There are two courses, not one, and they happen at opposite ends of your case. Credit counseling comes before you file. Debtor education comes after filing and before your discharge.
Both must be taken from a provider approved by the United States Trustee for this district. Each runs about an hour online, and the fee is typically somewhere between $15 and $50, with fee waivers available if your income is low enough.
Course one: credit counseling
You have to complete it within the 180 days before your petition is filed. The certificate gets filed with your case, and without it the case is subject to dismissal.
It is a budget review. You enter income, expenses and debts, work through some material about alternatives to bankruptcy, and receive a certificate by email at the end. If the provider proposes a debt management plan, you are not obligated to accept it, though a copy has to go to the court.
You can do it the same afternoon you decide to file. That is why an emergency petition to stop a levy or a repossession is realistic on short notice, as long as you can sit down for an hour first.
Course two: debtor education
Different course, different certificate, taken after the case is filed. It covers budgeting, credit, and staying out of the next hole.
| Credit counseling | Debtor education | |
|---|---|---|
| When | Within 180 days before filing | After filing |
| Deadline | Before the petition goes in | Ch. 7: 60 days after the 341 meeting. Ch. 13: before the final plan payment. |
| Form filed | Certificate with the petition | Official Form 423 with the certificate |
| Miss it | Case can be dismissed | No discharge issues |
The expensive mistake
A case can be filed correctly, sail through the 341 meeting, and then close with no discharge because nobody completed the second course. Reopening the case to file a late certificate means a motion and a separate filing fee. Take the second course the week after your meeting and put it behind you.
Picking a provider
Use one on the U.S. Trustee's approved list for the Central District of California. That list lives on the Department of Justice website and it is the only list that counts. Approval is regional, so a provider approved elsewhere may not be approved here.
- Confirm the provider covers this district before paying.
- Ask about the fee waiver if your household income is below 150 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. Approved providers are expected to offer one.
- Save the certificate as a PDF, and email it to your attorney the moment it arrives.
- Joint filers each need their own certificate, though many providers offer a discounted couple rate.
“Almost nobody enjoys these courses, and I will not pretend they are transformative. But I have had a handful of clients tell me the budget worksheet in the second one was the first time they had actually written down what they spend. One of them called it the most useful $22 of the whole case. Take it seriously and it is not wasted.”
Naomi Reyes-AshfordThe rare exemptions
Exceptions to the credit counseling requirement exist and they are narrow. Incapacity, disability, and active military duty in a combat zone. There is also a temporary deferral where exigent circumstances prevented you from getting counseling before an emergency filing, but you must certify the circumstances and complete the course within a short window after filing.
Courts do not grant these casually. Assume you are taking the course.
Questions we get asked
How long does each course take?
About an hour each, sometimes closer to two. Online providers let you pause and resume, and the platform tracks your time, so clicking through quickly does not shorten it.
Does the counseling agency decide whether I can file?
No. They give you a certificate for completing the session, not permission. If they propose a debt management plan you are free to decline it, and declining does not affect your eligibility to file.
Can I take both courses on the same day?
No. The second one is only valid after your case is filed. Taking it early wastes the fee, and it happens more often than you would think.
What if I already took a course last year for a case I never filed?
The counseling certificate is good for 180 days. If it has expired, you take it again. Keep the old one anyway, because it costs nothing to hand over.
Before your consultation, open the U.S. Trustee approved provider list for the Central District of California, pick one, and be ready to start the first course the same day you decide to move forward. Questions about which one, call (310) 555-0184.