Appeal an unemployment denial in Virginia
An appeal has short deadlines. Find your deadline, then use the letter and checklist to get ready.
All about unemployment in Virginia
Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.
Levels of appeal and deadlines
First Level Appeal
VEC Administrative Law Division, Office of First Level Appeals (Appeals Examiner)
- Deadline
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)
- 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 in writing online in Customer Self Service, or mail, fax or bring the First Level Appeals form (or a letter) to a Virginia Works office. File before midnight on the final date. The VEC counts the U.S. Postal Service postmark or the date the VEC receives it.
- Where to send it
Virginia Employment Commission, Attention: First Level Appeals, P.O. Box 26441, Richmond, VA 23261-6441
Fax: 804-786-8492
- Official form
- First Level Appeals form (A-FLA-LOA)
- It must include
- Claimant name and Claimant ID number
- Employer name
- Whether the claimant or the employer is filing, and that person's mailing address and phone number
- The Issue ID number from the top right of the Deputy's decision
- Your reason for appealing
- If late, why you filed after the final date
- Whether you need an interpreter or other accommodation, and the language
- Your signature and the date
- If it is late
- The 30-day period can be extended only for good cause, meaning circumstances beyond your control that kept you from filing on time.
- While you appeal
- Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).
Law: Va. Code sec. 60.2-619(D)
Official source: Source page
Commission Appeal
Virginia Employment Commission (Special Examiner)
- Deadline
30 calendar days from the date of notification or mailing of the Appeals Examiner's decision
- How to file
- Follow the instructions in the Appeals Examiner's decision. File online, or mail or fax the Commission Level Appeals form. A Special Examiner usually decides on the existing record without a hearing. You may ask to present new evidence or for an oral argument within 14 days of the Notice of Appeal mailing date.
- Where to send it
Virginia Employment Commission, Attention: Commission Level Appeals, P.O. Box 26441, Richmond, VA 23261-6441
Fax: 804-786-9034
- Official form
- Commission Level Appeals form
- It must include
- Claimant name and Claimant ID number
- Mailing address and phone number of the person filing
- The decision number(s) you are appealing
- Your reason for appealing
- Your signature and the date
- If it is late
- The 30-day period may be extended for good cause.
- While you appeal
- Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).
Law: Va. Code secs. 60.2-620(B), 60.2-622
Official source: Source page
Petition for judicial review in circuit court
- Deadline
30 calendar days from the mailing date of the Commission's decision
- What to know
- If you disagree with the Commission's decision, you can file a petition for judicial review in the circuit court of the county or city where you last worked, within 30 days after the decision is mailed. No bond is required. Follow the instructions in the decision letter.
Law: Va. Code sec. 60.2-625
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
- First level hearings are held by telephone. The Notice of Telephone Hearing is mailed at least 10 days before the hearing. You must register your phone number by 12 noon Eastern time on the business day before the hearing (by calling the number on the notice or online), or you cannot take part.
- Notice before the hearing
- 10 days
- Documents and witnesses
- Send your evidence at least two business days before the hearing (earlier is better) and share copies with the other party. Evidence not given to the other party will not be considered. Register and notify any witnesses you plan to call.
- Interpreter
- Ask for an interpreter on your appeal form or contact First Level Appeals.
- Representation
- You have the right to a lawyer or other representative. Tell the VEC if you hire one.
- If you miss it
- Taking part is voluntary, and a decision is made on the evidence available even if you do not attend. If you do not take part, you cannot question the other party or respond to their evidence.
Law: Va. Code sec. 60.2-620; Va. Code sec. 16VAC5-80
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. An overpayment is not decided until the decision finding you ineligible is final. If the VEC finds you knowingly made a false statement, you are also disqualified for 52 weeks and must pay a penalty of at least 15% of the overpayment (federal law requires at least 15%).
- Appeal within
- 30 days from the mailing date of the overpayment decision
- Waiver
- The state can waive some overpayments.
- The standard
- The VEC must waive repayment after an individual review if the overpayment was not your fault and repaying would be against equity and good conscience. "Not your fault" includes overpayments caused by VEC administrative error, by your employer pressuring you, or by your employer not answering the VEC's request for information on time. It does not include fraud, most reversals on appeal, or system errors affecting a group of claimants. Repayment is against equity and good conscience if it would take away the income you need for basic necessities such as shelter, food, medicine and child care.
- How to ask
- The VEC notifies people with an unpaid overpayment (for weeks from March 15, 2020 on) that they may be entitled to a waiver. You have 30 days from that notice to ask for a waiver; the VEC may extend this for good cause. If the waiver is denied, you can appeal within 30 days.
- How the state collects
- If repayment is not waived, the VEC can negotiate repayment: taking up to 50% of future weekly benefits, waiting until you find work, or an individual payment plan. Overpayments caused by VEC administrative error are collected only by offset or a repayment plan. The VEC can also collect by civil action. A non-fraud overpayment left unpaid is discharged after five years from the end of the benefit year.
Law: Va. Code sec. 60.2-633(B); Va. Code sec. 60.2-633(A), (E)
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 1-866-832-2363. Legal aid and other free help in Virginia → Official sources →
More questions about unemployment in Virginia
Where can I get free help with an unemployment claim in Virginia?
Virginia Legal Aid (valegalaid.org - find your local legal aid program) and Legal Aid Justice Center.