Bankruptcy Search

Power users decide how far each search goes, how much follow-on searching is allowed, what evidence is produced, and which accounts stay under monitoring.

Ways to order

Channel	Best for	How results come back
Instant (API)	One person or company, while the account is on screen or a workflow step is waiting	National search results in the same response
Batch order	A placement file, portfolio, or loan tape	Delivered to your endpoint, or picked up when ready
Monitoring list	Accounts you hold over time	Feeds of new bankruptcies and docket changes

Instant results include each case’s case URL. Use it to request the case summary, dockets, or documents for just the cases that matter.

Search depth

Batch orders run the national search, then go further only where you say so. The case summary and docket searches each take one of these values:

Value	Follow-on search runs for…
Never	No cases.
Always	Every case the national search found.
OpenCasesOnly	Cases without a closed date. A common way to cut PACER charges.
NewestFile	Only the most recently filed case.
OldestFiled	Only the earliest filed case.

Option	What it does
Case summary (RegionalSearch)	Pulls the court’s case summary page: discharge, dismissal, conversion, and plan dates, attorney, and trustee.
Regional refresh (RegionalRefresh)	Pulls extra dates from the bankruptcy court through a lookup the court doesn’t charge for.
Dockets (DocketSearch)	Pulls each case’s docket entries.
Docket age limits (DocketSearchOpenedDateAge, DocketSearchClosedDateAge)	Limit docket searches by how long ago a case was filed or closed. Values 1–10.
Adversary proceedings (IncludeAP)	Include or exclude adversary proceedings from the case summary and docket searches.

Thresholds

Thresholds keep a common name, or a skip-trace that finds many people, from running up PACER charges.

Threshold	Range	Default	Limits
Bankruptcy threshold	1–10	5	How many cases can get follow-on searches (case summary, dockets). Above it, you get the national results only.
Contact threshold	1–10	5	How many people found by a skip-trace are searched in PACER.

When a threshold stops a search, the contact carries a message. Review the candidates, then order a narrower search, or order the case summary or dockets for the cases you need.

Search criteria and filters

• Skip-trace (ContactSearch, batch orders): for contacts without a valid SSN, look up candidate SSNs from the full name and full address, then search each one (up to the contact threshold).
• Company searches: set the contact type to Corporation and send the company name, with the EIN if you have it.
• Party roles (PartyRoleCodes): on name-only searches, limit matches to parties in specific roles in the case.
• Exact matches (ExactMatchesOnly): on instant searches, return only exact name matches. MatchEmptyFirstMiddleNames also accepts cases where the first or middle name is blank.
• Date filters: return only cases whose filing, closed, dismissed, or discharged date falls within a range. Dates can’t be in the future.

Quandis can save defaults for these options on your profile, so you don’t need to send them with every order.

PACER image packages

A batch order can request one or more named image packages, for example one for your system of record and one for outside counsel. Each package has its own settings:

Setting	Options
Screenshot of the search screen	Include it, and place it at the top or bottom of the page.
Grouping	One file per contact or per order.
Image delivery	Images for the party search, for each case, or both.
SSN masking	Mask none, part, or all of the SSN on the image; redact certificate information.
File names	Templates such as {SourceReferenceNumber}.{ContactID}.{Year}.{Month}.{Day}…pdf, so every file carries your reference.
Summary report	Add a summary of the national results.
Zip	Deliver the images in a single zip file.

Monitoring lists

Monitoring keeps watching accounts after the first search.

• Every organization has a default list. Add named lists to separate portfolios or purposes, such as delinquent accounts and active bankruptcies.
• Add an account with your own account reference and the debtor’s details. Adding an account that’s already on the list doesn’t create a duplicate; it’s reported as already there.
• Remove an account when you sell it, pay it off, or no longer need to watch it.
• Collect new bankruptcies and docket changes from each list’s change feeds, or look up everything held for one account.

Set up QBO

• Ordering from a contact queues a Bankruptcy Search event for the contact and writes a Pacer Order Placed message. The event must exist and be wired to your Bankruptcy Search integration.
• Proof of claim and motion for relief workflows: when a POC or MFR case is created without a process template, QBO uses the template named Proof Of Claim or Motion For Relief. If that template has a workflow, the workflow starts automatically. Build your workflow on templates with those names, or ask Quandis to point the defaults at different ones.
• Route new bankruptcies to the right team with worklists, and see Workflow for building the steps that follow a hit.