Do I have to refile or petition the court to reopen case and submit certificate?

That would be a yes.

To re-open a case, you petition the court. You have to pay a fee (in my district it's $260), I don't know if there is any time limit for reopening a case but I would urge you to explain in your petition why it has taken 4 1/2 years to get around to it.

You have to file a motion to reopen & pay the significant fee to do this. The motion can be ex parte. I would file the certificate with the mandatory cover sheet at the same time as you file the motion to reopen. The proposed order reopening should state that upon entry of the discharge, the clerk should close the file.

The usual course of action in such cases is to move to reopen the case for the purpose of submitting the second certificate and gaining a discharge. The filing fee for a motion to reopen is, I think, $300.00. (Check with the Clerk of Court. And when you file the motion, bring either case of a bank check to pay the filing fee.) A court might very well decide that you have waited too long, but that is up to the discretion of the Judge or Clerk of Court. You might want to include in your Motion the reasons for the five-year delay. Good Luck.

I would consult with an experienced bankruptcy attorney to file a motion to reopen the case. There is a filing fee involved with such a motion. There is no fixed deadline for reopening a case; however, it is at the judge's discretion. The circumstances surrounding why the certificate was not filed timely will have an impact on the success of the motion. Whether the certificate was obtained timely will also have an impact. Again, I would consult with an attorney to help you determine the likelihood of succeeding with a motion to reopen your case. Consulting with an attorney will also allow you to determine your alternatives and if filing a new case now makes more sense (i.e. significant dischargeable debt has been incurred since the prior case).