(a) There shall be given such notice as is appropriate, including 
notice to any holder of a community claim, of an order for relief in a 
case under this title.
    (b) Prior to the commencement of a case under this title by an 
individual whose debts are primarily consumer debts, the clerk shall 
give written notice to such individual that indicates each chapter of 
this title under which such individual may proceed.
    (c) If notice is required to be given by the debtor to a creditor 
under this title, any rule, any applicable law, or any order of the 
court, such notice shall contain the name, address, and taxpayer 
identification number of the debtor, but the failure of such notice to 
contain such information shall not invalidate the legal effect of such 
notice.

(Pub. L. 95-598, Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2565; Pub. L. 98-353, title III, 
Secs. 302, 435, July 10, 1984, 98 Stat. 352, 370; Pub. L. 103-394, title 
II, Sec. 225, Oct. 22, 1994, 108 Stat. 4131.)


                      Historical and Revision Notes

                         legislative statements


    Section 342(b) and (c) of the Senate amendment are adopted in 
principle but moved to section 549(c), in lieu of section 342(b) of H.R. 
8200 as passed by the House.
    Section 342(c) of H.R. 8200 as passed by the House is deleted as a 
matter to be left to the Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure.


                        senate report no. 95-989

    Subsection (a) of section 342 requires the clerk of the bankruptcy 
court to give notice of the order for relief. The rules will prescribe 
to whom the notice should be sent and in what manner notice will be 
given. The rules already prescribe such things, and they will continue 
to govern unless changed as provided in section 404(a) of the bill. Due 
process will certainly require notice to all creditors and equity 
security holders. State and Federal governmental representatives 
responsible for collecting taxes will also receive notice. In cases 
where the debtor is subject to regulation, the regulatory agency with 
jurisdiction will receive notice. In order to insure maximum notice to 
all parties in interest, the Rules will include notice by publication in 
appropriate cases and for appropriate issues. Other notices will be 
given as appropriate.
    Subsections (b) and (c) [enacted as section 549(c)] are derived from 
section 21g of the Bankruptcy Act [section 44(g) of former title 11]. 
They specify that the trustee may file notice of the commencement of the 
case in land recording offices in order to give notice of the pendency 
of the case to potential transferees of the debtor's real property. Such 
filing is unnecessary in the county in which the bankruptcy case is 
commenced. If notice is properly filed, a subsequent purchaser of the 
property will not be a bona fide purchaser. Otherwise, a purchaser, 
including a purchaser at a judicial sale, that has no knowledge of the 
case, is not prevented from obtaining the status of a bona fide 
purchaser by the mere commencement of the case. ``County'' is defined in 
title 1 of the United States Code to include other political 
subdivisions where counties are not used.


                               Amendments

    1994--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103-394 added subsec. (c).
    1984--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98-353, Sec. 435, amended subsec. (a) 
generally, inserting requirement respecting notice to any holder of a 
community claim.
    Pub. L. 98-353, Sec. 302(1), designated existing provisions as 
subsec. (a).
    Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 98-353, Sec. 302(2), added subsec. (b).


                    Effective Date of 1994 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 103-394 effective Oct. 22, 1994, and not 
applicable with respect to cases commenced under this title before Oct. 
22, 1994, see section 702 of Pub. L. 103-394, set out as a note under 
section 101 of this title.


                    Effective Date of 1984 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 98-353 effective with respect to cases filed 90 
days after July 10, 1984, see section 552(a) of Pub. L. 98-353, set out 
as a note under section 101 of this title.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 348, 741, 743, 762, 765 of 
this title.