How To Use The VCIS System: Everything In Detail!

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Before investing in a particular company or business, clients usually have a query on how they may determine whether that specific business is likely to experience significant financial trouble or is on the verge of bankruptcy.

In some states, citizens can check bankruptcy cases’ status online. Nevertheless, the procedure for determining case status differs from state to state.

For some particular states, you can get the basic court information through the VCIS, an automated telephone system linked to the digital case file stem of the federal court. You can obtain a specific amount of data while using the VCIS bankruptcy system, such as the case number, debtor, attorney of the debtor, case status, etc.

Let’s get into details on what the VCIS is, how to use the VCIS system, how it works, and more in this article

What is VCIS?

VCIS or Voice Case Information System is a computerized toll-free telephone system through which callers can get basic bankruptcy case information using a phone. The VCIS number for the United States is 866-222-8029. You can call the service for free by dialing this number from a touch-tone phone.

With no aid from a district registrar, you can call the system and retrieve case information such as the case number, name of the party, tax identification number, case filing date, and more. 

VCIS reads case and opposition procedural Information straight from the court’s computer using a computer-generated voice device. The electronic case file system for the federal court is directly connected to this system.

How To Use The VCIS System: Step By Step Guide

A touch-tone phone is only what you will need to get the Information using the VCIS bankruptcy information system. 

The steps to using the VSIC systems are given below:

  • Dial the VCIS number 866-222-8029
  • Now select the language you want to hear the Information in. For English, press ‘1’, and for Spanish, press ‘2.’
  • After that, the name of the state that you want to connect to will be requested from you. When asked, “Please say the name of the court that you want to connect to,” the state’s name should be said first, followed by the district’s name. For example, if you want to access the cases filed in the Northern District of Ohio, say “Ohio Northern.”

Or, You can also select your choice using the keypad and press ‘#’ to choose the bankruptcy court of your choice. Some of the choices are Press 36 for Alabama Northern, Press 66 for Alaska, Press 5 for California Eastern, Press 90 for Arizona, and so on.

  • Now, you will be asked to select the above options:
  • Press 1 or say “Help” to get instructions on how to use the system
  • Press 2 or say “Case number”, to search the data by case number. First, a prompt to say or type the two-digit case year will appear. After that, you will be asked to say or type the five-digit case number
  • Press 3 or say “Name”, to search by participant’s name. Write the name following the ‘#’ sign. To input a participant’s name, first type their last name, then their first name, and then their middle initials. And for the company name, exclude Corp. or Inc. Remember to not include spaces between the letters.
  • Press 4 or say “Social Security” to search by debtor’s social security number
  • Finally, Information concerning the case will be provided by the system.

The Information provided by the VCIS bankruptcy information system:

  • Name of the debtor
  • Case number
  • The filing date of the case
  • Case chapter
  • Name of the Attorney of the debtor
  • Name of the judge
  • Name of the trustee
  • Status of the case
  • Case discharge and closing date
  • Last 4 digits of the SSN/Tax ID
  • Whether the case has assets or notices

How Does the VCIS work?

1996 to the present time, Voice Case Information Systems (VCIS) will allow anyone with a tap mobile phone to obtain basic Information about bankruptcy and adversary cases within this time frame. Lawsuits filed before that may or may not be in the database. 

At the conclusion of each working day, Information is posted to the VCIS database. When Information is entered into the court’s records, it normally appears in VCIS the next working day.

By participant name, case number, or social security number, VCIS looks up cases and examines the data to find bankruptcy cases that match. For every call, you can get the Information for a maximum of 5 participants or cases.

Final Thoughts

There is a handful of benefits of the VCIS bankruptcy information retrieval. Some courts have a time when the system is being upgraded and unavailable (often between 5 and 7 p.m.). Excluding this time, VCIS is accessible to you every day of the year, around the clock. Moreover, except for the charge for the phone call, you can use the VCIS for free. Also, it’s simple to use.

The VCIS telephone information system is readily available in every bankruptcy court in the United States. You can have access to this system 24/7. You simply have to follow the steps of how to use the VCIS system.