Español

Reopen an Unemployment Insurance Claim

If it’s been more than 30 days since you last certified for benefits, your Unemployment Insurance (UI) claim will become inactive. To continue receiving benefits, you must reopen your claim.

You can reopen your claim if it was filed within the last 52 weeks and you have not used all of your benefits. If your benefit year has ended, you may need to reapply for unemployment. Visit Benefit Year End for more information.

Review UI Online: Reopen a Claim (YouTube) video for more help.

Important: Waiting to reopen or file a new claim can delay benefit payments.

How to Reopen a Claim

UI OnlineSM is the fastest and most convenient way to reopen your claim. You can reopen your claim any time following the steps below:

Step 1: Access your UI Online account.

Log in to myEDD and select UI Online.

Step 2: Select Reopen Your Claim.

Select Reopen Your Claim from the Notifications section of your UI Online homepage. This link will only appear if you need to reopen your claim.

Note: If you don’t see Reopen Your Claim, you may have older certifications that you need to complete before you can certify for new weeks. Select Certify for Benefits to complete the certifications. Report your work and earnings for any past weeks you worked. Answer all questions and submit your answers. Once your request has been submitted, a Confirmation page will appear. Print or save a copy for your records.

Step 3: Check your status.

Access your UI Online homepage to check the status of your request. If you successfully reopened your claim, we will let you know when to certify for benefits. If we need more information, we will schedule a phone interview with you. Your interview date and time will be sent by mail and will also appear in the Notifications section of your UI Online homepage. It may take up to 10 days to reopen your claim if we need to review it.

To reopen your claim, call one of the following toll-free phone numbers Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Pacific time), except on state holidays.

UI phone numbers by language

Language

Phone Number

English and Spanish     

Armenian

Cantonese

Korean

Mandarin

Tagalog

Vietnamese

TTY

1-800-300-5616

1-855-528-1518

1-800-303-0706

1-844-660-0877

1-866-303-0706

1-866-395-1513

1-800-547-2058

1-800-815-9387

Reopen your UI claim by using the paper Unemployment Insurance Application (DE 1101i) (PDF). For faster and more secure processing, fax your completed application to the number listed on the form. If you mail your application, use the address on the form and allow additional time for processing.

After You Reopen Your Claim

You will receive important information about your claim by mail. Be sure to read and respond to all requests to avoid payment delays.

Certify for Benefits Every Two Weeks

You must certify for benefits every two weeks. Certifying is the process of answering basic questions every two weeks that tells us you’re still unemployed and eligible to continue receiving benefit payments.

Important: If you have opted out of receiving the paper Continued Claim Form (DE 4581), you will not receive a paper form in the mail. Instead, you will receive an email notification when it’s time to submit your certifications through UI Online.

Additional Resources

For more information, review the following: