Bankruptcy in the District of Columbia
In the District of Columbia you choose state or federal exemptions (exemptions are the property the law lets you keep). Your home (homestead): unlimited: your whole interest in real property you use as your residence, or in a cooperative that owns property you or a dependent use as a residence.
You file in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia.
Checked against official sources: October 25, 2026. · Free letter and checklist ↓
What you can keep in the District of Columbia
Exemptions are the property the law lets you keep. You pick one whole set: the the District of Columbia list or the federal list. You can't mix them.
Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(b)(1)-(2); 11 U.S.C. 522(d)
| What | The District of Columbia exemption | Federal exemption |
|---|---|---|
Home (homestead) | Unlimited: your whole interest in real property you use as your residence, or in a cooperative that owns property you or a dependent use as a residence (also a burial plot) No dollar cap. The exemption does not cancel a mortgage, deed of trust, mechanic's lien or tax lien on the home. D.C. law gives its exemptions to a 'head of a family or householder' who lives in D.C., or who earns most of their living in D.C. The head of a family is the person who is the main provider for the family. The law does not define 'householder.' Law: D.C. Code § 15-501(a)(14), (a) (opening clause), (c) | $31,575 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(1) |
Car or other vehicle | $2,575 of your interest in one motor vehicle Law: D.C. Code § 15-501(a)(1) | $5,025 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(2) |
Household goods and clothing | Household furnishings, household goods, clothing, appliances, books, animals, crops or musical instruments for personal or family use: up to $425 per item and $8,625 in total. Family pictures and the family library up to $400. Food and provisions for 3 months. Prescribed health aids (no limit). Law: D.C. Code § 15-501(a)(2), (6), (8), (12) | Household goods: $800 per item, $16,850 total Jewelry for personal or family use: $2,125 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(3); 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(4) |
Wildcard (any property) | $850 in any property, plus up to $8,075 of any unused amount of the homestead exemption Law: D.C. Code § 15-501(a)(3) | $1,675 plus up to $15,800 of any unused part of the (d)(1) homestead amount Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(5) |
Tools of your trade | $1,625 in implements, professional books or tools of your trade (or a dependent's trade); also applies to merchants. Separately, a professional's or artist's library, office furniture and implements up to $300. Law: D.C. Code § 15-501(a)(4), (13) | $3,175 Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(6) |
Wages | A wage garnishment can take only 25% of the amount by which your weekly disposable wages exceed 40 times the D.C. minimum hourly wage; the rest is protected. Other earnings, insurance, annuity or pension payments of a person who supports a family are exempt up to $200 a month for 2 months ($60 a month for someone who does not support a family). Law: D.C. Code §§ 16-572(1), 15-503(a)-(b) | — |
Retirement accounts | Money in or payable from retirement plans qualified under IRC 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408 (IRA), 408A (Roth IRA), 414(d) or 414(e) is exempt, except against a QDRO alternate payee or debts owed to the District of Columbia, and except contributions above the tax-deductible or Roth limit. Pension and similar payments are also exempt to the extent reasonably necessary for support. Law: D.C. Code § 15-501(a)(7)(E), (9), (10) | No dollar limit (IRAs are capped under 522(n)) Money in traditional and Roth IRAs is protected up to $1,711,975 in total. Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(12); 11 U.S.C. 522(n); 90 FR 8941 |
Public benefits | Your right to receive Social Security, veterans' benefits, and disability, illness or unemployment benefits is exempt. D.C. unemployment benefits are exempt except for debts for necessaries bought while unemployed. Workers' compensation is exempt from all creditors. D.C. public assistance cannot be taken and is protected in bankruptcy. Law: D.C. Code §§ 15-501(a)(7)(A)-(C), 51-118(b)(1), 32-1517, 4-215.01 | Your right to receive Social Security, unemployment, public assistance, veterans' and disability benefits; alimony and support you reasonably need; and certain pension or annuity payments you reasonably need: No dollar limit (some only as much as you reasonably need) Your right to certain payments: crime victim awards, wrongful-death and life-insurance payments for someone you depended on, personal bodily injury payments (not pain and suffering or actual money losses), and payments for lost future earnings: Crime-victim awards: no limit. Personal injury payment: up to $31,575. Others: as much as you reasonably need Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(10); 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(11) |
Other exemptions |
Law: D.C. Code § 15-501(a)(7)(D); D.C. Code § 15-501(a)(5); D.C. Code § 15-501(a)(11) | An unmatured life insurance policy you own (not credit life insurance): No dollar limit Cash value of life insurance: $16,850 Health aids prescribed by a professional for you or a dependent: No dollar limit Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(7); 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(8); 11 U.S.C. 522(d)(9) |
If you use your state's exemptions, you can protect no more than $214,000 of home equity that you acquired in the 1,215 days (about 3 years and 4 months) before you filed. Equity moved from an earlier home in the same state, bought before that period, does not count. The cap does not apply to a family farmer's main home.
Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(p); 90 FR 8941
Amounts: Dollar amounts set by D.C. Law 13-292 (effective April 27, 2001); they are written into the statute and are not indexed. The section was last amended by D.C. Law 22-189 (2018), which did not change the amounts. Current text read October 2026 on the D.C. Council's official code site.
