The United States bankruptcy courts are a system of federal courts authorized to hear bankruptcy cases. The courts were established in their current form by the Bankruptcy Amendment Act of 1984.
Under the act, federal district courts have original jurisdiction over bankruptcy cases in their districts and are authorized to refer such cases to a bankruptcy court for their district.
As of May 2023, there were 90 federal bankruptcy courts. The Districts of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands handle bankruptcy cases directly rather than through a bankruptcy court. The Eastern and Western districts of Arkansas share a single bankruptcy court. All other federal district courts have an associated bankruptcy court.
Judges on federal bankruptcy courts are appointed to 14-year terms by judges of the appeals court with jurisdiction over the district.[1]
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