Indiana Unemployment Appeal Deadline | Unemployment Claim Map

Levels of appeal and deadlines

Appeal and request for hearing before an Administrative Law Judge

DWD Unemployment Insurance Appeals Division (Administrative Law Judges)

Deadline

15 calendar days from the date DWD sent the Determination of Eligibility

How to file

Appeal online in Uplink (Issue History, then "File Appeal"), or send a written appeal by fax to 317-233-6888, by mail, or in person at the DWD lobby. Keep proof of when you sent it, such as a fax confirmation or receipt. Note: a monetary determination, waiver determination, wage garnishment or tax refund claim cannot be appealed online.

Where to send it

ATTN: UI Appeals Division, Indiana Department of Workforce Development, 10 North Senate Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46204-2201

File online

Fax: 317-233-6888

It must include

A copy of the Determination of Eligibility you are appealing, or its issue ID number
A statement that you want to appeal that determination
Why you disagree with it
Your signature, and that you are the claimant (or representative)
Your current mailing address and phone number
The last four digits of your Social Security number

If it is late

Appeals not filed within the 15 days allowed by Indiana law will be dismissed.

While you appeal

Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).

Law: IC 22-4-17-2(h), (j)

Official source: Source page

Appeal to the Unemployment Insurance Review Board

Indiana Unemployment Insurance Review Board

Deadline

15 calendar days from the date the Administrative Law Judge's decision was issued (sent)

How to file

Send a written appeal by mail, by fax to 317-233-3348, or in person at the DWD lobby. If you have documents that were not available at your hearing, include them and explain why they were not given to the judge. The Review Board usually decides on the record without a new hearing.

Where to send it

ATTN: Review Board, Indiana Department of Workforce Development, 10 North Senate Ave, Room SE018, Indianapolis, IN 46204-2201

Fax: 317-233-3348

It must include

A copy of the judge's decision or its case number
A statement that you want to appeal and why you disagree with the judge's decision
Your signature, and that you are the claimant (or representative)
Your current mailing address and phone number
The last four digits of your Social Security number
Any new documents, with an explanation of why they were not given to the judge

If it is late

The judge's decision becomes final unless it is appealed to the Review Board within 15 calendar days.

While you appeal

Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).

Law: IC 22-4-17-3(b)

Official source: Source page

Appeal to the Indiana Court of Appeals

Deadline: 30 calendar days from the date of the Review Board's decision
What to know: If you disagree with the Review Board's decision, you can appeal to the Indiana Court of Appeals for errors of law. You start the appeal by filing a Notice of Appeal with the Clerk of the Indiana Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and Tax Court within 30 days after the date of the Review Board's decision; if it is late, the right to appeal is lost. The court has its own rules and costs. Contact the Clerk at 317-232-1930. If you cannot afford the hearing transcript, you can ask the Review Board in a sworn statement to prepare it free.

Law: IC 22-4-17-12; Indiana Appellate Rule 9(A)(3), (A)(5)

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. The judge calls you at the number on your Acknowledgment Sheet, within 60 minutes of the start time; the call may show as blocked or unavailable, so turn off call blockers. You can ask in writing for an in-person hearing and explain why.
Notice before the hearing: 10 days
Documents and witnesses: Send any documents you want the judge to consider by mail, fax or in person to the Appeals office AND to the other party; they must be received at least 48 hours before the hearing. Department records used to decide the issue may be considered; view them in your Uplink Correspondence History. Tell the judge right away if you have video or audio evidence.
Interpreter: Interpreters are available on request. Call the Appeals office at 317-232-7170 at least three days before your hearing. Testimony in another language is translated by an interpreter DWD provides at its expense.
Representation: You can have a lawyer or representative, but you do not have to. Your representative must tell the judge in writing before the hearing and send a copy to the other party. There is no charge to file an appeal.
If you miss it: If you filed the appeal and do not take part, your appeal will be dismissed. To postpone, send the judge your reason by fax or letter at least three days before the hearing, with a copy to the other party; postponements are up to the judge.

Law: IC 22-4-17-6

Overpayments and waivers

An overpayment means you got benefits you were not eligible for. You must repay it, whatever the reason, unless a waiver is approved. If DWD finds fraud, you also owe a penalty of 25% for the first fraud overpayment, 50% for the second and 100% for the third and later, plus interest of 0.5% a month. You cannot appeal the Notice of Overpayment itself, but you can appeal the Determination of Eligibility that caused it; a timely appeal pauses collection.

Appeal within: 15 days from the date DWD sent the Determination of Eligibility that created the overpayment
Fraud penalty: 25% added when the overpayment is fraud
Waiver: The state can waive some overpayments.
The standard: DWD may waive repayment if the payment was not your fault (regardless of intent) and repaying would be against equity and good conscience. Repayment is against equity and good conscience when your household's combined gross income is 65% or less of the current Federal Poverty Guidelines for your household size, looking at the first two of the last three completed calendar quarters before your request is reviewed. A waiver cannot be considered for an overpayment caused by knowingly hiding earnings or facts or giving false facts (fraud).
How to ask: Fill out the Overpayment Waiver Request Application and send it to DWD within 15 days of the date the determination creating the overpayment becomes final. DWD reviews it and sends you a determination. If your request is denied and your situation changes a lot, you can ask DWD to reconsider after at least six months (no more than two times).
Waiver form: Overpayment Waiver Request Application (State Form 52986)
Income: Your household's combined gross income must be 65% or less of the current Federal Poverty Guidelines for your household size.
How the state collects: You get monthly bills and can set up a payment agreement. If you claim benefits again, 75% of each weekly payment goes to the overpayment. DWD can withhold your Indiana 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) and lottery winnings, garnish your wages, and the Attorney General can sue. You can pay at payingov.com/dwd, by phone at 1-888-877-0450, by mail or in person.

Law: IC 22-4-13-1; IC 22-4-13-1(i)-(n)

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 1-800-891-6499. Legal aid and other free help in Indiana → Official sources →

Appeal an unemployment denial in Indiana