Appeal an unemployment denial in Kentucky

An appeal has short deadlines. Find your deadline, then use the letter and checklist to get ready.

All about unemployment in Kentucky

Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.

Levels of appeal and deadlines

Monetary reconsideration

Office of Unemployment Insurance

Deadline

The Monetary Determination

How to file
If your Monetary Determination says your claim is not valid, or you think wages are missing, you can ask for reconsideration and send proof of the wages not counted, such as check stubs, W-2s or a statement from your employer. The Monetary Determination explains how. Keep requesting benefits while you wait.
It must include
  • Proof of the wages not counted (check stubs, W-2s or an employer statement)
While you appeal
Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).

Official source: Source page

Appeal to a Referee (UI Appeals Branch)

Office of Unemployment Insurance, UI Appeals Branch (referee)

Deadline

30 calendar days from the mail date of the Notice of Determination

Counts as filed
on the postmark date
Weekends and holidays
If the due date falls on a day the office or the post office is closed, the next day it is open is the due date.
How to file
Appeal in writing by email, fax or mail. A mailed appeal counts on its U.S. Postal Service postmark date; a private postage-meter mark does not count, so such an appeal counts on the day the office receives it. Appeal rights are on the last page of each Notice of Determination.
Where to send it

UI Appeals Branch, 500 Mero Street, 4th Floor, Frankfort, KY 40601

Fax: 502-564-7850

Email: UIappeals@ky.gov

It must include
  • The claimant's name
  • The last four digits of the claimant's Social Security number
  • Your contact information
  • A clear statement that you want to appeal, and which determination
While you appeal
Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).

Law: KRS 341.420(2); KRS 787 KAR 1:110 sec. 2; KRS 787 KAR 1:230

Official source: Source page

Appeal to the Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Commission

Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Commission

Deadline

30 calendar days from the mail date of the Referee Decision

Counts as filed
on the postmark date
Weekends and holidays
If the due date falls on a day the office or the post office is closed, the next day it is open is the due date.
How to file
Appeal in writing by email, fax or mail. The Commission decides on the record of the referee hearing and does not consider evidence that was not given at that hearing. It may send the case back for a new hearing. After the Commission acknowledges your appeal, you have 10 days from its mailing date to send a written argument.
Where to send it

UI Commission, 500 Mero Street, 3rd Floor, Frankfort, KY 40601

Fax: 502-564-3562

Email: UIcommission@ky.gov

It must include
  • The claimant's name
  • The last four digits of the claimant's Social Security number
  • Your contact information
While you appeal
Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).

Law: KRS 341.420(4), 341.430; KRS 787 KAR 1:110 sec. 3

Official source: Source page

Complaint for judicial review in Circuit Court

Deadline

20 calendar days from the mailing date of the Commission's Order

What to know
You can ask the Commission to reconsider its decision in writing within 10 days of its mailing date, but this does not stop the time to go to court. To go to court, file a complaint against the Commission in the Circuit Court of the county where you last worked, within 20 days. The complaint must state the grounds and errors and be verified (sworn). Keep requesting benefits while the court case is pending.

Law: KRS 341.450; KRS 787 KAR 1:110 sec. 3

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.

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Use the date printed on your paper or online notice.

Pick the appeal and enter the 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.

Copy the address where your notice says to send it.

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

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.

Other formats

Preview

The hearing

Format
In person or by teleconference, whichever gives the earliest date. It is held by teleconference if an in-person hearing would require travel of more than 50 miles, cause undue expense, or create a safety risk.
Notice before the hearing
10 days
Documents and witnesses
For a teleconference hearing, send copies of your documents to the referee and to the other party before the hearing. Documents not sent to both are left out of the record. You can question the other party and the witnesses.
Subpoena
Witnesses can be subpoenaed for the hearing; ask the UI Appeals Branch. Subpoenaed witnesses are paid fees set by law.
Interpreter
Call 502-564-2900 for free translation help.
If you miss it
If you filed the appeal and do not appear, the referee affirms the determination. A party who misses a hearing can ask for a rehearing within 7 days of the hearing date and must show good cause. You can ask in advance to reschedule for good cause, such as your current job, a medical emergency, a death in the family or an act of God.

Law: KRS 341.440; KRS 787 KAR 1:110 sec. 2

Overpayments and waivers

An overpayment means you were paid for weeks you were not eligible. You must repay it. Non-fraud overpayments can be taken from future benefits at 25% of your weekly benefit, or repaid in full or with a payment plan. If the overpayment was caused by office error, Kentucky can recover it only by taking 25% from future benefits you claim. Fraud overpayments carry a 15% penalty, are taken from 100% of future benefits, and add interest of 1.5% a month if not repaid within one year.

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.
How the state collects
Kentucky can take overpayments from future benefits (25% for non-fraud, 100% for fraud or back-pay awards), intercept state and federal income 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), file a lien on your property, and collect like unpaid taxes. Fraud overpayments add 1.5% interest a month after one year, and lien filing fees may be charged.

Law: KRS 341.415; KRS 341.415(1)(d)

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 502-564-2900. Legal aid and other free help in Kentucky → Official sources →

More questions about unemployment in Kentucky

Where can I get free help with an unemployment claim in Kentucky?

KYJustice.org - free legal information and help finding legal aid in Kentucky, Kentucky Legal Aid (western and south central Kentucky) and Legal Aid of the Bluegrass (central and northern Kentucky).