California Unemployment Appeal | Unemployment Claim Map

Levels of appeal and deadlines

Appeal to an Administrative Law Judge

California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board (CUIAB), Office of Appeals

Deadline: 30 calendar days from the mailing date on your Notice of Determination and/or Ruling (DE 1080CZ) or Notice of Overpayment
Counts as filed: on the postmark date
How to file: Appeal in writing. Use the Appeal Form (DE 1000M) that came with your notice, or write a letter. Mail it to the office address at the top of the notice you are appealing. EDD notes that the U.S. Postal Service now postmarks mail when it is processed, not when it is dropped off.
Official form: Appeal Form (DE 1000M)
It must include: Your full name, mailing address and phone number
Your Social Security number
The name and mailing address of anyone representing you
The decision you are appealing and the date of the notice
Why you disagree, with any details, documents and evidence
Any request for an interpreter or a special accommodation
Your signature and the date
If it is late: You can still appeal after 30 days, but you must explain why you were late. The judge decides whether you had good cause, such as a mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect.
While you appeal: Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).

Law: Cal. Unemp. Ins. Code sec. 1328

Official source: Source page

Board appeal (second-level appeal)

California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board

Deadline: 30 calendar days from the date of the judge's decision
Counts as filed: on the postmark date
How to file: Appeal in writing through your CUIAB My Appeal account, or send the Board Appeal Form or a letter to the office listed on the judge's decision. You can ask for a copy of the record to send written argument, ask to send new evidence, and ask to give oral argument. The Board usually does not hold a new hearing.
Where to send it: File online
Official form: CUIAB Board Appeal Form
It must include: Your name and mailing address
Your Social Security number
The name and mailing address of anyone representing you
The date and case number of the judge's decision you are appealing
Why you disagree
Your phone, cell phone and email
Your signature and the date
If late, why it is late
If it is late: A late Board appeal may be dismissed unless you show good cause for the delay.
While you appeal: Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).

Law: Cal. Unemp. Ins. Code secs. 1334, 1336

Official source: Source page

Petition for writ of mandate in superior court

Deadline: 6 months from the mailing date of the Board's final decision
What to know: If you disagree with the Board's decision, you can file a petition for writ of mandate in your county's superior court within six months.

Law: Cal. Unemp. Ins. Code sec. 410

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.

Date of the letter (required)

Your full name (required)

Your mailing address (required)

Your phone (optional)

Your email (optional)

Which appeal is this letter for?

Date on your notice (required)

How will you send it?

Address printed on your notice (required)

Copy the address where your notice says to send it.

The decision you are appealing (in your own words) (required)

Why you disagree (in your own words)

Write it yourself, in English. We do not suggest what to say.

Anything else your notice asks you to include (optional)

Sign the letter and keep a copy. Keep certifying while you appeal.

Other formats

Preview (the English text you send)

Hearing preparation checklist

Logistics and rights from your state's hearing information, plus your own list of witnesses and documents.

The hearing

Format: Most hearings are by telephone; some are in person. Your Notice of Hearing says which. For a phone hearing you must call in with the conference ID; the judge will not call you.
Notice before the hearing: 10 days
Documents and witnesses: You can bring witnesses and documents. Eyewitnesses are best. Make sure your documents are uploaded in your myAppeal account or reach the Office of Appeals before the hearing.
Subpoena: To require a witness to appear or documents to be produced, ask through your myAppeal account or call the Office of Appeals as soon as possible.
Interpreter: CUIAB provides an interpreter at the hearing. If your Notice of Hearing does not mention one and you need it, call the Office of Appeals right away.
Representation: You may bring a lawyer or other representative at your own cost. The process is designed so you can represent yourself, and most people do.
If you miss it: If you filed the appeal and do not appear or send a written statement, the judge will dismiss it. If you had a good reason for missing the hearing, ask to reopen within 30 days of the decision.

Law: Cal. Unemp. Ins. Code secs. 1951-1960; Cal. Code Regs., tit. 22, secs. 5000-5111

Overpayments and waivers

An overpayment means you were paid benefits you were not eligible for. If EDD finds fraud (false statements or withheld facts on purpose), you also owe a 30% penalty. Without fraud, you owe the overpaid amount but no penalty.

Respond within: 15 days
Appeal within: 30 days from the mailing date on the Notice of Overpayment (DE 1444) or Notice of Denial of Benefits and Overpayment (DE 1480)
Fraud penalty: 30% added when the overpayment is fraud
Waiver: The state can waive some overpayments.
The standard: You may not have to repay if the overpayment was not your fault, was not caused by fraud, misrepresentation or willful nondisclosure, and repaying would be against equity and good conscience.
How to ask: If EDD finds the overpayment may not be your fault, it sends an Application for Overpayment Waiver (DE 1446UI) with the Notice of Potential Overpayment (DE 1447). You must complete and return it. If no waiver application came with the notice, EDD has already decided you are not eligible for a waiver.
Income: EDD looks at your gross family income for the past six months. You qualify for a waiver if your average monthly income was at or below the amount in EDD's Family Income Level Table for your family size.
How the state collects: If you do not repay on time, EDD can take the money from future unemployment, disability or Paid Family Leave benefits, withhold your federal and state tax refunds and state lottery winnings, file a court judgment or record a lien on your property.

Law: Cal. Unemp. Ins. Code secs. 1375, 1375.1, 1377; Cal. Unemp. Ins. Code sec. 1375; Cal. Code Regs., tit. 22, sec. 1375

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 1-800-300-5616. Legal aid and other free help in California → Official sources →

Appeal an unemployment denial in California