Court Notices and Orders Emailed to Debtors (DeBN)

DeBN

Overview of DeBN

Requirements

How DeBN Email Works

Frequently Asked Questions

Form to Request Emails (DeBN)

What is DeBN?

DEBTOR ELECTRONIC BANKRUPTCY NOTICING (DeBN) is a FREE and voluntary service that allows debtors to request delivery of court notices and orders from the bankruptcy court, through the Bankruptcy Noticing Center (BNC), via email instead of U.S. mail.

Who is the BNC?

The BANKRUPTCY NOTICING CENTER (BNC) sends court notices and orders from all bankruptcy courts to debtors and others parties in bankruptcy cases by either mail or email.

What are Court Notices and Orders?

Court notices and orders refer to the documents filed by the bankruptcy court, which may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Notice of Meeting of Creditors
• Notice of Incomplete and/or Deficient Filing
• Notice of Requirement to Complete Course in Financial Management
• Order on Motion for Wage Attachment
• Order on Motion for Relief from Stay
• Order regarding Chapter 13 Plan
• Order of Discharge of Debtor

Who Will Serve Me via Email?

By enrolling in DeBN, a debtor consents ONLY to service of court notices and orders filed by the bankruptcy court via email.  The BNC, on the bankruptcy court’s behalf, will prepare and send the emails. 

DeBN will not email notices, pleadings, or other filings that are to be served by other parties in a bankruptcy case such as the Trustee, creditors or attorneys. These other parties will continue to serve the papers by other means, such as U.S. mail or personal service.

Length of Enrollment in DeBN:

Once the debtor’s DeBN account has been created, the account will continue to remain active, unless:

1. Debtor’s account is automatically disabled due to an email transmission failure (email bounce-back); or
2. Debtor files a request to deactivate the account. A debtor may file this request at any time.

As long as the debtor’s DeBN account is active, all court notices and orders will be emailed to the debtor by the BNC in any current or future bankruptcy or adversary case from any bankruptcy court district in which the debtor’s name and address in that case match the name and address in the debtor’s DeBN account, including cases where the debtor may be listed as a creditor.

How it Works:

Once the debtor files a DeBN request form and the clerk's office creates the DeBN account, all future court notices and orders will be emailed to the debtor.

When the court files a notice or order and sends it to the BNC for service upon the debtor, the BNC will email the notice to the debtor at the end of the day. The court notice or order will be emailed as a single PDF attachment, and a separate email will be sent for each court notice or order that has been filed. 

There is no limit to the number of times the debtor may view the PDF attachment, and the debtor is free to print the attachment, save it to his or her computer, or simply retain the email for viewing at any time.

If the PDF attachment exceeds 8 MB, the notice will be sent to the debtor by U.S. mail instead of email.

How Do I Request DeBN?

1. Complete and print the request form: Debtor's Electronic Bankruptcy Noticing Request (DeBN) form
2. File the completed form with the court.
3. Your account will be automatically activated upon receipt and processing of the request form by the court.

Activation of your account is now complete, and you will receive a confirmation email from the BNC.  From this point forward, all future notices and orders filed by the court will be delivered to you via email, as long as your name and address in the bankruptcy case match your name and address in your DeBN account and there are no email transmission failures.

Keep the Court Advised by Filing an Updated Request Form if You:

• Change your email address;
• File a new case after enrolling in DeBN (so the court can make sure your name and address in your DeBN account match your new case); or
• Wish to deactivate or reactivate your account.