This tool provides general cost estimates for informational purposes only. It is NOT legal advice. Costs vary significantly based on individual circumstances. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for specific guidance.
2026 cost estimates for bankruptcy in North Carolina, including attorney fees, court costs, and other expenses.
As of June 29, 2026, a bankruptcy in North Carolina costs on average $3,150, typically $2,250-$4,500 for a moderate-complexity case, based on sourced attorney-fee and court-cost data. Typical attorney rates run $145 to $270 per hour. A moderate-complexity case typically takes 3-5 years to resolve. Common related costs include chapter 13 filing fee ($313) and credit counseling course ($25-$50).
Data verified: June 29, 2026
| Complexity | Low | Median | High | Typical Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | $750 | $1,150 | $1,900 | 3-4 months |
| Moderate | $2,250 | $3,150 | $4,500 | 3-5 years |
| Complex | $2,700 | $4,500 | $7,200 | 3-5 years |
Last verified: June 2026
$145 – $270/ hour
Median: $210/hr
3-5 years
For moderate complexity cases
New to how attorney fees work? Read the legal fees guide — hourly, flat, and contingency billing explained.
Researching costs in another area? These free tools from our network may help.
Add this calculator to your own site with a copy-paste snippet — includes an attribution link back to this page.
<iframe
id="legalcostcalc-embed"
src="https://legalcostcalc.co/embed/north-carolina/bankruptcy-cost"
title="North Carolina Bankruptcy Cost Calculator"
width="100%"
height="720"
style="border:1px solid #e2e8f0;border-radius:8px;max-width:768px;"
loading="lazy"
></iframe>
<p style="font-size:12px;text-align:center;">
<a href="https://legalcostcalc.co/north-carolina/bankruptcy-cost?utm_source=embed&utm_medium=widget&utm_campaign=embed_snippet" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow ugc">
Powered by LegalCostCalc
</a>
</p>
<script>
window.addEventListener("message", function (event) {
if (!event.data || event.data.type !== "legalcostcalc:embed-resize") return;
var frame = document.getElementById("legalcostcalc-embed");
if (frame && typeof event.data.height === "number") {
frame.style.height = event.data.height + "px";
}
});
</script>Bankruptcy cost formation splits along the two most common filing types. Chapter 7 (liquidation) is a shorter federal process, so attorney fees are usually charged as a flat fee covering the whole case. Chapter 13 (repayment plan) requires the attorney to stay involved for the full 3-5 year repayment period, so the fee is higher and is often split into an upfront portion plus ongoing amounts paid through the repayment plan itself.
On top of the attorney fee, every filer pays a federal court filing fee (set by statute, the same nationwide regardless of state) plus mandatory credit counseling and debtor education course fees. Case complexity within either chapter — multiple creditors, contested exemptions, business assets, or a means-test dispute — adds attorney hours beyond the base flat fee, which is why complex-case costs run well above the simple-case median shown on this page.
Take a moderate-complexity bankruptcy matter in North Carolina. The recorded median total is $3,150, with reported quotes clustering between $2,250 and $4,500. Each statutory line below is sized against that median.
Added together the itemised lines come to $363–$413, which leaves roughly $2,737–$2,787 of the North Carolina median as professional time — the part that differs between quotes. One further recorded fee is not itemised above and is not in that total.
At $3,150, the median bankruptcy cost in North Carolina runs 9% below the $3,479 national average across all 50 states and DC.
North Carolina carries 3 rows — simple, $750–$1,900 at $125–$230/hr over 3-4 months; moderate, $2,250–$4,500 at $145–$270/hr over 3-5 years; complex, $2,700–$7,200 at $170–$335/hr over 3-5 years — on 5 shared citations. They put it below the midpoint of the table without reaching the bottom quarter.
$3,150 is a median, not the middle of the band — $900 above the $2,250 floor, $1,350 under the $4,500 ceiling. Every rank below is out of 47.
North Carolina occupies the 32nd row of 47 for a bankruptcy. Its $3,150 median trails the $3,600 table midpoint by $450, which is 13% — close enough that a single firm's quote can straddle both figures.
Florida ($3,150) and Georgia ($3,100) bracket North Carolina inside a $50 window — narrow enough that 32nd is close to arbitrary.
