Bankruptcy Exemptions by State
A bankruptcy filing does not hand a trustee everything the debtor owns. Exemptions carve out what the debtor keeps, and they are the single largest factor in whether an unsecured claim is worth pursuing at all. Which list applies is not a choice the debtor makes freely, and it is not always the state where the case was filed.
The Short Version
Three things decide what a bankruptcy leaves reachable, and the order matters. First, whether the debtor’s state opted out of the federal exemption list. Second, where the debtor was domiciled for the 730 days before filing, which can point at a state they no longer live in. Third, what the schedules actually disclose, which is a question of records rather than of law. The state index below covers all 52 jurisdictions with a page of its own.
Watch: Bankruptcy Exemptions by State
Why the Exemption List Decides Everything Else
Before the schedules, before the meeting of creditors, before any of it.
An unsecured creditor in a consumer bankruptcy is usually paid out of whatever is left after secured claims and exemptions. Exemptions come off the top. That is why two cases with identical schedules can end very differently: one debtor keeps a house outright, the other has equity a trustee can sell.
The practical consequence for anyone evaluating a claim is that the exemption analysis is not a late-stage detail. It decides whether there is an estate worth administering, and it is knowable early, because the categories are published law rather than anything discovered in the case.
What is not knowable from the statute is what the debtor actually owns. Exemptions apply to disclosed property. Property that never reaches the schedules is not exempt — it is simply undisclosed, which is a different problem with different remedies, and it is usually visible in county records rather than in the case file. If that is the gap in front of you, you can send us the debtor’s name and we will document what the records show.
Federal Scheme or State Scheme?
The column most guides leave out is the third one.
| The question | What section 522 answers | What still has to come from the records |
|---|---|---|
| Which list applies | The debtor’s domicile for the 730 days before filing, not necessarily the filing district. | Where the debtor actually lived across that window — address history, not the address on the petition. |
| Whether a choice exists | Only in states that did not opt out under § 522(b)(2). | Nothing. This one is settled by the state’s statute. |
| How much equity is protected | A category and a figure, adjusted every three years under § 104. | What the property is worth and what is secured against it. |
| Whether there is anything to exempt | Nothing. Section 522 assumes the property is disclosed. | Everything — recorded deeds, titles, liens and business registrations in the debtor’s name. |
The pattern is consistent: the statute settles the framework and the records settle the facts. A creditor who reads only the exemption table knows what would be protected without knowing whether it exists.
The Federal List, the Opt-Out, and the 730-Day Rule
Three provisions of section 522 decide which numbers apply.
11 U.S.C. § 522 sets out a federal exemption scheme and then lets each state take it away. Under § 522(b)(2) a state may “opt out”, requiring its residents to use that state’s own exemptions instead. Most states have. In the minority that have not, a debtor may choose between the two lists — and the choice is between whole schemes, not a pick of the best line from each.
§ 522(b)(3)(A) is the provision that surprises people. The applicable state law is the law of the debtor’s domicile for the 730 days before filing — and if the debtor moved during that window, the law of wherever they were domiciled for the greater part of the 180 days before that. A recent move does not import the new state’s exemptions.
The federal figures adjust on a three-year cycle under § 104, and this is where published sources go wrong. The operative text of § 522(d)(1) still reads $15,000 — the figure Congress set in 1994 — while the figure in force is $31,575, effective 1 April 2025, and it appears only in an editorial adjustment note beneath the section. Anyone quoting the statute’s own words publishes a number less than half the real one. The next adjustment is due 1 April 2028.
Where the Analysis Goes Wrong
None of these is a misreading of the exemption amount. Every one happens earlier than that.
The filing state was assumed to be the exemption state
A debtor who moved fourteen months before filing takes the previous state’s exemptions with them under the 730-day rule. Reading the new state’s list produces a confident answer to the wrong question.
The statute's own words were quoted for the figure
Section 522(d)(1) reads $15,000 on its face. The number in force is $31,575. The difference lives in an adjustment note below the text, and the text is what most sources copy.
Exemptions were analysed before the property was found
An exemption applies to a disclosed asset. Running the analysis on the schedules alone measures what was volunteered, not what exists, and county records frequently show more.
A state-specific figure was carried across a border
Homestead protection ranges from a few thousand dollars to unlimited depending on the state. A figure remembered from one matter is worthless in the next one, and reads as authoritative anyway.
The State Index
All 52 jurisdictions with a bankruptcy-exemption page, each with its own figures and citations.
Exemption amounts, the opt-out position and the categories that matter most vary enough that a general answer is worth very little. Each page below covers one jurisdiction:
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky.
Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota.
Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
Where a jurisdiction is not listed, the same two questions decide it: whether that jurisdiction has opted out of the federal list, and where the debtor was domiciled during the 730-day window. For the home specifically, our homestead exemption in bankruptcy guide goes further than this page does, and for judgment enforcement outside bankruptcy the property exemptions guide is the right starting point.
