New York Unemployment Appeal Deadline | Unemployment Claim Map

Levels of appeal and deadlines

Request for a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge

Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board (Administrative Law Judge Section), independent of NYSDOL

Deadline

30 calendar days from the date printed on the Notice of Determination (its mailing date)

Counts as filed

on the postmark date

How to file

Your request must be in writing; a phone call is not a hearing request. Online: sign in at labor.ny.gov/signin, choose "Go to My Online Forms" and the "Claimant Request for Hearing" form (or send a secure message choosing "Hearings and Appeals," then "I want to request a hearing"). By mail or fax: send the Claimant Request for a Hearing form (LO 435) or a signed letter. Keep claiming weekly benefits while you wait.

Where to send it

NYS Department of Labor, P.O. Box 15131, Albany, NY 12212-5131

File online

Fax: 518-457-9378

Official form

Claimant Request for a Hearing (LO 435)

It must include

Your full name
The last four digits of your Social Security number
The mailing date of the determination you disagree with
The reasons you disagree with the determination
Your signature
If you are filing after 30 days, why your request is late

If it is late

If you ask after 30 days, you must state why your request is late. An Administrative Law Judge may extend the time only in limited circumstances.

While you appeal

Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).

Law: N.Y. Labor Law sec. 620(1)

Official source: Source page

Appeal to the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board

Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board (one or more of its five Members)

Deadline: 20 calendar days from the mailing date of the Administrative Law Judge's decision
How to file: Send a letter stating why you disagree with the judge's decision. You must have taken part in the hearing to appeal; if you missed it, ask to reopen instead. After you appeal, the Board sends a Notice of Receipt of Appeal with deadlines to review your file and the hearing transcript and to send a written statement; these deadlines are strictly enforced.
Where to send it: NYS Department of Labor, P.O. Box 15126, Albany, NY 12212-5126
It must include: Your name and the last four digits of your Social Security number
The judge's decision you are appealing (case number and date)
Why you do not agree with the judge's decision
If late, why your appeal is late
Your signature
If it is late: If more than 20 days have passed, you must explain why your appeal is late.
While you appeal: Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).

Law: N.Y. Labor Law sec. 621(1)

Official source: Source page

Appeal to the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court, Third Department

Deadline: 30 calendar days from the date the Appeal Board's decision was mailed
What to know: If you disagree with the Appeal Board's decision, you can appeal to the Appellate Division, Third Department. The appeal is made in writing to the Appeal Board (UI Appeal Board, P.O. Box 15126, Albany, NY 12212-5126) within 30 days, and the Board sends further instructions. Within the same 30 days you may instead ask the Appeal Board to reconsider its decision.

Law: N.Y. Labor Law sec. 624

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.

Date of the letter (required)

Your full name (required)

Your mailing address (required)

Your phone (optional)

Your email (optional)

Which appeal is this letter for?

Date on your notice (required)

How will you send it?

Address printed on your notice (required)

Copy the address where your notice says to send it.

The decision you are appealing (in your own words) (required)

Why you disagree (in your own words)

Write it yourself, in English. We do not suggest what to say.

Anything else your notice asks you to include (optional)

Sign the letter and keep a copy. Keep certifying while you appeal.

Other formats

Preview (the English text you send)

Hearing preparation checklist

Logistics and rights from your state's hearing information, plus your own list of witnesses and documents.

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. Sign in at least 30 minutes early with the hearing ID on your notice.
Documents and witnesses: You should receive the documents for your hearing about 7 days before it. If possible, email or fax your supporting documents to the Appeal Board contact on your hearing notice at least 3 days before the hearing. You may inspect your file before the hearing. The judge considers only evidence identified at the hearing, shown to the other side and accepted into the record.
Subpoena: If someone will not give you evidence or an important witness will not come, ask the judge for a subpoena. If granted, the hearing is adjourned so the subpoena can be delivered.
Interpreter: If you speak another language, call the Appeal Board at 518-402-0210 before your hearing to update your language preference. The Virtual Hearings website is available in 16 languages.
Representation: You can bring a lawyer or anyone else to help you. Only a lawyer or registered agent may charge a fee, and only if you win. Free help may be available from the Legal Aid Society, legal services programs or pro bono lawyers; the Appeal Board keeps a list. NYSDOL's Claimant Advocate Office (1-855-528-5618) can explain the process but cannot represent you.
If you miss it: If you miss the hearing, the judge decides without hearing your side. If you had a good reason, write to NYS Department of Labor, P.O. Box 15126, Albany, NY 12212-5126 to ask to reopen the decision and give your reasons. If a request to change the date is denied and you cannot attend, you can still apply to reopen after the default decision.

Law: N.Y. Labor Law secs. 620-622

Overpayments and waivers

An overpayment means you got benefits you were not entitled to. NYSDOL sends a Notice of Determination to Claimants for Overpayment with the amount and how to pay or set up a payment plan. If NYSDOL finds you willfully made false statements or withheld information, it also imposes forfeit days (each forfeit day cuts 25% of a later week's benefit) and a monetary penalty: 15% of the overpayment if it is $666.67 or more, or $100 if it is $666.66 or less. NYSDOL does not collect while your appeal is pending.

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.
How the state collects: You can pay online, by check or money order to the Unemployment Insurance Division (PO Box 4320, Binghamton, NY 13902), or on a payment plan of up to 36 months (call 1-800-533-6600). NYSDOL can take future benefits, state and federal tax refunds (the federal refund only for an overpayment caused by fraud or unreported earnings, after a notice giving you at least 60 days to respond) and other state payments, and can get a court judgment that lasts 20 years and may lead to wage or bank garnishment.

Law: N.Y. Labor Law secs. 594, 597; N.Y. Labor Law sec. 597(4)

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 1-888-209-8124. Legal aid and other free help in New York → Official sources →

Appeal an unemployment denial in New York