Find Bankruptcy Records in St. Mary's County
Bankruptcy records for St. Mary's County, Maryland are maintained by the Greenbelt Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland, and this guide explains how to access those federal records using PACER, the free VCIS phone line, and other official tools, while also covering the St. Mary's County Circuit Court Clerk's office for related local court records and services.
St. Mary's County Overview
Federal Bankruptcy Court for St. Mary's County
All bankruptcy cases from St. Mary's County are handled by the Greenbelt Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland. The courthouse is at 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 closed from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM each day.
As of December 10, 2025, the Greenbelt Division no longer accepts in-person payments of any kind. If you need to pay a filing fee for a St. Mary's County case, you must use one of three options: pay online at pay.gov, mail your payment to the Baltimore Division at 101 W. Lombard Street, Suite 8530, Baltimore, MD 21201, or go to Baltimore in person. Do not bring cash or a check to the Greenbelt courthouse expecting to pay there. This rule applies to all filers, regardless of case type or chapter.
St. Mary's County is part of the 7th Judicial Circuit for state court matters, which it shares with Calvert, Charles, and Prince George's Counties. But judicial circuits are a state court concept. The bankruptcy court does not use circuit divisions the same way. All Southern Maryland counties use the Greenbelt federal division. The official court site is at mdb.uscourts.gov.
| 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 | No in-person payments at Greenbelt. Use pay.gov, mail to Baltimore, or pay at Baltimore courthouse. |
| Judicial Circuit | 7th Judicial Circuit (Calvert, Charles, Prince George's, St. Mary's) |
St. Mary's County Circuit Court Clerk
The St. Mary's County Circuit Court Clerk is Debra J. "Debbie" Burch. This office handles state civil matters, land records, marriage licenses, and civil ceremonies. It does not handle federal bankruptcy cases. Still, this office is useful if you are looking for related state court records or property records in St. Mary's County.
The mailing address is P.O. Box 676, Leonardtown, MD 20650. The physical courthouse is in Leonardtown. You can reach the office at 301-475-7844, extension 74563. For marriage-related calls, use extension 74580. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Copy fees are $0.50 per page, and certified copies cost $5.50. The office has been serving St. Mary's County since 1658, making it one of the oldest court offices in the state.
Note that the St. Mary's County Clerk does not process passport applications. If you need a passport, go to the Lexington Park Post Office at 21745 S Coral Drive. The phone number there is 301-870-2849. Marriage licenses in St. Mary's County cost $35.00 and must be paid in cash or by money order only. Civil ceremonies run Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM and require an appointment. The ceremony fee is $25.00.
For remote court proceedings, the Clerk's office has a motion form (CC-DC-110) for requesting remote participation. If court is closed due to weather, you can call the inclement weather line at 301-475-4200, extension 4656. Court schedule information is also posted on the St. Mary's County Circuit Court page.
The St. Mary's County District Court directory provides contact information for the state court handling smaller civil and criminal matters at the local level.
The District Court handles small claims and minor civil actions. Bankruptcy filings require the federal court in Greenbelt.
| Circuit Court Clerk | Debra J. "Debbie" Burch |
|---|---|
| Mailing Address | P.O. Box 676, Leonardtown, MD 20650 |
| Phone | 301-475-7844 ext. 74563 (general), ext. 74580 (marriage) |
| Hours | Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM |
| Copy Fees | $0.50/page; certified copies $5.50 |
How to Look Up St. Mary's County Bankruptcy Cases
The VCIS phone line is the fastest free method. Call 1-866-222-8029 at any time. The automated system lets you search by debtor name or case number. You get the chapter, filing date, status, and trustee. No account needed. No fee. This is a smart first step before using PACER.
PACER gives you the full case record. Register at pacer.uscourts.gov. Log in, choose the District of Maryland, and search by name or case number. You can pull petitions, creditor lists, discharge orders, and all other filed documents. The cost is $0.10 per page, capped at $3.00 per document. Accounts under $30.00 per quarter are not charged. For most researchers, the quarterly waiver means PACER costs nothing.
The PACER Case Locator at pcl.uscourts.gov searches all federal courts at once. If you are not sure whether a case was filed in Maryland or another state, start here. It searches by name or the last four digits of an SSN. Once you find the case, go to the relevant PACER court to get the full record.
The Maryland Judiciary Case Search covers state courts only, not federal bankruptcy. But it is useful for finding related state civil judgments, collection actions, or civil suits involving the same parties. Use it as a secondary check after you search the federal system.
For land records in St. Mary's County, use MDLandRec.net, which is free and covers recorded deeds, liens, and mortgages. If a bankruptcy case involves real property in St. Mary's County, you can trace ownership and encumbrances through this tool.
The St. Mary's County Clerk's page on the Maryland Courts website is shown below, providing access to clerk office details and state court resources.
This page links to land records, marriage services, and other clerk functions. For bankruptcy, you still need to use the federal court tools described above.
Filing Fees for St. Mary's County Bankruptcy Cases
Federal bankruptcy filing fees apply to all cases, including those from St. Mary's County. Chapter 7 costs $338 to file. Chapter 13 costs $313. Chapter 11 costs $1,738. These are the standard fees listed on the court's fee schedule at mdb.uscourts.gov/forms/filing-fees.
All payments for St. Mary's County cases go through pay.gov online, by mail to the Baltimore courthouse, or in person at the Baltimore Division. The Greenbelt office no longer accepts payment. You should confirm the exact amount before submitting, and keep a copy of your payment confirmation. If you have questions, call the Greenbelt Division at (301) 344-8016 during business hours.
For PACER access, the cost is $0.10 per page capped at $3.00 per document. SmartScan retrieval for paper records costs $11.00 to start plus $9.90 for the first 30 pages, then $0.65 per page up to a 100-page maximum.
The St. Mary's County Circuit Court page is shown below with information on state court services and local judicial resources.
This page is for state court information only and does not cover federal bankruptcy filings.
Legal Help for St. Mary's County Residents
Several organizations can help St. Mary's County residents who need advice about bankruptcy or related debt matters. Free legal help is available for those who qualify based on income.
Maryland Legal Aid Southern Maryland serves St. Mary's County. The office is at 15364 Prince Frederick Rd, Hughesville, MD. The phone number is (301) 932-6661. You can also call the statewide line at (866) MD-LAW-4U. Their website at mdlab.org has an online intake form and a list of services. Legal Aid handles bankruptcy, debt, foreclosure, and consumer protection cases for income-eligible residents of St. Mary's County.
The People's Law Library at peoples-law.org/where-file-bankruptcy walks through the bankruptcy filing process in Maryland in plain terms. It covers what forms you need, where to file, and what happens after you submit your petition. This is free and does not require registration.
The passport office in St. Mary's County is at the Lexington Park Post Office (21745 S Coral Drive), not at the courthouse. The clerk's office at mdcourts.gov/clerks/stmarys/passport has more detail on what the clerk does and does not handle.
The clerk's site clarifies that passports must be handled at the post office, not at the courthouse, which is a common point of confusion for St. Mary's County residents.
Cities in St. Mary's County
St. Mary's County includes communities such as Leonardtown, Lexington Park, California, Great Mills, and Mechanicsville. None of these communities meet the population threshold for individual city pages. All bankruptcy cases from any address in St. Mary's County are filed through the Greenbelt Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
Nearby Counties
These counties border St. Mary's County. Each has its own county page with federal court and clerk information. Verify your address before searching for cases, since county boundaries matter when looking up court records.