The 70-day general claims bar date, the 180-day government unit deadline, and the limited grounds for extension.
In a voluntary chapter 7 case, chapter 12 case, or chapter 13 case, a proof of claim is timely filed if it is filed not later than 70 days after the order for relief under that chapter or the date of the order of conversion to a case under chapter 12 or chapter 13. In an involuntary chapter 7 case, a proof of claim is timely filed if it is filed not later than 90 days after the order for relief under that chapter is entered. But in all these cases, the following exceptions apply: ... Fed. R. Bankr. P. 3002(c).
Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 3002 establishes the deadlines by which a proof of claim must be filed in a Chapter 7, 12, or 13 case in order to be timely. The rule operates in coordination with Rule 3001 (the form and content of a proof of claim) and with Rule 3003 (which governs deadlines in Chapter 9 and Chapter 11 cases). Rule 3002 controls when a claim must be filed; Rule 3001 controls how.
The 2017 amendment to Rule 3002(c) replaced the previous 90-day post-meeting-of-creditors deadline with a uniform 70-day deadline measured from the order for relief in a voluntary case. The change was intended to make the deadline more predictable and easier to calculate without reference to the date of the Section 341 meeting of creditors. In an involuntary Chapter 7 case, the deadline is 90 days after the order for relief is entered.
The deadline applies generally to all creditors with notice of the case. A creditor who fails to file within the deadline is at risk of disallowance under 11 U.S.C. Section 502(b)(9), which provides that a claim shall be disallowed to the extent that proof of the claim is not timely filed.
A government unit (federal, state, or local taxing authority, or other governmental claimant) is entitled to the later of (i) the 70-day general deadline or (ii) 180 days after the date of the order for relief. The 180-day government-unit deadline is grounded in 11 U.S.C. Section 502(b)(9) and reflects the additional time often needed by government units to identify the debtor in their internal records and to calculate the amount of any tax claim.
Rule 3002(c) enumerates several specific exceptions under which a claim may be filed after the general deadline:
Outside of the enumerated exceptions, Rule 3002(c) does not authorize extension of the general bar date. The 2017 amendment to Rule 3002(c)(6) - permitting late-filed claims by creditors who did not receive timely notice - addressed a recurring fairness concern but did not generalize the extension authority.
A late-filed claim is not automatically disallowed; disallowance under Section 502(b)(9) requires an objection. In practice, the Chapter 13 trustee often objects to late-filed claims as part of routine case administration. In Chapter 7 cases, the trustee may not bother to object to a late-filed claim if the case is a no-asset case, since the claim will not receive distribution in any event.
The Supreme Court has confirmed that the bar date operates as a substantive deadline: a creditor with notice of the case who fails to file within the deadline forfeits the right to a distribution from the estate. The narrow Rule 3002(c) exceptions are the exclusive procedural avenue for filing a late claim that will share in the distribution.
In a Chapter 7 case, a tardily filed claim that is not allowed under Section 502(b)(9) (because the creditor did not have actual notice or actual knowledge of the case in time to file timely) may still receive a distribution under 11 U.S.C. Section 726(a)(3), after timely filed unsecured claims have been paid in full. The Section 726(a)(3) tardy-claim distribution is a separate pathway that operates only after timely-filed claims are paid.
A credit-card creditor receives notice of the debtor's Chapter 13 case on the date of filing. The 70-day deadline runs from the order for relief. The creditor files a proof of claim within the deadline through the court's electronic claims filing system. If the deadline passes without filing, the trustee will likely object to any later-filed claim under Section 502(b)(9).
A state taxing authority receives notice of the case but requires time to identify the debtor in its records and calculate the tax owed. The authority files within 180 days of the order for relief - within the extended deadline available to government units under Rule 3002(c)(1) and Section 502(b)(9).
Rule 3002 is the bright-line procedural threshold that separates a participating creditor from a barred one. Unlike many bankruptcy procedural deadlines that can be extended for cause, the Rule 3002 claims bar date is extended only on the narrow grounds enumerated in subdivision (c). A claim that misses the deadline without falling within an enumerated exception is at risk of disallowance even if the underlying claim is meritorious and undisputed.
The 2017 amendment that established a uniform 70-day deadline measured from the order for relief - rather than from the meeting of creditors - simplified deadline calculation but did not change the substantive consequence of missing the deadline. Practitioners should calendar the bar date from the order-for-relief date and verify the date against the Notice of Bankruptcy Filing issued by the clerk.
Lack of notice is a narrow exception, not a general extension ground. Rule 3002(c)(6) permits late filing only by a creditor who did not receive timely notice of the bar date. A creditor who received the notice but failed to file is not within the exception, regardless of internal docketing failures or other operational excuses.
This page provides general information about Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 3002. It does not constitute legal advice. Claim-deadline calculations in any specific case depend on the date of the order for relief, conversion history, and applicable local rules, and should be confirmed against the official court notice.