In bankruptcy, history is interwoven throughout the statutes and case law.
Five statutes carry the story. Each has its own page, with the act itself, every amendment and repeal, the page images from the United States Statutes at Large, and unofficial transcriptions.
Bankruptcy Act of 1800
1800–1803
Act of Apr. 4, 1800, ch. 19, 2 Stat. 19
The first federal bankruptcy statute: 64 sections, limited to involuntary proceedings against merchants and traders. Never amended; repealed by the Act of Dec. 19, 1803.
Explore the Act and its repeal1803–1841 · No federal bankruptcy law
Bankruptcy Act of 1841
1841–1843
Act of Aug. 19, 1841, ch. 9, 5 Stat. 440
The first federal bankruptcy law to permit voluntary bankruptcy and to reach debtors other than merchants: 17 sections. Never amended; repealed by the Act of Mar. 3, 1843.
Explore the Act and its repeal1843–1867 · No federal bankruptcy law
Bankruptcy Act of 1867
1867–1878
Act of Mar. 2, 1867, ch. 176, 14 Stat. 517
The first federal bankruptcy law to extend to corporations, administered through the federal district courts with registers in bankruptcy: 50 sections. Amended ten times; repealed by the Act of June 7, 1878.
Explore the Act and its amendments1878–1898 · No federal bankruptcy law
Bankruptcy Act of 1898
1898–1978
Act of July 1, 1898, ch. 541, 30 Stat. 544
The first durable federal bankruptcy law, in force for eighty years and the foundation of modern practice: 70 sections. Amended or supplemented by 102 acts, most extensively by the Chandler Act of 1938; repealed by the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, which replaced it with the Bankruptcy Code effective October 1, 1979.
Explore the Act and its amendmentsBankruptcy Code
1978–present
Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, Pub. L. No. 95-598, 92 Stat. 2549 (Nov. 6, 1978)
Title 11 of the United States Code, enacted in eight chapters by the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 and in force since October 1, 1979. Amended by 74 public laws since, most extensively in 1984, 1986, 1994 and 2005 and by the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019.
Explore the Code and its amendments