---
title: "Diary the debtor's exclusive period to file a chapter 11 plan"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/insolvency-restructuring-and-bankruptcy/diary-the-convening-period-for-the-later-creditors-meeting/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A8-KE20261022-13-US"
practice_area: "Insolvency, Restructuring & Bankruptcy"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Diary the debtor's exclusive period to file a chapter 11 plan

> From the order-for-relief date, diary 120 days and 180 days, and record whether the lawyer has marked the case as a small business case. Do not decide that an extension should be granted and do not write a plan.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/insolvency-restructuring-and-bankruptcy/diary-the-convening-period-for-the-later-creditors-meeting/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Insolvency, Restructuring & Bankruptcy](https://ailawframework.com/practice/insolvency-restructuring-and-bankruptcy.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | From the order-for-relief date, diary 120 days and 180 days, and record whether the lawyer has marked the case as a small business case. Do not decide that an extension should be granted and do not write a plan. |
| What the lawyer must review | You decide whether the case is an ordinary chapter 11 case, a small business case, or a case under subchapter V, and you decide any request to extend time. 11 U.S.C. § 1121(b) says that, except as that section otherwise provides, only the debtor may file a plan until after 120 days after the order for relief under chapter 11. Section 1121(c) says any party in interest, including the debtor, the trustee, a creditors' committee, an equity security holders' committee, a creditor, an equity security holder, or an indenture trustee, may file a plan only if a trustee has been appointed under the chapter, or the debtor has not filed a plan before 120 days after the order for relief, or the debtor has not filed a plan that has been accepted, before 180 days after the order for relief, by each class of impaired claims or interests. Section 1121(d) lets the court, for cause, on a timely request and after notice and a hearing, reduce or increase those periods, but the 120-day period may not be extended beyond 18 months after the order for relief, and the 180-day period may not be extended beyond 20 months. In a small business case, section 1121(e) says only the debtor may file a plan until after 180 days after the order for relief, unless that period is extended under the subsection or the court for cause orders otherwise, and the plan and a disclosure statement, if any, shall be filed not later than 300 days after the order for relief. An extension of those periods, and of the confirmation time in section 1129(e), requires the debtor to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence, after notice including notice to the United States trustee, that it is more likely than not that the court will confirm a plan within a reasonable time; a new deadline imposed when the extension is granted; and an order signed before the existing deadline expires. Do not apply the 120-day period in subsection (b) to a small business case. Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 3016(a) says every proposed plan or modification in a chapter 9 or 11 case must be dated, and in a chapter 11 case must name the entity or entities proposing or filing it. Rule 3016(b)(1) says the disclosure statement, if required by section 1125, or evidence of compliance with section 1126(b), must be filed with the plan or at another time the court sets. Rule 3016(d) says that in a small business case or a case under subchapter V, the court may approve a disclosure statement that substantially conforms to Form 425B and confirm a plan that substantially conforms to Form 425A, or a standard form the court approves. The periods in section 1189 were not opened. The rule does not restate the exclusive periods. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Diary the convening period for the later creditors meeting](https://ailawframework.com/practice/insolvency-restructuring-and-bankruptcy/diary-the-convening-period-for-the-later-creditors-meeting.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: From the order-for-relief date, diary 120 days and 180 days, and record whether the lawyer has marked the case as a small business case. Do not decide that an extension should be granted and do not write a plan.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Confirm whether the case is an ordinary chapter 11 case, a small business case under section 1121(e), or a subchapter V case. The subchapter V periods were not opened.
- Rule 3016 requires a dated plan that names who files it. It does not restate the 120-day or 180-day periods.

## Sources

- [11 U.S.C. § 1121](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/11/1121) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 3016](https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frbp/rule_3016) (checked 2026-10-22)

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*