right to access a sealed document can request a paper copy by contacting the Clerk’s Office.  Please contact the Clerk’s Office with questions by calling (410) 962-2688 or (301) 344-8018.

The public intake counters for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland, in both Baltimore and Greenbelt, are closed  from 1 pm to 2 pm, Monday through Friday.  The Clerk’s Office otherwise remains open during this time for phone calls and email, and the Court’s Chatbot COURTney is available for live chats with staff.  CM/ECF will remain available during this time. 

Effective December 10, 2025, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland is making the paymentless operations in the Court's Greenbelt Intake office permanent.  Cash, money orders, and certified checks are no longer accepted in Greenbelt.  Rather, Greenbelt customers may pay filing and other fees (1) online using a debit card via pay.gov, including at a public terminal located in Greenbelt Intake, (2) by mailing a certified check or money order to the Baltimore Division, or (3) by going to Baltimore Intake during regular business hours to pay with cash, money order or certified check.

Amendments to Bankruptcy Rules 3002.1 and 8006 and Official Bankruptcy Form 410S1, and new Official Bankruptcy Forms 410C13-M1, 410C13-M1R, 410C13-N, 410C13-NR, 410C13-M2, and 410C13-M2R, are effective December 1, 2025. The text of the amended rules and the accompanying committee notes can be viewed here. In addition, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland has approved amendments effective December 1, 2025, to the Court’s Local Bankruptcy Rules. To view the Administrative Order implementing the amendments, a summary of the changes, and a redlined copy of the amended local rules, please click here.

The process for payment of Unclaimed Funds held by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland has been updated.  Effective October 1, 2025, subsequent to entry of an Order authorizing payment of Unclaimed Funds, payment will be made only upon receipt of an original, signed verification form sent from the Clerk’s Office to the Claimant.  Additional information on the updated Unclaimed Funds payment process is available in the Court’s Instructions for Filing Application for Payment of Unclaimed Funds.