Creating a List of Creditors
Official Procedure - Last Updated: June 22, 2015
A creditor matrix file is required at the time a voluntary petition under any chapter is filed. The accuracy and completeness of this creditor listing shall be the total responsibility of the debtor and the debtor's attorney. The Court shall rely upon it for all mailings.
The mailing matrix is required in addition to the various schedules required by Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 1007.
Privacy Rule
Bankruptcy Rule 9037 requires that personal identification information define as individuals' Social Security and taxpayer identification numbers, names of minor children, financial account numbers, and dates of birth, be redacted from documents with the court.
Guideline for creating a creditor matrix:
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The file must be saved as a text file with the extension .txt
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When using Word to create your matrix - select Plain Text from the Save as type box
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When using WordPerfect to create your matrix - select ASCII DOS TEXT from the Save as type box
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When using Notepad to create your matrix - click here
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One case per file
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Do not include page numbers, headers or footers
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Left justification required
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Creditor information must be five (5) lines or less per creditor
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Each line may contain no more than 40 characters including spaces
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Each creditor must be separated by at least one blank line
Example:
Line 1: Mickey Mouse
Line 2: 25 Walt Disney Ave
Line 3: Chicago, IL 60612
Line 4:
Line 5: Peter Pan
Line 6: Attention: Tinker Bell
Line 7: 123 Fairy Lane
Line 8: River Grove, CA 90033
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City, State and Zip Code must be on the last line. There must be a comma immediately after the city name. Nine-digit zip codes must be typed with a hyphen separating the two groups of digits. All states must be entered using the two letter abbreviation.
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Attention lines or account numbers must be placed on the second line of the name/address. Account numbers may not exceed 40 characters including spaces.
After file has been created and saved as a text file, it can be uploaded in CMECF. Refer to Uploading Creditors for step-by-step instructions.
Additional Resources: