Unemployment benefits in Arkansas

Can I get benefits?

You must have base-period wages of at least 35 times your weekly benefit amount, paid in at least two calendar quarters of the base period.

Law: Ark. Code Ann. sec. 11-10-507(5)(B)

If you quit

If you quit, you may get benefits only if you can show you left for good cause related to the job.

If you were fired

If you were fired for misconduct, you may not receive benefits.

Law: Ark. Code Ann. secs. 11-10-513, 11-10-514, 11-10-515 (Act 453 of 2019; Act 106 of 2023)

Quit, fired, refused work and the federal rules →

The wage test, the amount and your estimate →

How much and how long?

Weekly benefit

$81–$451

Weeks

Up to 12 weeks

Waiting week

A waiting week

Working part time

An amount equal to 40% of your weekly benefit amount is not deducted.

How it is figured, the full rules and the estimate tool →

How to file in Arkansas

Apply online through EZARC (Monday to Friday 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.). It takes about 30 minutes.

Apply as soon as you are out of work.

What to have ready

• Your Social Security number (and your name exactly as it is on your Social Security card), or your Alien Identification/registration number if you are not a U.S. citizen
• Your mailing and physical address
• Your telephone number

Certify (claim your weeks)

Weekly. File a weekly certification for each week you are unemployed in Arkansas LAUNCH (Sunday 12:01 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Monday to Friday 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.) or by phone on Arkline at 501-907-2590.

Everything about filing →

Appeal a denial

• Appeal to the Appeal Tribunal — 20 calendar days from the mailing date of the Notice of Agency Determination
• Appeal to the Board of Review — 20 calendar days from the mailing date of the Appeal Tribunal decision
• Petition for Review to the Arkansas Court of Appeals — 30 calendar days

Deadline calculator, appeal letter and hearing checklist: Appeal details →

The hearing

Format

Telephone hearing before a hearing officer.

Overpayments and waivers

An overpayment happens when you get benefits and it is later found you were not eligible, for example after an appeal reversal, unreported earnings or missing work searches.

Appeal within

20 days from the mailing date of the overpayment determination

Fraud penalty

50% added when the overpayment is fraud

Waiver

The state can waive some overpayments.

Law: Ark. Code Ann. sec. 11-10-532

Waiver details and the hearing checklist →

Someone filed a claim in your name

If you believe someone filed an unemployment claim in your name, report it right away by emailing ADWS.UI.Technical.Services@arkansas.gov. You will be asked for a police report. You can report other suspected fraud by calling 1-844-908-2178 (choose Individual, then option 3).

• Report it online
• Phone: 1-844-908-2178

National steps

1. Report it to the state where the claim was filed and follow its instructions. Some states ask for a police report or a sworn statement.
2. If you got a 1099-G for benefits you did not receive, the state will send a corrected 1099-G. When you file taxes, report only the income you actually received; do not wait for the corrected form.
3. Check your free credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com or 877-322-8228. Report other identity theft at IdentityTheft.gov.
4. You can also report unemployment identity fraud that happened after March 2020 to the U.S. Department of Justice National Center for Disaster Fraud. You must still report it to the state.

U.S. Department of Labor: report unemployment identity fraud

Good to know in Arkansas

• Since January 1, 2024, benefits last at most 12 weeks and you must make five work search contacts a week.

  Law: Act 196 of 2023; Act 587 of 2023

• The weekly benefit has been frozen at $81 to $451 since July 1, 2012.

  Law: Benefit Table DWS-ARK-500.1

• Your benefit year starts on the first day of the calendar quarter in which you file (for example, a claim filed November 14 starts October 1).

  Source: ADWS UI Handbook 2026

Changes in 2024–2026

Effective January 1, 2024: Act 196 of 2023 cut the maximum from 16 to 12 weeks for claims filed on or after that date; Act 587 of 2023 requires five work search contacts a week; Act 106 of 2023 disqualifies claimants who miss two scheduled job interviews with the same employer without good cause and notice. In 2025-2026 the agency became the Arkansas Division of Reemployment and moved weekly certifications and work search to Arkansas LAUNCH. No change found to the $81-$451 weekly benefit range.

Questions about unemployment in Arkansas