Appeal an unemployment denial in North Dakota
An appeal has short deadlines. Find your deadline, then use the letter and checklist to get ready.
All about unemployment in North Dakota
Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.
Levels of appeal and deadlines
First-level appeal to the Appeal Tribunal (appeal referee)
Job Service North Dakota Appeals Section (appeal referee)
- Deadline
12 calendar days from the date of mailing of the determination (the deadline date is printed on your determination)
- Counts as filed
- on the postmark date or the date the agency receives it, as the state's rule says (check your notice)
- How to file
- Appeal online in UI ICE, or fill out and return the appeal form that came with your determination, or send a detailed written appeal by mail, fax or in person at any Job Service office. It must be postmarked or received by the deadline on your determination. Appeal each determination you disagree with.
- Where to send it
Appeals Section, Job Service North Dakota, PO Box 5507, Bismarck, ND 58506-5507
Fax: 701-328-2728
- It must include
- Your name and claim information
- The determination you are appealing and its date
- A detailed explanation of why you disagree
- For a monetary determination: proof of earnings such as pay stubs or W-2 forms
- If it is late
- If you do not file within the time limit on the determination, you may lose your right to appeal.
- While you appeal
- Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).
Law: N.D.C.C. sec. 52-06-13
Official source: Source page
Bureau review
Executive Director of Job Service North Dakota (the bureau)
- Deadline
12 calendar days from the date of mailing of the appeal referee's decision (the deadline is on the decision's cover letter)
- Counts as filed
- on the postmark date or the date the agency receives it, as the state's rule says (check your notice)
- How to file
- Request bureau review online in UI ICE or in writing by mail, fax or in person at a Job Service office. The review is of the existing record; there is no new hearing. The bureau may issue an Order Denying Review when the referee affirmed the original determination.
- Where to send it
Appeals Section, Job Service North Dakota, PO Box 5507, Bismarck, ND 58506-5507
Fax: 701-328-2728
- It must include
- Your name and claim information
- The referee decision you want reviewed
- Why you disagree with the decision
- While you appeal
- Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).
Law: N.D.C.C. secs. 52-06-15, 52-06-19
Official source: Source page
Petition for judicial review in district court
- Deadline
30 calendar days from the date the bureau's decision (or order denying review) is mailed
- What to know
- To go to court, file a verified petition for review in the district court of the county where you live within 30 days after the bureau's decision or Order Denying Review is mailed. It must state the grounds for review. The court decides questions of law; the bureau's facts stand if supported by evidence.
Law: N.D.C.C. secs. 52-06-19, 52-06-27
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
- Mostly by telephone conference call; in-person only in limited cases the referee decides. Call the Appeals Section at the toll-free number on your Notice of Hearing before 3:00 p.m. Central time on the work day before the hearing, and give the phone number to reach you and your witnesses' names and numbers. The referee calls everyone. Hearings usually last 30 to 45 minutes.
- Documents and witnesses
- Send documents that support your testimony to the appeals referee as far ahead of the hearing as possible, with copies to Job Service and the other party. Documents not sent to the other party, or sent too late, may not be allowed. You can view the case documents in UI ICE.
- Subpoena
- Ask the referee in writing. First try at least once to get the witness or documents yourself. Say who or what you want subpoenaed, their contact information, and what the witness or document will show. The referee decides if it is significant; you are not charged for it.
- Interpreter
- Call 701-328-4995 for free help in your preferred language.
- Representation
- You may have an attorney at your own arrangement; Job Service does not provide attorneys or legal advice. Tell the Appeals unit as soon as possible if you will have an attorney.
- If you miss it
- If you do not take part at the scheduled time, the referee takes testimony from those who do and decides on that evidence. If you call in or arrive late, you may not be allowed to take part. Postponements must be requested in writing and are granted only for extenuating and extraordinary circumstances.
Law: N.D.C.C. sec. 52-06-20
Overpayments and waivers
If you get benefits you were not entitled to, you must repay them, in a lump sum or installments, or they can be taken from future benefits. Unpaid balances can carry interest of 1.5% a month (not for the first 180 days if there was no false statement). If Job Service finds you made a false statement, you also owe a 15% penalty and are disqualified for one year from the fraud determination.
- Appeal within
- 12 days from the date of mailing of the overpayment determination (the deadline is printed on it)
- Fraud penalty
- 15% added when the overpayment is fraud
- Waiver
- The state can waive some overpayments.
- The standard
- Job Service may release you from repaying when it finds that recovery would be contrary to equity and good conscience.
- How to ask
- Call 701-328-2818 (TTY 1-800-366-6888) to discuss repayment options or to begin the waiver of overpayment process.
- How the state collects
- Job Service can deduct overpayments from future benefits (including benefits from other states or federal programs) and can collect by civil action, with interest, court costs and penalty.
Law: N.D.C.C. sec. 52-06-33
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 701-328-4995. Legal aid and other free help in North Dakota → Official sources →
More questions about unemployment in North Dakota
Where can I get free help with an unemployment claim in North Dakota?
Legal Services of North Dakota (free civil legal aid; under age 60) and Legal Services of North Dakota (age 60 and over).