The short answer is, absolutely military personnel can file for bankruptcy. Military members are required to maintain their finances and stay out of bad debt. Active duty members have the same rights as civilians when it comes to bankruptcy. They can file for protection from creditors should their finances reach a point where bankruptcy seems to be the only way to keep from losing their homes or any other possessions. Active duty members who are stationed overseas may need to get a power of attorney for someone to file on their behalf at their stateside location or jurisdiction.

However, filing for bankruptcy can be harmful to an active duty member’s career. When members require access to classified information, they are required to fill out a background history that includes questions about their finances. Specifically, questions will ask if a member has ever been or is currently over 90 days and/or 180 days delinquent on accounts. There are also questions that ask about wage garnishment and if any judgments have been made against the member. Federally contracted investigators perform credit checks and compare the information members have listed with the information they find. They report the information to a government agency that will deem if a military member should have access to classified information or not. If an active duty member shows that he has filed for bankruptcy, it could lead to a suspension of classified access until the matters are resolved. If a member has filed for bankruptcy and did not report it on the original investigation, that will most likely lead to an immediate suspension of classified access with a much more difficult path to getting reinstatement.