To supplement the Director's Guidance re: Tax Information, the Clerk has developed local guidance and procedures for: * Electronically filing tax information with the court (when requested); * Requesting Access to tax information that has been filed with the court; and * Gaining Access to tax information once access has been granted. To access the Clerk's Guidance re: Tax Information, see attachment.

Through Standing Order No. 16, the Court has provided a procedure and required form for the certification required under 11 U.S.C. § 522. Pursuant to this Standing Order, debtors wishing to elect to exempt property under State or local law, pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §522(b)(3)(A), and to exempt interest in property described in subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) of subsection 11 U.S.C. §522(p)(1) which exceeds in the aggregate $125,000, shall prepare and submit for filing a Certification Re: 11 U.S.C.

BAPCPA 2005 necessitated a major overhaul of the CM/ECF system. As a result, the latest version of the ECF system (v. 2.7) includes a large number of new docket events available to attorneys. The Clerk's Office has prepared a New Events List to assist the bankruptcy community in navigating this updated system.

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1930(f), the court may waive the filing fee in the case of an individual chapter 7 debtor whose income is less than 150 percent of the national poverty line. Two tables reflecting 150 percent of the Department of Health and Human Service's poverty guidelines are posted for the public and courts' use at The US Courts Bankruptcy Information Center.

The U.S. Trustee's listing of Approved Credit Counseling Agencies for the Northern District of Iowa is here. The Credit Counseling requirement under 11 USC § 109 must be met prior to filing the petition (unless petition is accompanied by a motion for extension for exigent circumstances or a declaration/certification of waiver).