Unemployment benefits in Virginia

Can I get benefits?

You must have been paid at least $3,000 in the two quarters of your base period with your highest wages combined, with wages in at least two quarters.

Law: Va. Code secs. 60.2-204, 60.2-612(A)(1)

If you quit

If you quit without good cause, you are disqualified.

If you were fired

You are disqualified only if the VEC finds you were fired for misconduct connected with your work.

Law: Va. Code sec. 60.2-618

Quit, fired, refused work and the federal rules →

The wage test, the amount and your estimate →

How much and how long?

Weekly benefit

$160–$478

Weeks

Up to 26 weeks

Waiting week

A waiting week

Working part time

The first $100 you earn in a week is not deducted.

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

How to file in Virginia

Apply online in Customer Self Service, signing in with ID.me (fastest; the application takes about 45 minutes). For help, call the Customer Contact Center at 1-866-832-2363, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or visit a Virginia Works office.

Apply after you are separated or your hours are cut, preferably in the first week.

What to have ready

• Your Social Security number
• Names, addresses, phone numbers and dates of work for all employers in the last 18 months (a recent W-2 or pay stub helps), including out-of-state employers
• Your union name and number, if you get work through a union hall

Certify (claim your weeks)

Weekly. File a weekly claim online in Customer Self Service or by phone at 1-800-897-5630, starting the Sunday after you apply, for each Sunday-to-Saturday week.

Everything about filing →

Appeal a denial

• First Level Appeal — 30 calendar days from the mailing date of the Deputy's decision (the final date to appeal is printed in bold at the top right of the decision)
• Commission Appeal — 30 calendar days from the date of notification or mailing of the Appeals Examiner's decision
• Petition for judicial review in circuit court — 30 calendar days

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

The hearing

Format

First level hearings are held by telephone.

Notice before the hearing

10 days

Overpayments and waivers

If you got benefits you were not entitled to, you must repay them, and the VEC can take the amount from future benefits.

Appeal within

30 days from the mailing date of the overpayment decision

Waiver

The state can waive some overpayments.

Law: Va. Code sec. 60.2-633(B)

Waiver details and the hearing checklist →

Someone filed a claim in your name

If you think someone filed for unemployment in your name, complete the VEC Fraud/Theft/Overpayment form, or fax or mail the information to Virginia Employment Commission, Attention: Benefit Payment Control, P.O. Box 27887, Richmond, VA 23261-7887 (fax 804-692-0580). For help, call 1-866-832-2363.

• Report it online
• Phone: 1-866-832-2363

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 Virginia

• For new claims effective on or after July 1, 2026, the weekly benefit range rose to $160-$478 (from $112-$430) under a new Benefit Table in Va. Code sec. 60.2-602(D) (2026 Acts chs. 774 and 775).
• The amount you can earn without a cut in your weekly benefit is $100.

  Law: Va. Code sec. 60.2-603, amended 2025

• First level and Commission appeals both have 30 days; the VEC counts either the postmark or the date it receives the appeal.

Changes in 2024–2026

January 1, 2026 and July 1, 2026: new Benefit Tables (2025 chs. 614 and 640; 2026 chs. 774 and 775) raised the weekly benefit range - $112-$430 for claims effective January 1 to June 30, 2026, and $160-$478 from July 1, 2026. 2025 ch. 515 amended the earnings disregard (now $100). 2024 chs. 562, 603 and others amended the appeal sections and 2024 chs. 591, 746, 772 the overpayment waiver section.

Law: 60.2-619, -620, -622, -625; 60.2-633

Questions about unemployment in Virginia