5 tracked states — Idaho, Florida, Georgia, Indiana among them — record a median within three percent of North Carolina's $3,150. The figure sits in the densest part of the bankruptcy distribution, where a rank change of several rows costs only a few hundred dollars.
On hourly rate alone North Carolina is 36th of 47 at $210 an hour, 4 places behind its 32nd position on total cost.
| Rank | State | Median | Against North Carolina |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Ohio | $3,500 | +$350 |
| 27 | Maine | $3,350 | +$200 |
| 28 | Utah | $3,350 | +$200 |
| 29 | Missouri | $3,300 | +$150 |
| 30 | Idaho | $3,200 | +$50 |
| 31 | Florida | $3,150 | −$0 |
| 32 | North Carolina | $3,150 | — |
| 33 | Georgia | $3,100 | −$50 |
| 34 | Indiana | $3,100 | −$50 |
| 35 | North Dakota | $3,100 | −$50 |
| 36 | South Carolina | $3,050 | −$100 |
| 37 | Wyoming | $3,000 | −$150 |
| 38 | Tennessee | $2,950 | −$200 |
The rows within ten percent are lopsided: 8 below North Carolina against 4 above. $0 up or $50 down moves North Carolina a row, so a downward revision would cost the state far more places than an equivalent upward one would gain — the 32nd position is propped up by a thin bankruptcy field above it and a crowded one beneath.
Climbing five places would mean passing Maine, Utah, Missouri, Idaho, Florida and adding $200 to the $3,150 recorded here.
Five places down means passing under Georgia, Indiana, North Dakota, South Carolina, Wyoming: $150.
$1,250 short of Hawaii ($4,400), $800 clear of Kentucky ($2,350).
At $210 an hour, the $3,150 median represents about 15 hours of attorney time — a matter measured in days of work, not weeks. The peer median is 14 hours, so 1 more hours of work sit behind the North Carolina figure than behind the typical state's.
The escalation is comparatively shallow on hours. A complex bankruptcy costs 3.9x a simple one in North Carolina, but the implied workload only rises 2.6x — 7 hours at $170 becomes 18 hours at $250 — meaning the senior-rate premium of 1.47x carries an unusually large share of the increase.
From $2,250 to $4,500 the moderate band is $2,250 wide, close to the $2,550 peer median. End to end that is 11 hours at $210.
A third ordering: by implied hours North Carolina is 12th of 47 at 15 hours, 20 places above its cost rank of 32nd on cost — more work behind the same bankruptcy money.
60% up the $2,250–$4,500 band sits the $3,600 table midpoint, buying 17 hours at $210 against the 15 the local bankruptcy median implies — 2 hours apart.
| Measure | North Carolina | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Moderate median | $3,150 | 32nd |
| Hourly median | $210 | 36th |
| Implied hours | 15 | 12th |
| Simple median | $1,150 | 46th |
| Complex median | $4,500 | 32nd |
$210 an hour puts North Carolina between Tennessee ($220) and North Dakota ($210) — not the bankruptcy cost pairing.
North Dakota records the same $210: rate cannot separate them, totals do.
$3,150 buys 19 hours at $170, 15 at $210, 13 at $250.
| Rank | State | Median rate |
|---|---|---|
| 34 | Missouri | $220 |
| 35 | Tennessee | $220 |
| 36 | North Carolina | $210 |
| 37 | North Dakota | $210 |
| 38 | Mississippi | $205 |
Rank is not stable across the tiers, and the direction matters. North Carolina runs 46th at the simple tier, 32nd at moderate, 32nd at complex of 47 — it climbs 14 places as the matter gets harder. Straightforward bankruptcy work is recorded at ordinary prices here; contested work is not.
$1,150 is 46th of 47 on a straightforward bankruptcy, under Kentucky ($1,150) and over South Carolina ($1,100), $350 under the $1,500 tier midpoint.
$4,500 is 32nd of 47 once contested, between Missouri ($4,500) and Ohio ($4,500), $600 off the $5,100 tier midpoint.
$350 separates the simple ceiling of $1,900 from the moderate floor of $2,250, so the first escalation is a clean break, while the moderate and complex bands overlap from $2,700 upward. The expensive end of a routine bankruptcy and the cheap end of a contested one are the same money in North Carolina.
| Tier | North Carolina | Rank | Tier midpoint | Implied hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| simple | $1,150 | 46th | $1,500 | 7 |
| moderate | $3,150 | 32nd | $3,600 | 15 |
| complex | $4,500 | 32nd | $5,100 | 18 |
$1,150 drops North Carolina to 46th of 47 on straightforward matters, 14 below its moderate position and $350 (23%) under the $1,500 tier midpoint.
