U.S. Department of Justice

Office of the United States Trustee

Western District of New York

New Federal Office Building	(585) 263-5812

100 State Street, Room 6090	FAX (585) 263-5862

Rochester, New York 14614

IMPORTANT §341 MEETING POLICY CHANGE

To:	Bankruptcy Practitioners and Pro Se Debtors

From:	Assistant United States Trustee

Re:	Debtor Identification Program

Date:	February 1, 2002

ALL INDIVIDUAL DEBTORS ARE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE PICTURE IDENTIFICATION AND PROOF OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER TO THE TRUSTEE AT §341 MEETINGS HELD ON OR AFTER MARCH 1, 2002

Acceptable types of picture identification:

Valid state driver license, passport, government issued photo ID, legal resident alien card, or other identification or official documentation which clearly establishes identity. ORIGINAL REQUIRED.

Acceptable proof of social security number ("SSN"):

Social security card, a W-2 form for the most recent tax year, recent paystub, medical insurance card, social security administrative report, or other official document which indicates name and SSN. ORIGINAL REQUIRED.

Consequences for failure to have required documents:

If a debtor does not have acceptable documents, the §341 meeting will be adjourned to the trustee's next calendar. Failure to produce the documents then will result in a Motion to Dismiss filed by the United States Trustee.

Consequences for error in SSN:

If there is an error, you will be required to (1) file an Amended Petition pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr. P. 1009 within ten days from the §341 meeting to correct any incorrect SSN; (2) notify the 3 major credit reporting agencies of the error and file a copy of the notice with the trustee, the United States Trustee and the Bankruptcy Court. Failure to do both corrective actions will result in a Motion to Dismiss filed by the United States Trustee.

Goal is to protect innocent third parties from intentional and inadvertent use of SSN:

Bankruptcy filings are primarily reported to credit agencies by SSN. The cost and hardship to correct an adverse credit history can be substantial. With your assistance, we should be able to limit the impact on innocent parties of a case which has been filed with an incorrect SSN.

We appreciate your cooperation in implementing this new policy. If you have any questions, please contact the Assistant United States Trustee, at (585) 263-5706.