Unemployment benefits in Tennessee

Can I get benefits?

You must have earned an average of $780.01 in each of your 2 highest base-period quarters.

If you quit

If you quit, you are probably not eligible unless the reason was connected with your work.

If you were fired

If you were discharged for work-related misconduct, you can be denied.

Quit, fired, refused work and the federal rules →

The wage test, the amount and your estimate →

How much and how long?

Weekly benefit

up to $325

Weeks

Currently 12 weeks (it changes with the unemployment rate)

Waiting week

A waiting week

How it is figured and the full rules →

How to file in Tennessee

Apply online at Jobs4TN.gov through your Unemployment Claimant e-Services account. For help, call the Help Desk at 844-224-5818, use the chat on Jobs4TN.gov, or visit an American Job Center.

You may file the first day after you are separated from your job or after your employer significantly cuts your hours.

What to have ready

• Your Social Security number and identification
• Information about your employers for the past 18 months, including the separating employer's name, address and phone number
• Your reason for separation (quit, fired, lack of work, laid off or job eliminated, etc.)

Certify (claim your weeks)

Weekly. Each Sunday a new weekly certification for the prior week opens in your e-Services account.

Everything about filing →

Appeal a denial

• Wage Protest (missing or wrong wages) —
• Appeal to the Appeals Tribunal — 15 calendar days from the date of the agency's denial decision
• Appeal to the Office of Administrative Review (OAR) — 15 calendar days from the mailing date of the Appeals Tribunal's decision
• Petition for judicial review in Chancery Court

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

The hearing

Format

Most hearings are by telephone conference call: at the scheduled time you call the number and access code on your Notice of Hearing (check whether it is Central or Eastern time).

Overpayments and waivers

An overpayment means you were paid benefits you were not eligible for, for example because earnings were not reported or an employer won an appeal.

Waiver

The state can waive some overpayments.

Waiver details and the hearing checklist →

Someone filed a claim in your name

Report suspected unemployment fraud, including a claim filed in your name, to TDLWD's Benefit Payment Control Unit through Claimant e-Services or by email to BPC@jobs4tn.zendesk.com. Tips can be anonymous.

• Report it online
• Phone: 1-844-224-5818

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 Tennessee

• Tennessee's waiting week is paid later: if you are eligible for four weeks in a row, the fourth payment is doubled to cover the waiting week (TDLWD).
• Tennessee requires 4 work search activities every week, and benefits currently last at most 12 weeks (TDLWD).
• You can earn $50 or 25% of your weekly benefit amount, whichever is more, without losing any benefits that week (TDLWD).

Questions about unemployment in Tennessee