Prince George's County Bankruptcy Records
Bankruptcy records for Prince George's County are filed and maintained by the Greenbelt Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland, which serves this high-volume county and processes a large number of Chapter 7, Chapter 13, and Chapter 11 cases each year. If you need to search for a case, verify a filing, or get copies of court documents, this guide covers every method available to you, from free phone lookups to PACER's online case database.
Prince George's County Overview
Federal Bankruptcy Court for Prince George's County
All bankruptcy cases in Prince George's County go through the Greenbelt Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland. This is a federal court, not a state court. The Maryland Judiciary Case Search website will not show you bankruptcy records because those are kept at the federal level only. You need to use federal tools like PACER or the VCIS phone line to look up cases from Prince George's County.
The Greenbelt courthouse handles a very high volume of filings because Prince George's County is one of the most populous counties in the state. That means wait times can be longer, and you should plan ahead if you need to visit in person or call for help. The intake counter is open from 9 AM to 1 PM and then reopens from 2 PM to 4 PM, Monday through Friday. As of December 10, 2025, the Greenbelt Division no longer accepts in-person payments. You must pay filing fees through pay.gov online, by mailing a check to the Baltimore Division at 101 W. Lombard Street, Suite 8530, or by going to Baltimore in person. Do not show up at Greenbelt with cash or a check.
The Greenbelt courthouse address is 6500 Cherrywood Lane, Suite 300, Greenbelt, MD 20770. The main phone number is (301) 344-8016. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, with the intake counter closing from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM. For general information about the court, visit the official site at mdb.uscourts.gov.
The lead-in to the court search portal is on the official court website. Below is a screenshot of the Prince George's County District Court directory, which handles state-level civil matters separate from federal bankruptcy cases.
The Maryland District Court directory for Upper Marlboro lists contact information for the state court in Prince George's County, which is separate from the federal bankruptcy court.
The state court handles civil and criminal matters at the local level. For bankruptcy cases, you need the federal Greenbelt Division listed above.
| Greenbelt Division |
Federal Courthouse 6500 Cherrywood Lane, Suite 300 Greenbelt, MD 20770 Phone: (301) 344-8016 |
|---|---|
| Hours | Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM (intake counter closes 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM) |
| Payment Note | No in-person payments at Greenbelt since Dec 10, 2025. Pay via pay.gov, mail to Baltimore, or pay in Baltimore. |
| County Seat | Upper Marlboro, MD |
| Judicial Circuit | 7th Judicial Circuit (Calvert, Charles, Prince George's, St. Mary's) |
How to Search Prince George's County Bankruptcy Records
You have several good options when searching for bankruptcy records tied to Prince George's County. The fastest free method is the Voice Case Information System, which you can call any time of day or night. PACER gives you the most detail. And the PACER Case Locator lets you search across all federal districts at once if you are not sure where a case was filed.
The Voice Case Information System (VCIS) is completely free. Call 1-866-222-8029 and follow the prompts to look up a case by name or case number. The system is automated and runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It gives you the status of a case, the filing date, the chapter type, and the trustee's name. This is a good first step before you pay for PACER access to Prince George's County records.
PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) gives you full document access for any bankruptcy case in Prince George's County. You register at pacer.uscourts.gov. The cost is $0.10 per page, but each document has a cap of $3.00, and your account is waived entirely if you spend less than $30.00 in a given quarter. Once you log in, search the District of Maryland court and filter by the Greenbelt Division to find Prince George's County cases. You can download petitions, schedules, plans, and discharge orders directly from PACER.
The PACER Case Locator at pcl.uscourts.gov searches across all federal bankruptcy courts in the country at once. If you are not sure which district a person filed in, this is where to start. You can search by name, SSN (last four digits), or case number. Results show you which court holds the case so you can then look it up in detail through PACER.
The Prince George's County Circuit Court handles state civil matters, which do not include bankruptcy. That said, their site has useful links and contact details if you are trying to find related civil judgments or property records connected to a bankruptcy case in Prince George's County.
