Appeal an unemployment denial in Missouri
An appeal has short deadlines. Find your deadline, then use the letter and checklist to get ready.
All about unemployment in Missouri
Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.
Levels of appeal and deadlines
Appeal to the Appeals Tribunal (Referee)
Division of Employment Security Appeals Tribunal
- Deadline
30 calendar days from the date of the determination (the last day to appeal is printed on the determination)
- Counts as filed
- on the postmark date or the date the agency receives it, as the state's rule says (check your notice)
- Weekends and holidays
- If the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, you can file on the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday.
- How to file
- Appeal online in UInteract, or by mail or fax with the Claimant Request for Appeal form or a signed letter. You cannot appeal by email or phone. If your determination gives a different address, use that one. A mailed appeal counts as filed on the postmark date; otherwise on the date DES receives it.
- Where to send it
Division of Employment Security, Appeals Tribunal, P.O. Box 59, Jefferson City, MO 65104-0059
Fax: 1-573-751-1321
- It must include
- Your name and Social Security number
- The name of the employer
- The date and subject of the determination
- A short statement of why you disagree
- Your signature
- If it is late
- The 30-day period can be extended for good cause.
- While you appeal
- Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).
Law: RSMo 288.070.6, 288.070.10
Official source: Source page
Application for Review to the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission
Missouri Labor and Industrial Relations Commission
- Deadline
30 calendar days from the mailing date of the Referee's decision (shown just above the Referee's name)
- How to file
- Mail or fax a signed letter or the Application for Review form to the DES Appeals Tribunal. It cannot be filed online or by email. Ask for a copy of the hearing transcript in your application if you want one. The Commission usually decides on the record without a new hearing.
- Where to send it
Division of Employment Security, Appeals Tribunal, P.O. Box 59, Jefferson City, MO 65104
Fax: 1-573-751-7893
- Official form
- Application for Review (MOIC-L-6)
- It must include
- The names of the parties
- The claimant's Social Security number
- The appeal number (or numbers)
- Why you disagree with the Referee's decision (optional, but this is your only chance to tell the Commission)
- If you did not take part in the hearing, why
- Your signature
- While you appeal
- Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).
Law: RSMo 288.190.3, 288.200
Official source: Source page
Appeal to the Missouri Court of Appeals
- Deadline
20 calendar days from the date the Commission's decision becomes final (10 days after it is issued)
- What to know
- The Commission's decision becomes final 10 days after it is issued. You can appeal to the Missouri Court of Appeals within 20 days after that, by mailing the Notice of Appeal to the Commission. Claimants do not pay the $70 filing fee.
Law: RSMo 288.200.2, 288.210
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.
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. You call the toll-free number on your Notice of Telephone Hearing and enter the PIN. You have the right to ask for an in-person hearing in Jefferson City, Kansas City, Springfield or St. Louis.
- Notice before the hearing
- 7 days
- Documents and witnesses
- Mail, fax or deliver one copy of your evidence to the Referee and one to the other party early enough to arrive before the hearing. Put the claimant's Social Security number and the appeal number on it. Evidence that arrives late cannot be considered. The appeal packet mailed with your notice is used as an exhibit.
- Subpoena
- Ask the Referee in writing, quickly after you get your hearing notice. Include the Social Security number and appeal number, the witness names or documents, the delivery address, what they will prove, and that you asked and were refused. You deliver the subpoena yourself.
- Interpreter
- If you need translation services or an accommodation, tell the Appeals Tribunal at 1-573-751-3913 as soon as you know an appeal has been filed.
- Representation
- You may represent yourself, use an unpaid agent you authorize in writing, or hire a lawyer licensed in Missouri.
- If you miss it
- If you filed the appeal and do not take part in the hearing, your appeal will be dismissed. If you did not file the appeal, your evidence will not be considered. If you appeal to the Commission because you missed the hearing, explain why in your Application for Review.
Law: RSMo 288.190
Overpayments and waivers
If you got benefits you were not entitled to, you must repay them, even if it was not your fault. DES notifies you of the overpayment. You can pay in one lump sum or set up a payment plan. If DES finds fraud (knowingly hiding or misstating facts), you must repay the benefits plus a 25% penalty.
- Appeal within
- 30 days from the date of the overpayment determination
- Fraud penalty
- 25% added when the overpayment is fraud
- Waiver
- Not available in our data for regular benefits.
- How the state collects
- If you do not repay a non-fraud overpayment, DES takes it from future unemployment benefits until it is paid. For a fraud overpayment, DES can also file liens on your property, garnish your wages, and take federal and state tax refunds and lottery winnings.
Law: RSMo 288.380.9, 288.381
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 1-800-320-2519. Legal aid and other free help in Missouri → Official sources →
More questions about unemployment in Missouri
Where can I get free help with an unemployment claim in Missouri?
Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (free civil legal aid), Legal Aid of Western Missouri (free civil legal aid) and Missouri Job Centers (free job search help; a phone you can use for a hearing).