Federal bankruptcy courts are not generally closed after a cybersecurity incident affecting BAE Systems IT, the contractor that services the Bankruptcy Noticing Center (BNC). Courts continue accepting filings, opening cases and processing documents through CM/ECF, and Notices of Electronic Filing (NEFs) continue to be delivered. The disruption has halted or delayed BNC production and distribution of bankruptcy notices nationwide, including notices for section 341 meetings of creditors.
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reported the incident on October 15, 2026. The Eastern District of Texas said the disruption began October 9 and affects electronic and paper notice processing across the country. Anyone facing a missed notice or deadline should follow the local bankruptcy court’s orders and request relief when the outage causes demonstrable prejudice.
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What the cyberattack disrupted
The BNC produces and transmits bankruptcy notices for every federal bankruptcy court. Its systems and supporting websites became unavailable after the incident involving BAE Systems IT. The interruption affects both electronic and paper notice workflows, not just a public-facing webpage.
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- BNC production and distribution of bankruptcy notices are halted or delayed.
- Service of section 341 meeting-of-creditors notices is affected.
- The websites bnc.uscourts.gov, bankruptcynotices.uscourts.gov and notices.uscourts.gov are unavailable.
- The National Creditor Registration Service is unavailable.
Officials have not published counts of delayed notices, affected cases, affected parties or compromised records. The authoritative notices establish nationwide scope and service disruption but do not provide a quantitative incident total.
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Are bankruptcy courts closed?
No general court closure was announced. The Eastern District of Texas stated that it would continue accepting filings, opening cases and processing documents under standard procedures. The District of Hawaii likewise said scheduled hearings would proceed unless the court orders otherwise.
The outage is specific to BNC notice and order processing. It does not disable the ordinary CM/ECF filing process. A court can still issue and docket documents, while the separate BNC process that distributes certain notices remains impaired.
What still works and what does not
| Task or communication | Status during the outage | Practical implication |
|---|---|---|
| CM/ECF filings, case openings and document processing | Continuing under standard procedures | File according to the applicable court’s ordinary rules and deadlines. |
| CM/ECF Notices of Electronic Filing (NEFs) | Generated and distributed normally | Registered CM/ECF recipients should continue monitoring NEF email and docket activity. |
| BNC electronic and paper bankruptcy notices | Production and distribution halted or delayed | Recipients may not receive routine BNC notices on the normal schedule. |
| Section 341 meeting-of-creditors notices | Affected by the BNC disruption | Check the docket and local court instructions rather than assuming a mailed or electronic BNC notice was sent. |
| BNC websites and National Creditor Registration Service | Unavailable | Those services cannot be used for registration, lookup or notice-related tasks while offline. |
| List of Creditors (mailing matrix) generated or printed through the normal CM/ECF function | Affected for users | Use the temporary CM/ECF creditor query described below and verify the result. |
How to obtain a temporary creditor-address list
The Eastern District of Texas and the District of Hawaii provided a CM/ECF query workaround for users who cannot generate or print a List of Creditors, also called the mailing matrix. It displays creditor names and addresses, but it is not automatically a complete service list.
- Sign in to the relevant bankruptcy case in CM/ECF.
- Query the case.
- Select the Creditor link.
- Leave the creditor-type field blank.
- Run the query to display creditor names and addresses.
- Review the result against the service rule, court order and the specific pleading or notice being served.
- Add any required parties that are not shown before completing service.
The query may omit interested parties. Depending on the matter, counsel may need to add the debtor, trustee, U.S. Trustee, U.S. Attorney and other parties required by the Bankruptcy Rules, a local rule or a case-specific order. Treat the output as an address source, not as a certification that every required recipient is included.
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What the outage means for 341 notices, hearings and deadlines
Section 341 meetings
Because BNC production and delivery is impaired, notices of section 341 meetings may arrive late or not arrive through the usual channel. A missing notice does not itself cancel a meeting. Parties should check the docket, contact the assigned court or trustee through the court’s established channels, and follow any case-specific instruction.
Scheduled hearings
The District of Hawaii said scheduled hearings would proceed unless otherwise ordered. Other courts may issue different directions, so the order in the particular case controls. Do not treat the BNC outage as a blanket continuance.
Extensions and other relief
A party who is prejudiced by missing or late BNC notice may ask the court for relief. Hawaii referred affected parties to the court’s general order. The Eastern District of Texas entered General Orders 2026-1 and 2026-2 addressing extensions of time and related relief. A request should identify the notice that was missing or delayed, the deadline or hearing affected, when the party learned of it, and the concrete prejudice suffered.
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What each participant should do now
Debtors and individual filers
- Continue filing through CM/ECF or the filing method authorized by the court.
- Monitor docket entries and NEF messages instead of waiting solely for BNC mail.
- Confirm the date and location or format of any 341 meeting through the docket or court instructions.
- Keep copies of returned mail, undelivered messages and other evidence showing how a delayed notice affected you.
Creditor counsel and other noticing parties
- Use the CM/ECF creditor query if the ordinary mailing-matrix function is unavailable.
- Compare the query result with the complete service requirements for the document.
- Add required governmental, fiduciary and case participants before serving papers.
- Retain the query output and your verification steps in the case file.
Trustees and professionals monitoring cases
- Track local court announcements and general orders for changes to notice, hearing or deadline procedures.
- Do not assume that an NEF substitutes for a notice that must be sent through the BNC; the channels serve different purposes.
- Escalate a specific missed-notice problem to the court through the procedure it identifies.
Current restoration status
On October 13, 2026, the Southern District of New York said it had no estimated restoration date. On October 15, the national judiciary said BAE Systems was investigating the cybersecurity incident and working to restore operations. Until a court or the Administrative Office announces restoration, users should treat BNC websites, the National Creditor Registration Service and normal BNC notice delivery as unavailable.
The known operational distinction is therefore straightforward: CM/ECF filing and NEF delivery remain available, while BNC-generated notices and related services remain disrupted. Local court orders determine whether a particular deadline or hearing changes, and documented prejudice is the basis for seeking relief.
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