How Often Can You File Bankruptcy

 How often can you file bankruptcy? In Canada there is no restriction limiting the number of times an individual person can file bankruptcy. However, each time a person files the process becomes longer as follows: A)A first time bankruptcy generally takes nine months to complete, or twenty one months if there is a requirement to pay surplus income. B)A second time bankruptcy generally takes 24 months to complete, or thirty six months if there is surplus income. A third or subsequent bankruptcy requires the individual to make a court application to determine how long the bankruptcy will last, any requirement to make payments etc. While the terms typically imposed by the Bankruptcy Courts vary from province to province, Saskatchewan is fairly typical in imposing a three year suspended discharge on third time bankrupts. This would mean that the entire bankruptcy process for a third time bankrupt would take around four years (assuming there was no requirement to pay surplus income) – roughly a year before the bankruptcy reached the Court, and then a three year suspension period during which the individual is still bankrupt. I should also note that a second, or subsequent, bankruptcy stays on a person credit history for 14 years, as compared to a first time bankruptcy which is removed after 6. There has, to my knowledge, only been one fourth time bankrupt in Saskatchewan – the court simply told the individual to return to court in several years and that the court would then, and only then, consider what further order might be appropriate. Ian Schofield MNP Regina 306-790-7904