Where Records Research Fits
Exemptions are law. What the debtor owns is a records question.
The exemption scheme tells you what a debtor may keep in a category. It does not tell you whether they hold real property in another county, whether a vehicle is titled to them or to a relative, or whether a business interest exists that the schedules do not mention. Those are recorded facts, and they are findable.
That is the work we do: identifying the debtor, and documenting the property and recorded interests in their name from county and state records, with the office that holds each record named and dated. Counsel then measures what we document against the exemption list that applies. We do not make that legal call, and we do not tell you whether a claim is worth pursuing.
For the procedural clock around a filing, our 341 meeting of creditors guide covers what is asked and when, and skip tracing services covers how a debtor is located when the address on the petition is stale.
How the Question Gets Answered
The first two you can do yourself, at no cost. We pick it up at the third.
Establish the domicile window
Where the debtor was domiciled for the 730 days before filing, and for the 180 days before that window if they moved inside it. This decides which list applies before any figure is looked up.
Read that state's page
Whether it opted out, the categories it protects and the current figures with their citations. The state index above links all 51.
Check the federal adjustment note, not the section text
If the federal scheme is available and elected, take the figure from the adjustment note under § 104 with its effective date, never from the operative words of § 522(d).
Document what the debtor actually holds
Recorded deeds, vehicle titles, business registrations and the liens against them, from the county and state offices that hold them, each one named and dated.
Hand both to counsel
The applicable list and the documented property. The measurement of one against the other is a legal judgement, and it is theirs.
Who Uses This
Different seats at the same table, all asking what survives a filing.
Unsecured Creditors
Deciding whether an estate is worth the cost of participating, before the deadline to do anything about it has run.
Creditor's Counsel
Needing the property picture documented from records rather than taken from the debtor’s own schedules.
Judgment Holders
Whose judgment has met a bankruptcy filing and who need to know what the filing does and does not reach.
Trustees and Fiduciaries
Testing whether the schedules are complete against what county records show in the debtor’s name.
Our Commitment
We identify a bankruptcy debtor and document the property and recorded interests in their name, naming the office that holds each record and the date it was pulled, and writing down every gap as a gap. We do not give legal advice, we do not decide whether a claim is worth pursuing, and we do not tell you what an exemption protects in your matter — those are questions for counsel. We are not a consumer reporting agency and what we produce is not a consumer report, so it has no place in a tenancy, hiring, credit or insurance decision. We work United States subjects only, and we decline any search whose purpose appears to be locating a victim of domestic violence, a person protected by a restraining order, or somebody who moved to escape an abusive situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which state's exemptions apply if the debtor moved recently?
The law of the state where the debtor was domiciled for the 730 days before filing. If they moved during that window, it is the law of wherever they were domiciled for the greater part of the 180 days before it. A recent move does not import the new state’s list, which is why the filing district and the exemption state are not always the same place.
Can a debtor choose the federal exemptions?
Only in states that did not opt out under § 522(b)(2). Most states have opted out, requiring their own list. Where a choice does exist it is between whole schemes — a debtor elects one list or the other, not the best line from each.
Why do published federal exemption figures disagree?
Because the operative text of the statute still carries the base amounts Congress last wrote into it in 1994, while the figures in force sit in an editorial adjustment note. Section 522(d)(1) reads $15,000; the amount effective 1 April 2025 is $31,575. Sources that quote the section text rather than the note publish the old number.
How often do the federal amounts change?
Every three years under 11 U.S.C. § 104, on 1 April. The current set took effect 1 April 2025 and the next adjustment is due 1 April 2028. State figures change on their own legislative schedules and are not tied to this cycle.
Does an exemption protect property the debtor never disclosed?
No. Exemptions apply to property listed in the schedules. Undisclosed property is not exempt property — it is a separate issue, handled under different provisions, and it is usually found in county records rather than in the case file.
Do you tell us whether a claim is worth pursuing?
No. We document what the debtor owns and where the records are; whether that makes a claim worth pursuing against the applicable exemptions is a legal judgement for your counsel. We are a public-records research firm and have been since 2004.
What do you need to start?
A full name and any identifier you already hold — a last known address, a date of birth, a case number. We work United States subjects only. Verified identifications typically come back within 24 hours.
Is this the same as the homestead exemption guide?
No. That page covers one exemption — the home — in depth across the states. This page covers the whole framework and routes to the full exemption list for each jurisdiction. There is also a separate guide to property exemptions against a judgment creditor, which is a different posture from bankruptcy.
Find Out What the Debtor Actually Holds
Send the name and whatever identifier you have. We document the property and recorded interests in that name from the offices that hold them, so your counsel can measure it against the exemption list that applies. Verified identifications typically within 24 hours. Contact us to get started.
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