Unemployment benefits in Michigan

Can I get benefits?

For claims filed in 2026, you need at least $5,328 in wages in at least one quarter of your base period, wages in at least two quarters, and total base-period wages of at least 1.5 times your highest quarter.

Law: MCL 421.45, 421.46(b), (c)

If you quit

If you quit, the law presumes you left voluntarily without good cause attributable to the employer, and you have the burden of proof to show otherwise.

If you were fired

You are disqualified if you were suspended or fired for misconduct connected with your work or for being intoxicated at work.

Law: MCL 421.29(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

up to $530

Weeks

Up to 26 weeks

Waiting week

No waiting week

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

How to file in Michigan

Apply online in MiWAM (you need a MiLogin account first), or by phone at 1-866-500-0017, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. You can also make a phone, virtual or in-person appointment with UIA.

File as soon as you lose your job or your hours are cut.

What to have ready

• Driver's license or state ID card
• Social Security number
• Bank account and routing number for direct deposit (other payment options are available)

Certify (claim your weeks)

Every two weeks. Certify every two weeks online in MiWAM (any time during your certification week, by 11:59 p.m. Saturday) or by phone with MARVIN at 1-866-638-3993 on the day and time set by the last two digits of your Social Security number (Thursday and Friday are make-up days).

Everything about filing →

Appeal a denial

• Protest of a Determination — 30 calendar days from the mail date on the Determination
• Appeal of a Redetermination for a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge — 30 calendar days from the mail date on the Redetermination
• Appeal to the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Commission — 30 calendar days from the mail date of the Administrative Law Judge's decision (or of a denial of rehearing)
• Appeal to circuit court — 30 calendar days

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

The hearing

Format

Hearings are normally by telephone conference call; they can be by video (Teams or Zoom) or in person.

Notice before the hearing

10 days

Overpayments and waivers

An overpayment means you got benefits you were not entitled to.

Appeal within

30 days from the date on the determination or redetermination letter (protest a determination; appeal a redetermination)

Fraud penalty

100% added when the overpayment is fraud

Waiver

The state can waive some overpayments.

Law: MCL 421.54(b), 421.62

Waiver details and the hearing checklist →

Someone filed a claim in your name

Signs include finding a claim already exists when you try to file, getting a tax statement or Monetary Determination for a claim you did not file, or your employer telling you a claim was filed while you were working. Report it right away online at Michigan.gov/UIA ('Report Fraud or Identity Theft') or call 1-866-500-0017.

• Report it online
• Phone: 1-866-500-0017

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 Michigan

• The maximum weekly benefit rose to $530 for claims filed on or after January 1, 2026, and will rise to $614 (with $26 per dependent) for claims filed on or after January 1, 2027; from 2028 it is adjusted yearly for inflation.

  Law: MCL 421.27(b)(1), (r)

• Since July 19, 2026, claimants must report at least 3 work search activities each week.

  Law: MCL 421.28(7)

  Source: UIA law changes page

• Michigan has a protest step: you protest a Determination to UIA first, then appeal the Redetermination for a hearing.

  Law: MCL 421.32a, 421.33

Changes in 2024–2026

Public Act 173 of 2024 raised the maximum weekly benefit from $362 to $446 (2025), $530 (2026) and $614 (2027), with inflation indexing from 2028; raised the dependent allowance; and raised maximum weeks from 20 to 26 (effective April 2025). Public Act 238 of 2024, in effect from July 17-19, 2026: at least 3 work search activities a week; domestic violence quit exception; consolidated appeal hearings; up to four financial hardship waiver requests a year; changes to administrative-error and wage-reporting waivers; Work Share range widened to 10-60% hour cuts.

Law: SB 40; $12.66 in 2025, $19.33 in 2026, $26 in 2027; SB 962

Questions about unemployment in Michigan