Unemployment benefits in Minnesota
Minnesota calls it Unemployment Insurance (UI), run by Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, Unemployment Insurance Program (DEED). You may get up to $983 a week for up to 26 weeks, after a waiting week.
Opens Ui.mn.gov applicant account on the state's site.
Or call 1-877-898-9090 · Customer service representatives: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Automated phone system and online: Sunday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. · TTY 1-866-814-1252
Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.
Can I get benefits?
To set up a benefit account, your base-period wage credits must be at least 5.3% of the state's average annual wage, rounded down to the next lower $100.
Law: Minn. Stat. sec. 268.07, subd. 2
If you quit
If you quit, you are not eligible unless your quit fits one of the exceptions in the law.
If you were fired
If you were discharged for employment misconduct, you are not eligible.
Law: Minn. Stat. sec. 268.095
How much and how long?
- Weekly benefit
up to $983
- Weeks
Up to 26 weeks
- Waiting week
A waiting week
- Working part time
An amount equal to 50% of your earnings that week is not deducted.
How to file in Minnesota
Apply online at ui.mn.gov (Sunday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.) or by phone (Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) at 1-877-898-9090 or 651-296-3644.
Apply the same week you become unemployed or your hours are greatly reduced.
What to have ready
- Your Social Security number
- Your driver's license or state ID number
- For each employer in the last 18 months: name, address, phone, dates worked (month and year), pay rate and why you no longer work there
Certify (claim your weeks)
Weekly. Request a benefit payment for each week, online (Sunday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.) or by phone on your scheduled day.
Appeal a denial
- Appeal to an Unemployment Law Judge — 45 calendar days from the date the determination was sent (the deadline is printed on the determination)
- Request for Reconsideration — 45 calendar days from the mail date of the judge's decision
- Petition for writ of certiorari to the Minnesota Court of Appeals — 45 calendar days
Deadline calculator, appeal letter and hearing checklist: Appeal details →
The hearing
- Format
- Hearings are by telephone.
- Notice before the hearing
- 10 days
Overpayments and waivers
If you were paid benefits you were not eligible for, you must repay them, whatever the cause.
- Appeal within
- 45 days from the date the overpayment determination was sent
- Fraud penalty
- 40% added when the overpayment is fraud
- Waiver
- Not available in our data for regular benefits.
Law: Minn. Stat. sec. 268.18
Someone filed a claim in your name
If you got mail about an unemployment account you did not open, report it with DEED's online fraud form (ui.mn.gov/fraud-report). DEED reviews it right away. Do not include a fraudulent 1099-G amount on your tax returns.
National steps
- 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.
- 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.
- Check your free credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com or 877-322-8228. Report other identity theft at IdentityTheft.gov.
- 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
Free help in Minnesota
Legal aid
- LawHelpMN - Minnesota legal aid directory (free legal information and help)
- CareerForce (free job search help)
Language help
The phone system offers English, Spanish, Hmong and Somali. For any other language, ask the representative for an interpreter. The Information Handbook is available in Spanish, Hmong and Somali. Free interpreters are provided for appeal hearings: call the Appeals Office.
- Twin Cities calling area: 1-651-296-3644
- Appeals Office: 1-651-296-3745
Agency guides and handbooks
- DEED: Unemployment Insurance Information Handbook (October 25, 2026 - October 30, 2027)
- DEED: Manual de Información (Spanish handbook)
- DEED: How do I appeal?
- DEED: Appeal Hearing Guide
- DEED: Reason you are unemployed
- Minnesota Court of Appeals: Filing an Unemployment Appeal
The agency's unemployment page (DEED)
National help
Go deeper
How to file in Minnesota
What to have ready, when your claim starts, certifying and your first payment.
Weekly benefit amount in Minnesota
The wage test, how the amount is figured, weeks, the waiting week, part-time work and an estimate.
Appeal a denial in Minnesota
Every level and deadline, a deadline calculator, an appeal letter, the hearing and overpayments.
Quit or fired in Minnesota
What the state says about quitting, being fired and refusing work.
Good to know in Minnesota
- The weekly maximum changes on the last Sunday in October; for benefit accounts started on or after October 25, 2026 it is $983.
Source: DEED Information Handbook, Oct. 25, 2026 - Oct. 30, 2027
- Minnesota gives 45 calendar days to appeal a determination, to ask for reconsideration, and to go to the Court of Appeals.
Law: Minn. Stat. 268.101, 268.105, as amended in 2023
- There is no waiver of overpayments in Minnesota.
Source: DEED Benefit overpayments page
Changes in 2024–2026
Appeal and reconsideration deadlines are now 45 calendar days. The weekly maximum is reset each year on the last Sunday in October; it is $983 for accounts effective on or after October 25, 2026.
Law: 2023 Minn. Laws ch. 33
Questions about unemployment in Minnesota
How do I file for unemployment in Minnesota?
Apply online at ui.mn.gov (Sunday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.) or by phone (Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) at 1-877-898-9090 or 651-296-3644.
How much is the weekly benefit in Minnesota?
The weekly benefit is up to $983. Maximum: benefit accounts effective on or after October 25, 2026 (the last Sunday in October). Your weekly benefit amount is the higher of two figures: 50% of your average weekly wage over the whole base period (total wages divided by 52), up to 66 2/3% of the state's average weekly wage; or 50% of your average weekly wage in your highest quarter (that quarter's wages divided by 13), up to 43% of the state's average weekly wage.
How many weeks of unemployment can I get in Minnesota?
Up to 26 weeks. The most you can get on a benefit account is 26 times your weekly benefit amount or one-third of your base-period wage credits, whichever is lower.
What is the deadline to appeal an unemployment denial in Minnesota?
Appeal to an Unemployment Law Judge: 45 calendar days from the date the determination was sent (the deadline is printed on the determination). File as early as you can.