Unemployment benefits in Delaware

Can I get benefits?

You must have been paid at least 36 times your weekly benefit amount in your base period.

Law: 19 Del. C. sec. 3315(6)

If you quit

If you quit without good cause attributable to your work, you are disqualified.

If you were fired

You are disqualified if you were fired for just cause in connection with your work.

Law: 19 Del. C. sec. 3314(1)-(3)

Quit, fired, refused work and the federal rules →

The wage test, the amount and your estimate →

How much and how long?

Weekly benefit

$20–$450

Weeks

Up to 26 weeks

Waiting week

No waiting week

Working part time

The amount not deducted is the greater of $10 or 50% of your weekly benefit amount.

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

How to file in Delaware

File online. You will verify your identity with ID.me.

File in the first week you are out of work.

What to have ready

• Your name and address
• Your Social Security card (or a W-2 or pay stub showing your name and Social Security number, plus a government photo ID)
• Names and addresses of all employers in the last 18 months

Certify (claim your weeks)

Weekly. Request your benefits every week through WebBenefits online or TeleBenefits by phone (302-761-6576).

Everything about filing →

Appeal a denial

• Appeal to an Appeals Referee — 10 calendar days from the mailing date of the Claims Deputy's determination
• Appeal to the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board (UIAB) — 10 calendar days from the mailing date on the Appeals Referee's decision
• Appeal to the Superior Court — 10 calendar days

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

The hearing

Format

Hearings are held before an Appeals Referee.

Overpayments and waivers

If it is finally decided that you got benefits you were not entitled to, you must repay them, even if the overpayment was the Division's mistake.

Appeal within

15 days from the mailing date of the notice of overpayment and order for recoupment

Fraud penalty

15% added when the overpayment is fraud

Waiver

The state can waive some overpayments.

Law: 19 Del. C. sec. 3325

Waiver details and the hearing checklist →

Someone filed a claim in your name

If someone filed a Delaware unemployment claim in your name, email BPC_Fraud_Unit@delaware.gov with a short description, your full name, mailing address, best phone number and the last 4 digits of your Social Security number. Then file a police report where you lived when the benefits were paid and give the Department a copy.

• Report it online

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 Delaware

• The maximum weekly benefit rose from $400 to $450 for benefit years starting on or after April 2, 2023.

  Law: 19 Del. C. sec. 3313(t)

• A 2023 law (House Bill 176, 84 Del. Laws c. 150, approved August 9, 2023) lengthened the time to appeal a Claims Deputy's determination from 10 to 15 calendar days.

  Law: 19 Del. C. sec. 3318(b)

• Delaware lets you earn up to half of your weekly benefit amount before your check is cut.

  Law: 19 Del. C. sec. 3313(m)

Questions about unemployment in Delaware