7 implied hours at $170: 47% of the moderate tier's 15, over 3-4 months.
Kentucky ($1,150) and South Carolina ($1,100) bracket it — a $50 window.
3 states sit within three percent of the $1,150 here, against 5 at the moderate row.
$4,500 keeps North Carolina at 32nd on contested matters, the same place it holds on the headline figure, $600 (12%) under the $5,100 tier midpoint.
18 implied hours at $250: 120% of the moderate tier's 15, over 3-5 years.
Missouri ($4,500) and Ohio ($4,500) bracket it — a $0 window.
4 states sit within three percent of the $4,500 here, against 5 at the moderate row.
| Rank | State | Median |
|---|---|---|
| 44 | Arkansas | $1,150 |
| 45 | Kentucky | $1,150 |
| 46 | North Carolina | $1,150 |
| 47 | South Carolina | $1,100 |
| Rank | State | Median |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | Wyoming | $4,600 |
| 31 | Missouri | $4,500 |
| 32 | North Carolina | $4,500 |
| 33 | Ohio | $4,500 |
| 34 | West Virginia | $4,450 |
In North Carolina a bankruptcy is 6th of 8 at $3,150, between Personal Injury and Real Estate Closing. At 37% of Criminal Defense ($8,600).
The state does not rank uniformly. North Carolina is 32nd of 47 for Bankruptcy but 47th for Divorce, a 15-place spread across the matter types tracked here, so its 32nd on bankruptcy says little about what the other lines cost.
North Carolina is not equally priced in every practice area. Measured against each matter's own midpoint, Immigration runs 9% below its own midpoint while Estate Planning / Probate runs 28% below its own midpoint — a 19-point spread between the extremes.
North Carolina's practice areas fan out more than most: its largest tracked median is 5.7x its smallest, against 5.1x for the typical state. Prices here are set matter by matter rather than by one statewide level.
0 of 7 matter types rank North Carolina in the upper third, 6 in the lower, 1 between; bankruptcy is 32nd.
In percentile terms it sits at the 33th percentile of the 47 tracked states.
| Matter | Simple | Moderate | Complex | Hours | Rank | vs mid | Above |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Criminal Defense | $2,700 | $8,600 | $23,300 | 34 | 37th | −16% | Iowa |
| Divorce | $2,500 | $6,900 | $17,650 | 28 | 47th | −19% | South Dakota |
| DUI / DWI | $2,750 | $6,400 | $15,250 | 28 | 36th | −14% | Tennessee |
| Immigration | $1,750 | $4,300 | $8,750 | 19 | 35th | −9% | North Dakota |
| Personal Injury | $1,250 | $4,200 | $12,950 | — | — | −19% | — |
| Bankruptcy | $1,150 | $3,150 | $4,500 | 15 | 32nd | −12% | Florida |
| Real Estate Closing | $900 | $1,850 | $4,000 | 9 | 36th | −17% | Ohio |
| Estate Planning / Probate | $500 | $1,500 | $4,800 | 7 | 42nd | −28% | South Dakota |
Simple tier. $1,150 ÷ $170 = about 7 hours, spread over 3-4 months at roughly $329 a month. The $2,000 step to the moderate tier is 8 more hours at that rate.
Work against price. $3,150 to $4,500 is a $1,350 step weighted toward price: 3 more hours at $210 is $630, but $250 across 18 hours adds $720 — 53% of it.
Borrowing the wrong row. Georgia ($3,100) is $50 light, Florida ($3,150) is $0 heavy — but the $3,600 table midpoint is out by $450, 9x the neighbour error.
Contested against simple. At North Carolina's own recorded figures, $4,500 buys 3.9 matters at the $1,150 simple median — or, counted in time, 18 implied hours against 7, a factor of 2.6 — the two ratios differing because the rate rises with the tier.
Verified June 2026. Filing fees change on the North Carolinacourt's own schedule; billing models are covered in the legal fees guide.
This tool provides general cost estimates for informational purposes only. It is NOT legal advice. Costs vary significantly based on individual circumstances. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for specific guidance.