Appeal an unemployment denial in Connecticut
An appeal has short deadlines. Find your deadline, then use the letter and checklist to get ready.
All about unemployment in Connecticut
Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.
Levels of appeal and deadlines
Appeal to an Appeals Referee
Employment Security Appeals Division (Referee Section)
- Deadline
21 calendar days from the mailing date of the decision (determination) you disagree with
- Counts as filed
- on the postmark date or the date the agency receives it, as the state's rule says (check your notice)
- Weekends and holidays
- If the last day falls on a day the Employment Security Division offices are closed, the deadline moves to the next business day. A mailed appeal counts as filed on time if it is received within 21 days or has a U.S. Postal Service postmark within 21 days (private postage meter dates do not count). An online appeal must be received within 21 days.
- How to file
- File through your ReEmployCT account (File Appeal tab). You can also file in person at an American Job Center or an Appeals Division office, by mail with a stamp (not a private postage meter), by fax, or with the online Claimant's Appeal to Referee form if you cannot use ReEmployCT. In a letter, explain why you are appealing.
- Where to send it
Appeals Division, CT Department of Labor, 645 South Main Street, Middletown, CT 06457 (or 249 Thomaston Avenue, Waterbury, CT 06702)
Fax: 860-754-5059
- Official form
- Claimant's Appeal to Referee (online form)
- It must include
- Your name, address and phone number
- The decision you are appealing and its date
- Why you are appealing
- If late, why you did not file on time
- If it is late
- A late appeal may be dismissed. If you file late, say why. If the Appeals Division finds you had good cause, the referee can hear your case.
- While you appeal
- Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).
Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. sec. 31-241(a)
Official source: Source page
Appeal to the Employment Security Board of Review
Employment Security Board of Review
- Deadline
21 calendar days from the date of the Referee's decision (the date a copy was provided to you)
- Counts as filed
- on the postmark date or the date the agency receives it, as the state's rule says (check your notice)
- Weekends and holidays
- If the last day falls on a day the Employment Security Division offices are closed, the deadline moves to the next business day. A mailed appeal counts if received within 21 days or U.S. postmarked within 21 days.
- How to file
- File through your ReEmployCT account, in person at an American Job Center or Appeals Division office, by mail or fax, or with the online Claimant's Appeal to the Board of Review form. The Board lets you send a written statement, reviews the file and listens to the hearing recording. It rarely holds a new hearing. You can instead ask the referee to reopen the case if you have new information and a good reason you did not present it.
- Where to send it
Employment Security Board of Review, 38 Wolcott Hill Road, Wethersfield, CT 06109
Fax: 860-566-3045
- It must include
- Your name, address and phone number
- The Referee's decision you are appealing and its date
- Every reason you think the Referee's decision was wrong
- If it is late
- An appeal filed after 21 days may be accepted only if you show good cause for filing late.
- While you appeal
- Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).
Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. secs. 31-248(a), 31-249
Official source: Source page
Appeal to the Superior Court
- Deadline
30 calendar days from the date the Board of Review's decision was provided to you
- What to know
- If you disagree with the Board's decision, you have 30 calendar days to file a motion to reopen with the Board or an appeal to the Superior Court for the Hartford judicial district or the district where you live. The petition is filed at the Board's office; no bond is required.
Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. secs. 31-249a, 31-249b
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
- A Referee holds a hearing and decides the case fresh. Your Notice of Hearing gives the date, time and place; hearings can be by phone or in person. All parties and witnesses testify under oath.
- Notice before the hearing
- 5 days
- Documents and witnesses
- Send all documents to the Appeals Division at least 24 hours before your hearing. For a phone hearing, mail or fax them to the Appeals office handling your hearing and to the other parties at the addresses on the hearing notice as soon as possible. Black out your Social Security number on documents, but put it in a cover letter. Witnesses with first-hand knowledge should attend; written statements get little weight.
- Subpoena
- If you have a lawyer, the lawyer issues subpoenas. If not, tell the Appeals Division right away. The Referee decides whether a subpoena is needed and arranges for it to be served.
- Interpreter
- If you need an interpreter, tell the Appeals Division as soon as you can. The Appeals Division will provide one for you.
- Representation
- You can represent yourself; the Referee helps you present your case. You may bring a lawyer or other representative at your own cost, and you can ask the Appeals Division to decide what fee can be charged. Free legal aid organizations are listed in the Claimant's Guide.
- If you miss it
- If you appealed and do not attend, you will probably lose. You can ask the Referee to reopen the case, but only with good cause such as a sudden documented illness or emergency. A motion to reopen must be filed within the 21-day appeal period. Ask early for a postponement if you have an unavoidable conflict.
Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. secs. 31-242, 31-248(b)
Overpayments and waivers
If you were paid benefits you were not entitled to, CTDOL charges you with an overpayment. For fraud (for example, not reporting earnings on purpose), you also owe a penalty of 50% of the overpayment the first time and 100% for each later fraud overpayment. Unpaid balances are charged interest of 1% a month.
- Respond within
- 14 days
- Appeal within
- 21 days from the mailing date of the final overpayment determination letter
- Fraud penalty
- 50% added when the overpayment is fraud
- Waiver
- The state can waive some overpayments.
- The standard
- Only overpayments not caused by fraud, wilful misrepresentation or wilful nondisclosure can be waived. CTDOL may waive repayment if repaying would defeat the purpose of benefits or be against equity and good conscience. Factors include family income and economic circumstances, a health condition that greatly limits your chance of work, an error by CTDOL or the Appeals Division, bankruptcy, and death of the claimant.
- How to ask
- If you may qualify, CTDOL sends a waiver questionnaire with the pre-determination letter. Complete it and return it together with the hearing request within 14 days of the mail date. If no questionnaire came, you may not be eligible; call the Consumer Contact Center with questions.
- How the state collects
- CTDOL can take up to 50% of your weekly benefit for a non-fraud overpayment (100% for fraud), set a repayment schedule, take your state and federal tax refunds (the federal refund only for an overpayment caused by fraud or unreported earnings, after a notice giving you at least 60 days to respond), recover through other states, and garnish your wages when you go back to work.
Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. sec. 31-273; Conn. Gen. Stat. sec. 31-273(a)(1)
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 1-800-956-3294. Legal aid and other free help in Connecticut → Official sources →
More questions about unemployment in Connecticut
Where can I get free help with an unemployment claim in Connecticut?
Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut (entry point to free legal aid; listed by the Appeals Division), Connecticut Legal Services (regional offices; listed by the Appeals Division) and Greater Hartford Legal Aid (listed by the Appeals Division).