Access Madison County Bankruptcy Records
Madison County bankruptcy records are filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Jackson Eastern Division. The Jackson courthouse at 111 South Highland Avenue is the closest federal court to Madison County residents, and it handles all bankruptcy cases from the area including filings from Jackson, the county seat and the largest city in west Tennessee outside of Memphis. This page covers how to search those records, what they contain, and what local resources are available.
Madison County Bankruptcy Quick Facts
Western District Courthouse in Jackson
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Jackson Division, is located at 111 South Highland Avenue, Suite 107, Jackson, TN 38301. The phone number is (731) 421-9300. This courthouse is the primary location for Madison County bankruptcy filings and is one of two courthouse locations in the Western District. The other is in Memphis at 200 Jefferson Avenue, Suite 500, Memphis, TN 38103.
Madison County residents filing for bankruptcy will typically have their 341 meeting of creditors at the Jackson courthouse. The 341 meeting is a brief session with the trustee assigned to the case. You answer questions about your finances under oath. Creditors are allowed to attend but rarely do in routine individual cases. The meeting usually lasts less than 15 minutes for straightforward Chapter 7 filings.
The court's main website is tnwb.uscourts.gov. From there you can download local forms, read the local rules for the Western District, and find links to PACER and other resources. The site also posts the current court calendar and trustee contact information.
If you need to go to the Jackson courthouse, call ahead to confirm hours. The clerk's staff can pull records for older cases, provide certified copies for a fee, and help you locate a case number if you do not have one.
Madison County Circuit Court Records
The Madison County Circuit Court page on the county's official website provides information about state-level civil and criminal proceedings handled at the courthouse in Jackson.
State circuit court records can be important context for bankruptcy research. Creditor lawsuits, civil judgments, and liens that show up in state court often appear in a debtor's bankruptcy schedules as well. Checking both federal and state records gives the most complete view of a person's legal and financial situation.
The Madison County court dockets page provides online access to case schedules and hearing information for state court proceedings in this county.
This resource is maintained separately from the federal bankruptcy court system and covers state-level matters only. Use it alongside PACER for a full picture of any legal actions tied to a Madison County resident or business.
PACER and Case Searches for Madison County
PACER is the online system for accessing federal court records, including all bankruptcy filings from Madison County. Create a free account at pacer.uscourts.gov and select the Western District of Tennessee to search. You can enter a debtor's name, a case number, or the last four digits of a Social Security number to find records.
The cost per page viewed is 10 cents. No document access charge can exceed $3. Quarterly fees under $30 are waived entirely. Because Jackson is a more active bankruptcy court location than many rural county courthouses, Madison County has a solid volume of cases in the system going back many years. Most recent filings are available electronically within one to two days of being submitted.
Use the PACER Case Locator at pcl.uscourts.gov to search across all federal courts if you are not sure which district holds a case. Enter a name and Tennessee as the state. Results link directly to the correct district court. For phone access, call 866-222-8029 and press extension 814 for the Western District VCIS line. The automated system is free and available 24 hours a day. It returns case status and key dates when you provide a case number or debtor name.
Chapter 13 Trustee for the Jackson Area
Chapter 13 cases in the Western District of Tennessee are administered by standing trustees. Timothy Ivy serves as the Chapter 13 trustee for the Jackson area, covering Madison County and the surrounding region. The trustee's role in a Chapter 13 case is to review the debtor's proposed repayment plan, collect monthly plan payments, and distribute those payments to creditors according to the confirmed plan.
If you are a Madison County resident in an active Chapter 13 case, your monthly payments go to the trustee's office, not directly to creditors. The trustee then distributes the funds. If your financial situation changes during the plan, you may need to file an amended plan with the court. Contact the Jackson courthouse or your bankruptcy attorney to start that process.
Creditors receiving Chapter 13 plan payments can contact the trustee's office directly with questions about disbursements. Trustee contact details are posted on the Western District court website at tnwb.uscourts.gov.
What Madison County Bankruptcy Records Contain
A Madison County bankruptcy file begins with the petition and the financial schedules attached to it. The schedules cover real property, personal property, exemptions, secured creditors, priority creditors, and general unsecured creditors. A statement of financial affairs covers income over the past two years, recent large transfers of property, and any lawsuits the debtor was involved in before filing.
Chapter 7 files include a trustee report on assets. Most individual Chapter 7 cases in Madison County are no-asset cases, meaning no property is available to sell for creditors. These cases typically reach discharge in about four months. Chapter 13 files include the repayment plan, any amendments, the court's confirmation order, and a record of monthly payments made during the plan period.
Federal law under 11 U.S.C. Section 107 makes most bankruptcy records public. Full Social Security numbers are excluded from public documents. Bank and account numbers are truncated. Judges can seal documents in limited circumstances, but the docket entry noting the sealed document stays visible. For older archived Madison County cases, contact NARA through archives.gov/research/court-records.
Filing Fees and Bankruptcy Chapters
Madison County filers most often choose Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. Chapter 7 costs $338 and discharges most unsecured debts after the trustee reviews assets. Chapter 13 costs $313 and uses a court-supervised payment plan. Chapter 11, typically used for businesses, costs $1,717. All fees are set by federal court rules and apply across the entire Western District.
If the full fee cannot be paid at once, the court allows installment payments on request. The court may waive the Chapter 7 fee entirely for filers below 150 percent of the federal poverty level. Use Form 103B, available on the court's website, to apply. When a case is filed, the automatic stay begins. Wage garnishments stop, foreclosures pause, and collection calls must cease. Creditors seeking relief from the stay must file a motion with the court.
Both a pre-filing credit counseling course and a post-filing debtor education course are required. These must be completed through U.S. Trustee-approved providers. The financial management course must be done before a discharge will be entered.
Cities in Madison County
Jackson is the county seat of Madison County and the only city in this county with a population over the threshold for a dedicated records page.
Nearby Counties
Madison County is in west Tennessee, bordered by several counties that also send their bankruptcy cases to the Western District court.