July 29, 2016 - News from the

United States Bankruptcy Court

Western District of Texas

Free Electronic Noticing Now Available for Debtors through the

Debtor Electronic Bankruptcy Noticing (DeBN) Program

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas is pleased to offer debtors the opportunity to request receipt of court notices and orders via email, instead of U.S. mail. This voluntary, free program is called Debtor Electronic Bankruptcy Noticing (DeBN).

Only documents noticed through the Bankruptcy Noticing Center (BNC) are emailed to participating debtors through the DeBN program. Service requirements for other parties in a bankruptcy case do not change with DeBN.

Debtors may enroll at any time, and the program is available to all debtors with an active bankruptcy case.

DeBN offers debtors a number of advantages:

Debtors receive court notices and orders (e.g., Notice of Meeting of Creditors, Notice Setting or Cancelling Hearing, Order Confirming Chapter 13 Plan, Order Discharging Debtor(s), etc.) by email the same day they are filed by the court.
Debtors can access emailed court notices and orders from a computer or mobile device that has an Internet connection and a free Adobe Acrobat Reader.
There is no charge and no limit to the number of times emailed court notices and orders can be viewed.

To activate a DeBN account, a debtor must file a Debtor’s Electronic Noticing Request (DeBN) Form (available on the court’s website.) Debtors can file a DeBN request form through their attorney electronically, or on their own by mail or over the counter at the Clerk’s Office where their case is filed. If both debtors in a joint case wish to request enrollment in DeBN, each debtor must file a separate request form. Once a DeBN request has been filed, the debtor will receive an email with instructions for activating their DeBN account.

To access the DeBN request form and for additional information, please visit the DeBN web page on the court’s website at www.txwb.uscourts.gov or by clicking here.