Unemployment benefits in New York

Can I get benefits?

For claims filed in 2026, you must have been paid wages in at least two calendar quarters, at least $3,500 in one quarter, and total base-period wages of at least 1.5 times your highest quarter.

Law: N.Y. Labor Law sec. 527

If you quit

If you quit without good cause, you are disqualified.

If you were fired

Being fired because you could not meet your employer's performance or production standards or job qualifications can still allow benefits.

Law: N.Y. Labor Law sec. 593

Quit, fired, refused work and the federal rules →

The wage test, the amount and your estimate →

How much and how long?

Weekly benefit

$140–$869

Weeks

Up to 26 weeks

Waiting week

A waiting week

How it is figured and the full rules →

How to file in New York

File online (best between 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.) or by phone with the Telephone Claims Center at 1-888-209-8124, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Turn off any VPN or proxy before filing. You may need to verify your identity with ID.me.

File during your first week of total or partial unemployment; if you wait, you may lose benefits.

What to have ready

• Your full name, phone number and full mailing address
• Your Social Security number
• Your driver's license or other government ID, or your employment authorization number if you are not a U.S. citizen

Certify (claim your weeks)

Weekly. Certify each week online with your NY.gov ID or by phone at 1-888-581-5812.

Everything about filing →

Appeal a denial

• Request for a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge — 30 calendar days from the date printed on the Notice of Determination (its mailing date)
• Appeal to the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board — 20 calendar days from the mailing date of the Administrative Law Judge's decision
• Appeal to the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court, Third Department — 30 calendar days

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

The hearing

Format

Hearings are held virtually through the Appeal Board's Virtual Hearings Center (vhc.uiab.ny.gov) using Webex on a phone, tablet or computer; you can also join by phone.

Overpayments and waivers

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

Appeal within

30 days from the date printed on the Notice of Determination to Claimants for Overpayment

Fraud penalty

15% added when the overpayment is fraud

Waiver

Not available in our data for regular benefits.

Law: N.Y. Labor Law secs. 594, 597

Waiver details and the hearing checklist →

Someone filed a claim in your name

If you get emails, texts, letters, a debit card or a 1099-G from NYSDOL about benefits you did not apply for, report it right away with NYSDOL's online fraud form (on.ny.gov/uifraud). For a 1099-G you did not expect, answer "Yes" to the 1099-G question so NYSDOL can send a corrected form. If you got a Notice of Determination for a claim you never filed, also request a hearing to protect your rights. Do not verify with ID.me unless you are filing for benefits.

• Report it online
• Phone: 1-888-598-2077

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 New York

• The maximum weekly benefit rose to $869 on October 6, 2025, the first change since 2019.

  Source: NYSDOL Maximum Benefit Rate page

• New York reduces partial benefits by hours worked, not dollars earned: up to 10 hours a week costs nothing, but earning more than $869 in gross pay ends benefits for that week.

  Source: NYSDOL Partial Unemployment page

• NYSDOL is moving to a new Unemployment Services system starting Monday, November 2, 2026, at 5 p.m.; online and phone services are closed for about 9 to 12 days and payments will be delayed. File or certify for the week ending November 1 by 5 p.m. on November 2 (or backdate in the new system), and keep doing three work search activities a week during the upgrade.

  Source: NYSDOL Unemployment Services Upgrade page

Changes in 2024–2026

Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2025 (Part KK) set the maximum weekly benefit at $869 from the first Monday of October 2025 (October 6, 2025), then 50% of the state average weekly wage each first Monday of October from 2026 on, unless the trust fund balance test in Labor Law 590(5)(b) suspends the increase; NYSDOL still lists $869 as of October 2026. The minimum is $140 and the qualifying high-quarter amount is $3,500 for 2026 claims ($3,400 in 2025). November 2026: new Unemployment Services claim system.

Questions about unemployment in New York