U.S. bankruptcy courts received 26,941 business bankruptcy filings in the 12 months ending June 30, 2026, up 16.9 percent from 23,043 a year earlier and 111 percent above the 2022 low of 12,748, according to the federal judiciary's Table F-2. Chapter 11 business filings rose faster, to 9,766, but business cases are still only 4.4 percent of the 608,511 bankruptcies of all kinds.
How many small businesses file for bankruptcy each year?
In the 12 months ending June 30, 2026, U.S. bankruptcy courts recorded 26,941 filings whose predominant debt was business debt, out of 608,511 bankruptcy cases of all types. That is 4.4 percent of the total, the rest being consumer filings. The count comes from Table F-2 of the federal judiciary's quarterly bankruptcy statistics, which separates "business" from "nonbusiness" cases by the predominant nature of the debt rather than by the legal form of the filer, so it includes corporations and partnerships as well as sole proprietors whose debts are mainly from their business.
It is also worth being clear about what the number is not. Bankruptcy is one of the least common ways a small business ends. Most owners who shut down do so by closing, selling or winding the business up without a court case, which is why failure and survival data on our small business failure rate page show far more closures than the roughly 27,000 business bankruptcies counted here.
Are business bankruptcies rising or falling?
They are rising. Business filings fell from 22,483 in the 12 months to June 2019 to 18,511 in 2021 and bottomed at 12,748 in 2022, a stretch that coincided with pandemic relief programs and widespread payment forbearance. They have climbed every year since: 15,724 in 2023, 22,060 in 2024, 23,043 in 2025 and 26,941 in 2026. The latest figure is 19.8 percent above the pre-pandemic 2019 level and more than double the 2022 trough (+111 percent).
Business filings now make up 4.4 percent of all bankruptcies against 2.9 percent in 2019. The shift is as much about consumer cases as business ones: nonbusiness filings fell from 750,878 to 581,570 over the same seven years (down 22.5 percent), while business filings rose.
Chapter 7 vs. Chapter 11: how do business bankruptcies break down?
Business filings split mostly between liquidation and reorganization. Of the 26,941 filings in the latest year, 15,298 (56.8 percent) were Chapter 7 liquidations, 9,766 (36.2 percent) were Chapter 11 reorganizations, 1,337 (5.0 percent) were Chapter 13 repayment plans and 540 (2.0 percent) fell under other chapters. Chapter 7 means the business stops operating and its assets are sold; Chapter 11 lets a business keep operating while it restructures its debts, which is why it is the chapter used by companies that expect to survive.
Chapter 11 is the fastest-growing piece. Business Chapter 11 filings rose 23.6 percent in the latest year, from 7,900 to 9,766, and they are now 2.5 times the 3,965 of 2022 and 58 percent above 2019's 6,186. Chapter 7 business filings rose 14.9 percent to 15,298, double the 7,635 of 2022. Table F-2 does not separate out Subchapter V, the streamlined small-business track inside Chapter 11, so this page makes no claim about how much of the Chapter 11 growth it accounts for.
What business bankruptcy numbers mean for a small business owner
Bankruptcy is the end of a long runway, and the rise in filings is a reminder that debt problems usually build over months before a court is involved. Owners who are falling behind usually have options well before a filing. Renegotiating terms, consolidating several obligations into one payment, or replacing expensive short-term debt are all steps explained in our guides on managing business debt, business funding to consolidate debt and how to get out of merchant cash advance debt. Our small business debt statistics and loan default statistics show the stress that comes earlier in the chain.
A bankruptcy does not necessarily end a business owner's access to capital, but it changes it: lenders look hard at recent filings, and the guidelines vary widely between funders. Our guide to business funding after bankruptcy explains what lenders typically review. For a bankruptcy decision itself, speak with a licensed attorney and a tax professional. The Broker Shop is a funding broker, not a lender: one application is matched to the lenders among 50+ whose guidelines fit your business, and those lenders compete for the deal. Checking your options won't affect your credit score, and it is free to apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many businesses file for bankruptcy each year in the U.S.?
In the 12 months ending June 30, 2026, U.S. bankruptcy courts recorded 26,941 business bankruptcy filings, up 16.9 percent from 23,043 a year earlier, according to the federal judiciary's Table F-2. Business cases were 4.4 percent of the 608,511 bankruptcies of all types. The count covers cases where business debt predominates, including sole proprietors, and excludes businesses that close without a court case.
What is the difference between Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 for a business?
Chapter 7 is liquidation: the business stops operating and a trustee sells its assets to pay creditors. Chapter 11 is reorganization: the business keeps operating while it restructures its debts under court supervision. In the 12 months to June 2026, 15,298 business filings (56.8 percent) were Chapter 7 and 9,766 (36.2 percent) were Chapter 11, according to the U.S. Courts.
Sources: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts — Bankruptcy Filings Statistics · Table F-2, business and nonbusiness cases by chapter, 12 months ending June 30, 2026 · June 30, 2025 · June 30, 2022 · June 30, 2019
Found these figures useful? You are welcome to cite or link to this page. Suggested attribution: “Small Business Bankruptcy Statistics 2026 (U.S. Courts Data),” The Broker Shop — thebrokershopinc.com/small-business-bankruptcy-statistics.html. Every figure links to its original primary source; averages and shares are computed from the totals named above.
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See What I Qualify For →The bottom line: U.S. business bankruptcy filings reached 26,941 in the 12 months to June 2026, up 16.9 percent in a year and 111 percent above the 2022 low, with Chapter 11 reorganizations growing fastest at 9,766; they are still only 4.4 percent of all bankruptcies, so for most owners under debt pressure the real decisions come earlier, in how the debt is restructured before a court is involved.