Steps & Responsibilities

REQUIRED INFORMATION

Before beginning the application process, you need to have the following information available:

• Social Security Number
• Full legal name(s), SSN, dates of birth and relationship of any dependents, up to a maximum of four
• Complete mailing address, including apartment/lot number and zip code  
• Telephone number
• Bank account and routing number (if you wish to have your benefits deposited directly in your account)
• Most recent employer as it appears on your pay stubs or W-2 forms.
  • If you have worked for a temporary/staffing agency, you should list the name of the agency and not the name of the client you were assigned to work at
• Your start and end dates with your most recent employer
• Your reason for leaving your most recent employer
  • For purposes of unemployment; a lack of work is not considered a discharge
• If you are not a United States citizen, your employment authorization number and expiration date
• If you served in the military during the past 18 months, DD 214 Member #4 Form.
• If you worked for the federal government as a civilian employee in the last 18 months, Standard Form 8 or Standard Form 50

FILING FOR UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE IS A TWO-STEP PROCESS

STEP ONE: FILE YOUR INITIAL CLAIM APPLICATION

You must file an initial claim application online or at your local IowaWORKS Center during the first week you wish to be paid; you will not receive payments for any weeks prior to the effective date of your claim. No exceptions. The unemployment week is Sunday through Saturday.  All claims are assigned a Sunday effective date for the week the claim is filed. If your claim is successfully submitted, a confirmation page will show with your confirmation number. Save this confirmation number for your records. You may file your initial claim:

• Saturday or Sunday from 6:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

After you successfully submit the application, you will see a confirmation page that includes:

• A printable copy of your confirmation number
• Instructions on when to begin filing your weekly claim

IDENTITY VERIFICATION

The process for verifying your identity will take place when you file for unemployment benefits, typically during your first claim (initial claim), or your first weekly claim after April 1, 2024, if you have not yet verified your identity through ID.me. 

• The identity verification process itself (providing documents and proving who you are) generally only happens once. (There are rare circumstances when ID.me needs an individual to do it again.) 
• Each week after that you file for benefits (weekly claim), you will simply need to login into your verified ID.me account and complete Multi-Factor Authentication. This authentication lets IWD and ID.me know that your account is still secure and helps prevent takeover of your unemployment claim. 

IWD offers three verification options with ID.me to maximize accessibility and offer claimants the choice to find the best verification option that works for them. The three options are Online Self-Service, Video Chat Agent, and In-Person Verification. 

For more information on the identity verification process, visit workforce.iowa.gov/verify. 

STEP TWO: FILE YOUR WEEKLY CLAIM

Filing a weekly claim online is a requirement of continued eligibility for unemployment insurance.  If you do not file your weekly claim, you will not receive payment for that week.  No exceptions.  You may file your weekly claim on Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. or Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. There is no weekly reporting available on Saturday.  

PREPARING TO FILE THE WEEKLY CLAIM

You should have the following information available when filing your weekly claim:

• Username and Password
• SSN
• Total amount of gross wages (before deductions) earned during the week
• Total amount of gross holiday, vacation and severance pay, if applicable
• Entered and certified your reemployment activities in IowaWORKS (if you are required to conduct reemployment activities)

WHEN TO FILE WEEKLY CLAIM

Start filing your weekly claim the first Sunday after filing your initial claim.

Example: Your initial claim was filed on Wednesday. You would need to do your first weekly filing on Sunday.

CONFIRMATION OF WEEKLY CLAIM SUBMITTED 

You will receive a confirmation page (example shown below) informing you that your weekly claim has been successfully submitted.

(EXAMPLE) WEEKLY CLAIM SUCCESSFULLY FILED

Your claim for the week ending Saturday, December 28, 2019 has been filed. Your confirmation number is 132163668. Your confirmation number is proof that you have filed your weekly claim. You should keep a record of your confirmation number.

Please remember you must file each week. Failure to file for a week can result in a delay in benefit payments.

As a claimant, you are responsible for updating any changes in your address or telephone number with Iowa Workforce Development. To update your telephone number you may use the "Update Telephone Number" option in the menu on the left side of this page. To update your address, please contact Customer Service at 1-866-239-0843 or email uiclaimshelp@iwd.iowa.gov.

You will be provided a confirmation number after you have submitted your weekly claim. You must keep this number for your records. If you have an issue with a weekly claim filing, you will be required to provide this number to IWD.

You should check to make sure your weekly claim was successfully filed, how much you will receive, and when you will receive your payment by using the Benefit Inquiry tool.  This is available Tuesday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.  If you miss a weekly claim filing, you will be required to reactivate your claim.  You will not be paid for any weeks you did not file timely.

(end of example)

WHAT TO REPORT ON THE WEEKLY CLAIM

You must report all gross earnings and gross wages on the weekly claim.  Wages are reportable when earned, not when paid. Gross earnings or gross wages are your earnings before taxes or other payroll deductions are made. For additional information, please refer to the page on reportable income.

CLAIM EFFECTIVE DATE

The benefit week runs from Sunday to Saturday. The effective date of all unemployment insurance claims is the Sunday of the week in which the application was filed. The effective date of a claim will not be changed for applications that were not filed in a timely manner.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

To meet the preliminary eligibility requirements, you must:

• Be totally or partially unemployed through no fault of your own
• Been paid wages by covered employers in at least two quarters of the base period
• Total base period wages of at least 1.25 times the wages earned in the highest base period quarter
• Wages of at least $2,070 in one quarter and at least $1,030 in a different quarter 
• Be able and available for work

To remain eligible for unemployment insurance benefits, you must:

• Be actively seeking work (work search may be waived if certain criteria are met)
• Be registered for work online with IowaWORKS.gov or at your nearest IowaWORKS center
• Enter and certify your weekly reemployment activities in IowaWORKS
• Notify us on the weekly claim of any job offers you refused
• Notify us if you have quit or are discharged from any job while claiming UI benefits
• Notify us if you move or leave the area for more than three working days
• Report all wages when they are earned, not when payment is received
• Notify us if you receive workers’ compensation or a private pension
• Notify us if you enroll in or start school

REACTIVATING A CLAIM

You can start and stop claiming unemployment insurance benefits as many times as necessary during the benefit year. This is called a break in reporting status. Any break in reporting requires you to refile your claim application online during the week you want to start collecting benefits again. Any employment during the break must be reported.

Don’t forget to file your weekly claim every week. If you fail to file timely each week, you will not be eligible for payment until you reactivate your claim again.