How to file for unemployment in New Jersey

Filing, step by step

File online at myunemployment.nj.gov (the easiest and quickest way), or by phone through a Reemployment Call Center. If you were a maritime worker in the last 18 months or live outside the United States, you must file by phone. You can use a computer at a One-Stop Career Center, and you can book an appointment there for in-person help with a claim.

When to file and when your claim starts

File as soon as you become unemployed or your hours are cut, but not before. Your claim does not begin until you file. Your 'date of claim' is the Sunday of the week you file. The online system does not backdate claims; if you think your claim should be backdated, call a Reemployment Call Center and a claims examiner will decide.

What to have ready

• Your Social Security number
• Your home and mailing address and phone number
• Your New Jersey driver's license or non-driver photo ID number
• Your alien registration number, if you are not a U.S. citizen or national
• Information from your W-2s or pay stubs
• Your last employer's name, full mailing address and phone number, your start date, your last day of work and the reason you left (or why your hours were cut)
• The name, address and phone number of every employer you worked for in the last 18 months, with start and end dates and why each job ended
• Military: DD Form 214 if you were on active duty in the last 2 years. Federal workers: Standard Form 8 and Standard Form 50 if you worked for the federal government in the last 18 months
• Bank name, account number and routing number if you want direct deposit

Certify (claim your weeks)

How often: Weekly. Certify every week online (Sunday through Friday), or every two weeks by phone on your assigned day (Monday if your Social Security number ends in an odd number, Tuesday if it ends in an even number). Report all work and gross earnings for the week you earned them, even if you have not been paid yet. Your first certification is on a Wednesday, 17 days after your date of claim.

Your first payment

Your first certification is 17 days after your date of claim. After you certify, money usually reaches your direct deposit account or prepaid debit card within 2 business days. If you do not choose direct deposit, you get a prepaid debit card in the mail 7 to 10 days after you file.

Paper forms

• Unemployment Insurance: Your Rights and Responsibilities (PR-94), with dependency benefits application, withholding change form and direct deposit form (BC-502)

Law: N.J.S.A. 43:21-4(a)-(b), 43:21-6(a); NJDOL PR-94 (7/2026)

Official source: Source page

What applies in every state

• File with the unemployment program of the state where you worked. If you worked in another state or in several states, the agency in the state where you live now can tell you how to file with other states.
• It generally takes two to three weeks after you file to get your first payment. Some states require a one-week waiting period, so the second week you claim is the first week paid.

Free help

Call 732-761-2020. Legal aid and other free help in New Jersey → Official sources →