Appeal an unemployment denial in Alabama
An appeal has short deadlines. Find your deadline, then use the letter and checklist to get ready.
All about unemployment in Alabama
Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.
Levels of appeal and deadlines
Appeal to the Hearings and Appeals Division (appeals tribunal hearing)
ADOW Hearings and Appeals Division (Administrative Hearing Officer)
- Deadline
15 calendar days from the mailing date on the notice of determination (or 7 calendar days if the notice was delivered to you in person)
- Weekends and holidays
- If the last day falls on a weekend or state holiday, the deadline is the next business day.
- How to file
- Appeal in writing. Mail, fax or hand-deliver a signed letter, or file online through the Claimant Portal or ADOW's online appeal page (you need the Document ID from the top right corner of your Notice of Determination).
- Where to send it
Alabama Department of Workforce, Hearings and Appeals Division, 50 N. Ripley Street, Montgomery, AL 36130
Fax: 334-956-5891
- It must include
- The claimant's full legal name
- The last four digits of the claimant's Social Security number
- Why you disagree with the decision
- Your signature, with your full legal name printed under it
- If it is late
- If you miss the deadline, the decision becomes final. An appeal filed late may be dismissed; ADOW decides whether it can still be heard.
- While you appeal
- Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).
Law: Ala. Code secs. 25-4-91(d), 25-4-92
Official source: Source page
Application for appeal to the Board of Appeals
Board of Appeals, Alabama Department of Workforce (three members appointed by the Governor)
- Deadline
15 calendar days from the mailing date of the hearing officer's decision
- Counts as filed
- when the agency receives it
- How to file
- Send a written appeal by mail, fax (334-956-7494), email to boardofappeals@workforce.alabama.gov, or online. The Board may grant or deny your application. To be granted, it must be complete and address specific points that were not fully covered in the hearing. If granted, the Board may decide on the record or hold a hearing (only by phone).
- Where to send it
Alabama Department of Workforce, Board of Appeals, 50 N. Ripley Street, Montgomery, AL 36130
Fax: 334-956-7494
- It must include
- Your name
- Your Social Security number
- Why you disagree with the hearing officer's decision
- If it is late
- The hearing officer's decision becomes final 15 days after it is mailed unless the Board receives your application in time.
- While you appeal
- Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).
Law: Ala. Code secs. 25-4-92(c), 25-4-94
Official source: Source page
Notice of appeal to the circuit court
- Deadline
30 calendar days from the date the Board of Appeals decision becomes final (10 days after it is mailed)
- What to know
- If you disagree with the Board of Appeals, you can file a notice of appeal in the circuit court of the county where you live (if you live outside Alabama, the county where you last lived or worked in Alabama) within 30 days after the Board's decision becomes final. If the Board does not grant your application within 10 days after you file it, you may appeal the hearing officer's decision to circuit court within the next 10 days. You do not need a lawyer and no bond is required. Circuit court decisions can be appealed to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals.
Law: Ala. Code secs. 25-4-94(b), (d), 25-4-95
Every state must give a fair hearing before an impartial tribunal to anyone whose claim is denied.
Law: 42 U.S.C. 503(a)(3) (Social Security Act sec. 303(a)(3))
Appeal deadline calculator
Pick the appeal and enter the date it runs from. We add the days from the state's rule to that date.
Appeal request letter
Fill in the boxes and get a letter you can print or send. You write the reasons in your own words. The letter is in English because the agency works in English.
Hearing preparation checklist
Logistics and rights from your state's hearing information, plus your own list of witnesses and documents.
The hearing
- Format
- By telephone in most cases (usually 30 to 60 minutes). In-person hearings are granted only in rare cases. The Notice of Unemployment Compensation Telephone Hearing gives the date, time, issues and hearing officer's name.
- Documents and witnesses
- Mail your documents to the address on the notice, or fax them to 334-956-5882, before the hearing date. Send only documents that relate to your case. If you or a witness cannot attend, you may send an affidavit listing the facts in order with dates, places and names; it must reach the hearing officer before the hearing and carries less weight than live testimony.
- Subpoena
- Ask the Hearings and Appeals Division as far ahead of the hearing as possible to subpoena a witness or documents. You must give the residential address of the person to be subpoenaed.
- Interpreter
- Contact ADOW if you need material interpreted or other help to take part.
- Representation
- You do not need a lawyer. You may be represented by any competent person you choose, including a lawyer.
Law: Ala. Code sec. 25-4-92
Overpayments and waivers
An overpayment means you got benefits you were not eligible for, for example from earnings you did not report or an appeal decision that went against you. ADOW mails a Notice of Determination of Overpayment with the amount and reason. Payment is due 30 days after the decision becomes final; you may be able to set up a repayment plan. If ADOW finds fraud, you also owe at least a 15% penalty plus 2% interest a month, you are disqualified for 52 weeks (104 weeks for a later fraud) and until it is repaid, and an amount of 4 times your weekly benefit up to your full benefit amount can be taken off future benefits.
- Appeal within
- 15 days from the date the overpayment notice was mailed
- Fraud penalty
- 15% added when the overpayment is fraud
- Waiver
- The state can waive some overpayments.
- The standard
- ADOW may waive repayment if the overpayment was no fault of your own. Waivers are not granted for fraud, unreported earnings, overpayments caused by an appeal reversal, or if you are found at fault. A committee reviews requests and makes the final decision.
- How to ask
- Ask Benefit Payment Control for a waiver questionnaire by mail, phone or fax, complete it in writing and return it.
- How the state collects
- If you are still eligible, ADOW takes each week's benefits until a non-fraud overpayment is repaid. If you do not repay, ADOW can take your state or federal tax refunds (federal refunds only for fraud or unreported earnings) and use civil collection actions. Fraud overpayments must be repaid in cash (tax refund intercepts count) before you can get benefits again. Collection must begin within 6 years after the determination is final.
Law: Ala. Code sec. 25-4-145(a)(3), (c), (d); Ala. Code sec. 25-4-145(d)
What federal law adds on overpayments
- Whether an overpayment can be waived, and how to ask, depends on your state's law. See your state's page.
- Your federal tax refund can be taken to pay a past-due state unemployment overpayment caused by fraud or by not reporting your earnings, once it is final under state law. Before this happens, the state must notify you and give you at least 60 days to show that the debt is not owed or not legally enforceable.
Law: 26 U.S.C. 6402(f)
- For fraud overpayments, the state must add a penalty of at least 15 percent.
Law: 42 U.S.C. 503(a)(11)
Free help
Call 1-866-234-5382. Legal aid and other free help in Alabama → Official sources →
More questions about unemployment in Alabama
Where can I get free help with an unemployment claim in Alabama?
Legal Services Alabama (free civil legal aid for low-income Alabamians) and Alabama Career Centers (free help filing and job search).