Only in a very limited circumstance and with court approval can the case filing fee be waived. For chapter 7 individual cases only, there is a procedure for proceeding In Forma Pauperis if the debtor’s income is less than 150 percent of the official poverty line applicable to your family size and you are unable to pay the fee in installments. If you cannot afford to pay the fee either in full at the time of filing or in installments, then you may request a waiver of the filing fee by completing Form B103B and filing it with the Clerk of Court. A judge will decide whether you have to pay the fee.

Alternatively, an individual debtor (but not a corporation or partnership) who is unable to pay the full fee at the time of filing may, at the time of commencing the case, file an application to pay the fee in installments using official Form B103A. If you file an application to pay in installments, you are required by Local Rule 1006-1(c) to pay 25% of the fee at the time you commence your case, and the remainder of the fee in continued payments of 25% commencing within thirty (30) days of the petition date and every twenty-eight (28) days thereafter.