For land records tied to bankruptcy proceedings, use MDLandRec.net, which is a free state resource showing deed transfers and liens in Prince George's County. This can help you trace property that was involved in a bankruptcy estate.
The Maryland Judiciary Case Search covers state courts only. You will not find federal bankruptcy cases here. But you may find related state civil suits, landlord-tenant cases, or collection actions that involve the same parties as a Prince George's County bankruptcy.
The Prince George's County courts portal provides access to state court records, court schedules, and general guidance about local court services in Upper Marlboro.
Note that this portal covers state-level matters. Bankruptcy filings are federal and will not appear in this system.
Bankruptcy Filing Fees for Prince George's County Cases
Filing fees are set at the federal level and apply to all cases in the District of Maryland, including those from Prince George's County. The fees vary by chapter type. These fees are paid to the federal court, not to any county office.
Chapter 7 carries a $338 filing fee. This is the most common form of bankruptcy and results in a discharge of most unsecured debts, such as credit cards and medical bills. Chapter 13 costs $313 to file. In a Chapter 13 case, you propose a repayment plan lasting three to five years and keep your assets while paying creditors over time. Chapter 11, which is used mostly by businesses and some high-debt individuals, costs $1,738 to file. These figures are listed on the court's official fee schedule.
As noted above, the Greenbelt Division no longer accepts payment in person. All fees must go through pay.gov, the Baltimore courthouse, or by mail to Baltimore. Make sure you have your case number and the correct amount before submitting payment. Contact the court at (301) 344-8016 if you have any questions about how to pay.
PACER document access costs $0.10 per page with a $3.00 cap per document. Accounts spending under $30.00 per quarter are not charged.
SmartScan is another retrieval option for paper records. It costs $11.00 to start a retrieval request, plus $9.90 for the first 30 pages and $0.65 per page after that. There is a 100-page maximum per request. This service is useful for older Prince George's County cases that may not be digitized in PACER yet.
Legal Help for Prince George's County Residents
If you need legal advice about a bankruptcy case in Prince George's County, several organizations can help. Some offer free consultations. Others work on a sliding scale based on income. Getting proper legal help before filing can prevent costly mistakes later.
Maryland Legal Aid serves Prince George's County through its Southern Maryland office at 15364 Prince Frederick Rd, Hughesville, MD. The phone number is (301) 932-6661. You can also reach Maryland Legal Aid through the statewide line at (866) MD-LAW-4U. Their website at mdlab.org has a full list of offices, eligibility info, and online intake forms. Legal Aid focuses on low-income individuals and can assist with bankruptcy, debt, and related civil legal matters.
The People's Law Library at peoples-law.org/where-file-bankruptcy is a free online resource that explains the bankruptcy process in plain language. It covers where to file in Maryland, what forms you need, and what to expect at each step. This is a good place to start if you are doing research on your own before deciding whether to hire an attorney.
Maryland Legal Aid can be reached at (866) MD-LAW-4U or online at mdlab.org. Eligibility is based on income.
The Maryland Legal Aid site also has information about debt collection, foreclosure, and consumer rights, which often go hand in hand with bankruptcy cases in Prince George's County.
The People's Law Library filing guide is shown below, captured from the official site. It provides step-by-step guidance on the process.
This resource covers both the Greenbelt and Baltimore divisions, so it applies directly to Prince George's County cases.
Cities in Prince George's County
Prince George's County contains dozens of cities, towns, and communities. All bankruptcy cases originating in any of these areas go through the Greenbelt Division. The county seat is Upper Marlboro, where the Circuit Court is located for state matters.
Other communities in Prince George's County include College Park, Laurel, Hyattsville, Greenbelt, Landover, Oxon Hill, Largo, Seat Pleasant, and Bladensburg. None of these cities meet the population threshold for their own pages, but all of them file bankruptcy cases through the Greenbelt Division.
Nearby Counties
These counties border Prince George's County. If you live near a county line, check which county your address falls in before looking up bankruptcy filings or filing a new case.