Unemployment benefits in Kentucky

Can I get benefits?

You need at least $1,500 in your highest-paid quarter, total base-period wages of at least 1.5 times that quarter, at least $1,500 earned outside that quarter, and wages in the last two quarters of your base period of at least 8 times your weekly benefit amount.

Law: KRS 341.350(6)

If you quit

If you quit, you are disqualified unless you had good cause attributable to the employment.

If you were fired

You are disqualified if you were discharged for misconduct or dishonesty connected with your most recent work.

Law: KRS 341.370

Quit, fired, refused work and the federal rules →

The wage test, the amount and your estimate →

How much and how long?

Weekly benefit

$39–$746

Weeks

Currently 16 weeks (it changes with the unemployment rate)

Waiting week

A waiting week

Working part time

An amount equal to 20% of your earnings that week is not deducted.

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

How to file in Kentucky

File online at the Unemployment Insurance Claims Portal. You must first verify your identity with ID.me (have your email, Social Security number, a photo ID and one more ID document).

File as soon as possible after you lose your job or your hours are cut a lot.

What to have ready

• Your Social Security number or Alien Registration number
• Your date of birth, mailing address, phone number and email address
• For every employer in the last 18 months: company name (or temporary agency), mailing address, phone number, start and end dates, and why you no longer work there

Certify (claim your weeks)

Every two weeks. Request benefits every two weeks in the claims portal.

Everything about filing →

Appeal a denial

• Monetary reconsideration — The Monetary Determination
• Appeal to a Referee (UI Appeals Branch) — 30 calendar days from the mail date of the Notice of Determination
• Appeal to the Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Commission — 30 calendar days from the mail date of the Referee Decision
• Complaint for judicial review in Circuit Court — 20 calendar days

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

The hearing

Format

In person or by teleconference, whichever gives the earliest date.

Notice before the hearing

10 days

Overpayments and waivers

An overpayment means you were paid for weeks you were not eligible.

Appeal within

30 days from the mail date of the Notice of Determination that found the overpayment

Fraud penalty

15% added when the overpayment is fraud

Waiver

Not available in our data for regular benefits.

Law: KRS 341.415

Waiver details and the hearing checklist →

Someone filed a claim in your name

If you think someone filed a Kentucky claim in your name, fill out the UI Fraud form on the Kentucky Career Center website (Unemployment Services, then Unemployment Insurance (UI) Fraud). If you got a Form 1099-G for benefits you did not receive, email KYOU1099@ky.gov with your name, the last four digits of your Social Security number, your phone and email, and a notarized statement that you did not receive the benefits and believe someone used your identity.

• Report it online
• Phone: 502-564-2900

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 Kentucky

• Benefit weeks are tied to the state unemployment rate: claims qualifying on or after July 5, 2026 get up to 16 weeks (KRS 341.385; OUI 2026 Eligible Weeks flyer).
• You must do at least five work search activities every week, and three must be job applications or interviews.

  Law: KRS 341.350(3)(c)

• After 6 weeks of benefits, you must accept a suitable job paying at least 120% of your weekly benefit within 30 miles of home.

  Source: OUI UI Changes page

Changes in 2024–2026

The maximum weekly benefit is reset each July 1 under KRS 341.380(3): $746 for claims filed on or after July 5, 2026 (the agency's calculator shows $694 before July 5, 2025). Duration has been indexed to the state unemployment rate (16-24 weeks) since 2023 under H.B. 4 (2022) and H.B. 146 (2023); it stayed at 16 weeks for July 2026. KRS 341.350 was amended by 2026 Ky. Acts ch. 123, effective April 13, 2026. Since October 1, 2026, the call center is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern.

Questions about unemployment in Kentucky