Announcements

The Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland is operating with a reduced staffing level amidst the continued government shutdown, in accordance with Anti-Deficiency Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 1341 et seq.  As a result, and until the government shutdown is resolved, the Bankruptcy Court’s public intake counters will each be closed one day per week:

• The intake counter in Greenbelt will be closed on Thursdays starting November 13, 2025. 
• The intake counter in Baltimore will be closed on Fridays starting November 14, 2025.

When one intake counter location is closed, the other location will remain open during regular business hours to accommodate visitors.  Payments should still be sent to the Baltimore location.  The Clerk’s Office itself remains open during regular business hours for phone calls and emails, and court hearings will proceed as scheduled unless otherwise ordered by the presiding judge.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland will be closed on Tuesday, November  11, 2025. The after hours drop boxes will not be available. Electronic filing through CM/ECF remains available during this time. Emergency contact numbers are available on the court's website.

Despite a government shutdown beginning October 1, 2025, and the Federal Judiciary and U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland entering Phase 2 of shutdown operations on October 20, 2025, the Court remains open during regular business hours.  In accordance with the terms of the Anti-Deficiency Act and pursuant to Local Bankruptcy Rule 5001-1, the Court will continue bankruptcy case related operations, which includes receiving new cases and hearing and disposing of pending cases.  The Case Management/Electronic Case Filing system (CM/ECF) remains in operation for electronic filing of documents.

Canada Post announced a recent shutdown due to national labor actions between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.  Bankruptcy notice delivery has been impacted.  Beginning October 2, 2025, the Bankruptcy Noticing Center will not mail Bankruptcy Court notices to recipient addresses that include the country name “Canada.”  These notices will be bypassed. Bypassed recipients are listed within the bypass section of the Certificate of Notice.  Please visit the Bankruptcy Noticing Center’s site for more information and updates at https://bnc.uscourts.gov/.

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. 

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 has approved for publication and public comment amendments to the Court’s Local Bankruptcy Rules.  Please click here for a summary of the proposed changes, a redline copy of the amendments, and instructions on how to submit comments. Comments on the proposed revised rules should be submitted on or before October 7, 2025.  If adopted, the amended Local Bankruptcy Rules will go into effect on December 1, 2025.

As first announced in May 2025, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO) is implementing multifactor authentication (MFA) nationwide for CM/ECF and PACER users on a rolling basis.  Users with CM/ECF filing access will be required to enroll in MFA.  Several guides are available to assist you, including Enrolling in MFA (by adding an authentication application) and Logging in with MFA (once you have enrolled in MFA).  For additional information, please visit the MFA Tips and Resources webpage on the PACER website.

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland launched a pilot program instituting paymentless operations in the Court's Greenbelt on September 1, 2025.  Under the pilot, cash, money orders, and certified checks will not be accepted in Greenbelt.  Rather, Greenbelt customers will have the option to 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. 

Starting this month, on a rolling basis the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO) will begin implementing multifactor authentication (MFA) for CM/ECF and PACER users.  MFA provides an added layer of security to protect against cyberattacks and other security risks. The AO expects to fully implement MFA for all CM/ECF filing users by the end of 2025. Users with CM/ECF filing access will be required to enroll in MFA. While not required, users with PACER access only will be able to opt in to MFA. For more information, please visit the PACER website.