The act required the federal judiciary to  collect and report certain new aggregate statistics. Limitations Exist to the Availability, Accuracy, and Accessibility of Information on Consumer Bankruptcies

AOUSC publishes certain aggregate statistics related to the numbers of  bankruptcy filings. Documents within individual case files contain a range  of information, but few data exist on the causes of bankruptcy and the  characteristics of bankruptcy filers. There has been long-standing  recognition that much of the data in the bankruptcy system may not be  accurate—largely because much of the data is self-reported by debtors in  the official bankruptcy forms—although these data are sufficiently reliable  for the purposes of initiating a bankruptcy case. Several factors create  challenges to improving the bankruptcy data system. Most notably,  facilitating public access to data in bankruptcy files—which can contain  highly personal information—can raise privacy and security concerns. The  federal judiciary also has noted that collection of demographic or other  additional data is not its mission and would require added resources;  further, the judicial process may not be well suited to capturing certain  types of information, such as the reasons a consumer files for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy case files are publicly accessible, but not in a format that  readily allows for compilation and analysis. The U.S. Party/Case Index was  designed to allow nationwide searches of individual bankruptcy cases, and  although it serves that function, its search parameters are limited and the  results do not include much of the data held by the system. Public accessibility must balance privacy and security concerns. Collection of demographic and other additional data is not the  judiciary’s mission. A range of bankruptcy stakeholders, including some judges, researchers,  and Trustee Program staff, have suggested improving public access to data  that already exist in the judiciary’s data systems. Bankruptcy Reform Act’s Data Requirements Provide Some Benefits, but Several Factors Limit the Usefulness of the Data

The Bankruptcy Reform Act required AOUSC to compile and report  certain statistics on consumer bankruptcy cases on an annual basis, and it  required the Trustee Program to require uniform forms for the final  reports submitted by private trustees at the end of each bankruptcy case. The New Data Requirements Will Provide Some Additional Information about Consumer Bankruptcies

The new annual statistics and the uniform final reports required under the  Bankruptcy Reform Act will provide some additional information that may  be useful in understanding the characteristics of consumer bankruptcy  cases and differences among such cases across the country. Releasing Case-Level Data Used for Bankruptcy Reform Act Statistics Could Be Beneficial

AOUSC currently has no plans to provide public access to the raw, case- level data used to generate the statistics required by the Bankruptcy  Reform Act. A variety of stakeholders in the bankruptcy process told us  that these case-level data would be useful—despite their limitations—if  made publicly available as a data set. Further, Trustee Program staff and a  researcher told us that access to the case-level data could enable external  parties to assess their reliability and limitations—for example, by verifying  the data against the case files in PACER and removing erroneous data  values. Congress is similarly limited in its ability to make bankruptcy  policy and formulate legislation based on empirical data rather than  anecdotal evidence. Better access to bankruptcy data already held in the judiciary’s  data systems could facilitate scholarly research, the informed allocation of  bankruptcy resources, and the formulation of bankruptcy policy. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our report objectives were to examine (1) the availability and accessibility  of data from the bankruptcy system and (2) the potential benefits and  limitations of the new data requirements of the Bankruptcy Abuse  Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (Bankruptcy Reform  Act) in addressing these issues.
Why GAO Did This Study

There have been long-standing questions about a lack of comprehensive and reliable information on consumer bankruptcies. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (Bankruptcy Reform Act) required the federal judiciary's Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AOUSC) to collect and report certain additional bankruptcy statistics and required the U.S. Trustee Program, which oversees bankruptcy case administration, to develop uniform final reports that provide certain specified data about each case. GAO was asked to examine the (1) availability and accessibility of data from the personal bankruptcy system and (2) potential benefits and limitations of the new data requirements of the Bankruptcy Reform Act in addressing these issues. GAO examined bankruptcy data systems and obtained documentation and interviewed staff from AOUSC, bankruptcy courts, and the Trustee Program; groups representing consumers and creditors; data providers; and academic researchers and other stakeholders.

What GAO Found

There are limitations to the availability, accuracy, and accessibility of data on consumer bankruptcies. AOUSC publishes certain aggregate statistics related to the numbers of filings, but few data are available on the causes of bankruptcy and the characteristics of bankruptcy filers. Studies show that the information in the bankruptcy case files is not always accurate because much of it is self-reported by debtors who frequently make errors, although these data are sufficiently reliable for the purposes of initiating a bankruptcy case. Bankruptcy case files are publicly accessible through the Public Access to Court Electronic Records system, but not in a format that allows the data they hold to be easily extracted and used for research or analysis. Another system, the U.S. Party/Case Index, was designed for nationwide searches for individual cases; while it serves that purpose, its search parameters are limited and the output does not include much of the data held in the system. Several factors create challenges to expanding data on consumer bankruptcies--most notably, privacy and security concerns related to facilitating public access to the highly personal data contained in bankruptcy files. The federal judiciary also has noted that collection of demographic and other additional data is not its mission and would require further resources. Nonetheless, a range of bankruptcy stakeholders, including some judges, researchers, and U.S. Trustee Program staff, have suggested that the judiciary identify and implement practicable ways to improve public access to data that already exist in its data systems, which could facilitate scholarly research and the formulation of bankruptcy policy and legislation. While the data requirements of the Bankruptcy Reform Act are a step toward making more information on consumer bankruptcies available, their value is likely to be limited. The new annual statistics will provide some additional information that may be helpful in identifying differences in bankruptcy cases across judicial districts. In addition, the uniform final reports required by the act will standardize the data in the reports and assist the U.S. Trustee Program in overseeing case administration. However, for several reasons the statistics required under the act are likely to be of limited value. For example, many of the statistics are relatively narrow in scope and were not intended to provide certain key information, such as the causes of bankruptcy and the demographic characteristics of filers. Further, the AOUSC data are provided as aggregated statistics--rather than data on individual cases--which limits the extent to which they can be analyzed. As such, a variety of stakeholders in the bankruptcy process told us that the underlying case-level data used to generate the statistics could be useful if made publicly available as a data set. AOUSC currently has no plans to provide public access to these case-level data, in part, officials say, because they first need to identify and address privacy and security issues. GAO acknowledges the importance of those issues, but believes that better access to bankruptcy data already held in the judiciary's data systems--such as these case-level data--would allow external parties to assess the data's reliability and limitations and could facilitate empirical research and the formulation of bankruptcy policy.