Federal amounts: Amounts in effect for cases filed on or after April 1, 2025 (next automatic adjustment due April 1, 2028)
Law: 11 U.S.C. 104; 90 FR 8941-8942
These amounts are per person. If a married couple files one joint case, each spouse can claim the federal exemptions separately.
The means test in the District of Columbia: first step
Official Form 122A-1 compares your household's yearly income with the median income in the District of Columbia. Here are the official medians:
- 1 person$85,391
- 2 people$161,397
- 3 people$161,397
- 4 people$166,598
- Each extra person+$11,100
Applies to cases filed on or after April 1, 2026. 1 = one earner; 2, 3, 4 = people in the household; add = amount added for each person over 4
Where to file in the District of Columbia
You file in the district where you lived (your domicile) for most of the last 180 days. The District of Columbia is one bankruptcy district with one courthouse, so every D.C. filer uses the same court.
Law: 28 U.S.C. 1408
Divisions: One courthouse: E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse, 333 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001
Clerk's phone: (202) 354-3280
Free help in the District of Columbia
- Bankruptcy Assistance Center (free walk-in clinic at the courthouse, 1st and 3rd Fridays, 10 a.m.–1 p.m., Room 1131A)
- D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center – Bankruptcy Clinic (free Chapter 7 representation for D.C. residents of limited means)
- D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center – Advice & Referral Clinic and Legal Information Help Line · 202-626-3499
- Bar Association of the District of Columbia – Bankruptcy Access to Justice Project (free or reduced-fee Chapter 7 / Chapter 13 help)
- LawHelp.org/DC
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia – Court's self-help page
Free letter and checklist
Letter: tell a creditor you filed bankruptcy
Notice to a creditor or debt collector with your case number, court, filing date and chapter.
Checklist: what to gather before you file
Income, tax returns, debts, property and budget papers the federal forms ask about, with the District of Columbia's courts.
Bankruptcy in the District of Columbia by topic
Exemptions in the District of Columbia
Home, car, household goods, wildcard and more, with the law for each.
The means test in the District of Columbia
The official median income and the first-step check.
Where to file in the District of Columbia
The bankruptcy courts, divisions, fees and the 341 meeting.
Good to know in the District of Columbia
- D.C. lets you pick either the D.C. exemptions or the federal exemptions. The D.C. list has an unlimited home exemption.
Law: D.C. Code § 15-501(a)(14); 11 U.S.C. 522(b)
- If you cannot afford a lawyer for certain disputes inside your case (for example, a lawsuit claiming a debt should not be discharged, or a motion to remove a lien that impairs your exemptions), you can apply to the court for free pro bono counsel.
Source: dcb.uscourts.gov, Find an Attorney page
- At the clerk's intake counter, a deputy clerk can look over your papers before you file to spot missing items, but cannot give legal advice.
Source: dcb.uscourts.gov pro se page
Questions about bankruptcy in the District of Columbia
Can I use the federal bankruptcy exemptions in the District of Columbia?
You can. The District of Columbia lets you choose the state exemptions or the federal exemptions in 11 U.S.C. 522(d). You must pick one whole set.
What is the homestead exemption in the District of Columbia?
Unlimited: your whole interest in real property you use as your residence, or in a cooperative that owns property you or a dependent use as a residence (also a burial plot)
How much of a car can I keep in bankruptcy in the District of Columbia?
$2,575 of your interest in one motor vehicle
Does the District of Columbia have a wildcard exemption?
$850 in any property, plus up to $8,075 of any unused amount of the homestead exemption
What household goods can I keep in the District of Columbia?
Household furnishings, household goods, clothing, appliances, books, animals, crops or musical instruments for personal or family use: up to $425 per item and $8,625 in total. Family pictures and the family library up to $400. Food and provisions for 3 months. Prescribed health aids (no limit).
Are retirement accounts protected in bankruptcy in the District of Columbia?
Money in or payable from retirement plans qualified under IRC 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408 (IRA), 408A (Roth IRA), 414(d) or 414(e) is exempt, except against a QDRO alternate payee or debts owed to the District of Columbia, and except contributions above the tax-deductible or Roth limit. Pension and similar payments are also exempt to the extent reasonably necessary for support.
Are my wages protected in the District of Columbia?
A wage garnishment can take only 25% of the amount by which your weekly disposable wages exceed 40 times the D.C. minimum hourly wage; the rest is protected. Other earnings, insurance, annuity or pension payments of a person who supports a family are exempt up to $200 a month for 2 months ($60 a month for someone who does not support a family).
Where do I file bankruptcy in the District of Columbia?
You file in the district where you lived (your domicile) for most of the last 180 days. The District of Columbia is one bankruptcy district with one courthouse, so every D.C. filer uses the same court.
What is the median income for the means test in the District of Columbia?
For cases filed on or after April 1, 2026: 1 person: $85,391; 2 people: $161,397; 3 people: $161,397; 4 people: $166,598; Each extra person: +$11,100.
Where can I get free help with bankruptcy in the District of Columbia?
Bankruptcy Assistance Center (free walk-in clinic at the courthouse, 1st and 3rd Fridays, 10 a.m.–1 p.m., Room 1131A), D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center – Bankruptcy Clinic (free Chapter 7 representation for D.C. residents of limited means) and D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center – Advice & Referral Clinic and Legal Information Help Line.