The creditor matrix

A mailing list, not a form

The creditor matrix is a plain list of names and mailing addresses: everyone you owe, one after another. There's no official form for it. You type it yourself, and it's the one piece of a bankruptcy filing that doesn't come as a download.

The court feeds that list into its noticing system. Every address on it gets mailed a notice that the case was filed, the date of the 341 meeting, and the deadlines that apply to creditors.

Who goes on it

The federal rules say the list covers every person or company named on four of the schedules:

• Schedule D: creditors with a claim on property, like a mortgage or car lender.
• Schedule E/F: everyone else you owe, from credit cards to medical providers to the IRS.
• Schedule G: the other side of any lease or contract, such as a landlord.
• Schedule H: co-signers and anyone else who shares a debt with you.

When a debt has been handed to a collection agency or a law firm, both the original creditor and the collector are usually listed, each at its own address.

It's due on day one

The schedules can follow the petition by up to 14 days. The creditor list can't. It's filed with the petition, because the court starts sending notices right away.

Why the addresses matter

A creditor that never gets notice doesn't know to stop collecting. The automatic stay still applies to it, but the calls and letters keep coming until someone tells it about the case.

The larger issue is the discharge. A debt owed to a creditor that was never listed and never learned of the case can come out of the bankruptcy still owed.

Why courts are strict about the layout

A person doesn't read the matrix. Software does. The clerk's office scans or uploads the list, and the system pulls each address out by position. A stray header, a second column, or a line that runs too long produces a bad address or none at all, so courts publish exact layout rules and reject lists that break them.

Here's what one bankruptcy court requires. Most courts' rules look a lot like it:

• One left-aligned column, with no tables.
• The name on the first line, the street address or P.O. box next, and city, state, and ZIP together on the last line.
• No more than five lines per entry, and no line over 40 characters.
• At least two blank lines between entries.
• No headers, footers, page numbers, or account numbers.

The details change from court to court: margins, how many entries fit on a page, whether the list is filed on paper or uploaded as a plain text file. BK Prepare has a sample page from one court's manual that shows the layout.

The verification page

Many courts require a signed statement with the matrix, declaring that the list is complete and correct. It's a local form, and the name changes by court: verification of creditor matrix, verification of mailing list, or something close to it.

Adding a creditor later

A creditor left off the list can be added after filing by amending the schedules and the matrix. Courts charge a fee for that amendment, and most have the filer send the added creditor its notice of the case.

For the records the addresses come from, see The documents behind the forms.