Unemployment benefits in Utah

Can I get benefits?

For 2026 claims you must have earned at least $5,500 in your base period, with wages in two or more quarters, and your total base-period wages must be at least 1.5 times your highest quarter.

Law: Utah Code sec. 35A-4-403

If you quit

If you quit without good cause, you cannot get benefits until you work in covered employment again and earn at least 6 times your weekly benefit amount.

If you were fired

Being fired does not by itself stop benefits.

Law: Utah Code sec. 35A-4-405(1)-(3)

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 $806

Weeks

Up to 26 weeks

Waiting week

A waiting week

How it is figured, the full rules and the estimate tool →

How to file in Utah

File online at jobs.utah.gov; claims are not taken by phone. You need a Utah-ID, which requires an email address.

File as soon as you are out of work.

What to have ready

• Your Social Security number
• An email address to create a Utah-ID
• Names, dates of work and addresses of your employers, including any out-of-state employers

Certify (claim your weeks)

Weekly. File a weekly claim online with your Social Security number and 4-digit PIN for each week (Sunday to Saturday), as soon as possible after the week ends.

Everything about filing →

Appeal a denial

• Appeal to an Administrative Law Judge — 10 calendar days from the date the decision was mailed to your last-known address, or delivered if not mailed
• Appeal to the Workforce Appeals Board — 30 calendar days from the date the Administrative Law Judge's decision is issued
• Petition for review in the Utah Court of Appeals — 30 calendar days

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

The hearing

Format

Hearings are by telephone.

Overpayments and waivers

If you were paid benefits you were not entitled to, DWS creates an overpayment.

Appeal

The overpayment notice

Fraud penalty

100% added when the overpayment is fraud

Waiver

The state can waive some overpayments.

Law: Utah Code secs. 35A-4-405(5), 35A-4-406(4)

Waiver details and the hearing checklist →

Someone filed a claim in your name

Report unemployment fraud online or by calling 801-526-4400 and choosing option 2.

• Report it online
• Phone: 801-526-4400

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 Utah

• Utah's weekly benefit is the high-quarter wages divided by 26, minus $5.

  Law: Utah Code sec. 35A-4-401(2)(a)(ii)

• Utah requires four new full-time job contacts every week, more than most states.

  Source: DWS Claimant Guide

• You have only 10 days to appeal a DWS decision.

  Law: Utah Code sec. 35A-4-406(3)(a)

Changes in 2024–2026

For claims effective in 2026, the maximum weekly benefit is $806 and the maximum total benefit $20,956; the minimum base-period wages are $5,500 (DWS 2026 Benefit Schedule). Utah Code sec. 35A-4-406 was amended in 2025.

Questions about unemployment in Utah