Solicitation Procedures Order
A Solicitation Procedures Order is a Chapter 11 court order approving the mechanics for distributing plan materials, soliciting and tabulating votes, setting deadlines, handling voting eligibility and giving notice of confirmation.
How it works
The Bankruptcy Code does not require one nationally standardized document with this title. In practice, courts commonly combine disclosure-statement approval with detailed voting procedures. Rule 3017 requires the court to set the time to accept or reject the plan and governs distribution of plan materials and ballots. Large cases often add claim-eligibility, tabulation, master-ballot and electronic-voting procedures through the order.
The order converts general rules into case-specific mechanics
Rules 3017 and 3018 provide the framework, but the court order often specifies deadlines, ballot forms, voting-agent procedures and claim-eligibility details.
The court sets the Voting Deadline
Rule 3017(c) requires the court to set the deadline for holders of claims and interests to accept or reject the plan.
Ballot and tabulation procedures can be detailed
Large cases may address duplicate ballots, transferred claims, partially secured claims, beneficial holders, master ballots, electronic submissions and disputed claims.
The order can coordinate confirmation notice
Rule 3017(d) requires notice of the confirmation objection deadline and hearing, while Rule 2002 supplies minimum notice requirements.
Worked example: disputed claim voting rule
A creditor is scheduled as disputed and files a proof of claim after the date specified in the order. Whether its ballot counts can depend on the order’s eligibility provisions and any later Rule 3018(a) relief.
Why the entered order matters more than a proposed motion
Negotiations can alter proposed procedures before entry. The final order controls what the court actually approved.
Common mistakes
Treating the order as a Bankruptcy Code term with one national form; ignoring exhibits; assuming every disputed claim votes automatically; and reading only the disclosure statement for voting rules.
Example
A court approves a debtor’s disclosure statement and enters an order setting a July 10 Voting Deadline, approving ballot forms, defining which claims can vote, authorizing electronic ballots, prescribing tabulation rules and scheduling the Confirmation Hearing.
Example
A court approves a debtor’s disclosure statement and enters an order setting a July 10 Voting Deadline, approving ballot forms, defining which claims can vote, authorizing electronic ballots, prescribing tabulation rules and scheduling the Confirmation Hearing.
Professional note
The order is operational law for the solicitation process. Investors reviewing disputed votes should read the entered order and exhibits rather than rely on generic assumptions about the Bankruptcy Rules.
Related terms
- Disclosure Statement
A Disclosure Statement is the Chapter 11 document that provides creditors and other voting stakeholders with information about the debtor, proposed plan, risks, recoveries and restructuring terms sufficient to satisfy the Bankruptcy Code's disclosure requirements for plan solicitation.
- Class Acceptance
Class Acceptance is the Chapter 11 voting determination under Section 1126 that establishes whether a class of claims or interests has accepted a proposed plan based on the votes actually cast by eligible holders.
- Vote Designation
Vote Designation is the Section 1126(e) remedy allowing a bankruptcy court, after notice and a hearing, to disregard an entity’s plan acceptance or rejection when the vote was not in good faith or was not solicited or procured in good faith or in accordance with the Bankruptcy Code.
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Sources
- Federal Bankruptcy Rules via LII — Bankruptcy Rule 3017 — Plan and disclosure procedures
- Cornell LII — Chapter 11 Voting Rule — Bankruptcy Rule 3018 — Accepting or rejecting a plan
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Texas — 2026 Chapter 11 Confirmation Findings — solicitation procedures example