Appeal an unemployment denial in Washington

An appeal has short deadlines. Find your deadline, then use the letter and checklist to get ready.

All about unemployment in Washington

Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.

Levels of appeal and deadlines

Appeal (hearing before an administrative law judge)

Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH); ESD first reviews the appeal and may change its decision

Deadline

30 calendar days from the date ESD mailed or delivered the decision, whichever is earlier

Counts as filed
on the postmark date
Weekends and holidays
If the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, you can file on the next business day.
How to file
Appeal online in eServices (choose "Appeal" next to the decision), by mail, or by fax. You cannot appeal by phone or email. Some decisions cannot be appealed online; follow your decision letter. To appeal several decisions by mail or fax, list the Letter ID of each.
Where to send it

Claims Center Appeals, P.O. Box 19018, Olympia, WA 98507-0018

File online

Fax: 1-800-301-1795

It must include
  • Your name
  • Your Social Security number or Claim ID
  • Which decision you are appealing, and the Letter ID on the decision letter
  • The date of the decision
  • Why you disagree with the decision
  • Copies of records or documents you want considered
  • Names of witnesses you want at the hearing
  • If you need an interpreter, which language (including American Sign Language)
  • If your appeal is late, why it is late
  • Your signature
If it is late
If you appeal after 30 days, explain why. OAH looks at how late it is, whether the delay is excusable (including language, physical, mental or educational limits), and whether accepting it would harm other parties. OAH may dismiss a late appeal without good cause.
While you appeal
Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).

Law: RCW 50.32.020, 50.32.025, 50.32.075; WAC 192-04-080, 192-04-090

Official source: Source page

Petition for review

Commissioner's Review Office (CRO), Employment Security Department

Deadline

30 calendar days from the date the OAH decision (Initial Order) was mailed or delivered to you, whichever is earlier

Counts as filed
on the postmark date
Weekends and holidays
If the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, you can file on the next business day.
How to file
File a written petition for review online through ESD's online services or by mail. Any written argument must be attached and filed at the same time. The OAH decision includes full instructions.
Where to send it

Commissioner's Review Office, Employment Security Department, P.O. Box 9555, Olympia, WA 98507-9555

File online

It must include
  • Caption it "Petition for Review"
  • The docket number of the OAH decision
  • Your written argument, attached (petition and argument five pages or less, legible)
  • Your signature or your representative's signature
If it is late
A late petition for review is accepted only for good cause, using the same factors as a late appeal.
While you appeal
Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).

Law: RCW 50.32.070, 50.32.025; WAC 192-04-060(2), 192-04-170

Official source: Source page

Petition for judicial review in superior court

Deadline

30 calendar days from service of the Commissioner's final decision

What to know
If you disagree with the Commissioner's decision, you can ask a Washington superior court to review it. The petition must be filed with the court and served on ESD, the Attorney General's Office and all parties within 30 days after the final decision is served.

Law: RCW 50.32.120; RCW 34.05.542(2)

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.

Worked out in your browser. Nothing you type here is saved or sent.

Use the date printed on your paper or online notice.

Pick the appeal and enter the 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.

Copy the address where your notice says to send it.

Write it yourself, in English. We do not suggest what to say.

Sign the letter and keep a copy. Keep certifying while you appeal.

Other formats

Preview (the English text you send)

Hearing preparation checklist

Logistics and rights from your state's hearing information, plus your own list of witnesses and documents.

Other formats

Preview

The hearing

Format
OAH decides whether to handle your appeal through a brief adjudicative proceeding (written review) or a telephone hearing. For a telephone hearing, OAH sends a Notice of Hearing with the date, time and instructions.
Documents and witnesses
OAH sends copies of the file to you, your witnesses and interested employers. You can give testimony under oath, question witnesses and present evidence; bring your job search logs if they matter. ESD can still change its decision up to 48 hours before the hearing if you send new information.
Interpreter
Say in your appeal if you need an interpreter and which language, including American Sign Language.
Representation
You may hire a lawyer. Free or low-cost help may be available from the Unemployment Law Project, CLEAR (Northwest Justice Project) or your county bar association.
If you miss it
If you do not attend, the judge may rule against you (an order of default). You can ask OAH to vacate it within 10 days of the date the default order was mailed, or file a petition for review with the Commissioner's Review Office. You must show good cause for missing the hearing.

Law: WAC 192-04-145, 192-04-185; RCW 34.05.440

Overpayments and waivers

An overpayment means ESD paid you benefits you were not eligible for, for example because you got wages or back pay for a week you claimed, did not answer an information request in time, or new facts showed you were not eligible. ESD sends a decision letter with the amount. If ESD finds fraud, it adds a penalty of 15% to 50% and can deny future benefits for 26 to 104 weeks. ESD charges 1% interest per month (right away for fraud; otherwise after 2 missed monthly payments).

Respond within
If ESD asks you about a possible overpayment, you have at least five working days plus mailing time to send information about it and whether you were at fault; the notice gives the deadline.
Appeal within
30 days from the date ESD mailed or delivered the overpayment decision, whichever is earlier
Waiver
The state can waive some overpayments.
The standard
ESD may waive an overpayment if it was not caused by fraud, misrepresentation, willful nondisclosure or your fault, and repaying it would be against equity and good conscience (for example, if repaying would leave you without income for food, shelter, medicine and utilities).
How to ask
If you may be eligible, ESD sends you a waiver application with the overpayment decision. Return it with documents on your income, expenses and available money (bank balances, cash) for the previous, current and next month by the deadline on the notice (at least five working days plus mailing time). You can appeal a denial of a waiver.
Income
ESD looks at your household's income, expenses and liquid assets. There is no published income table.
How the state collects
Repay online, by phone (1-844-791-4427) or by mail. If you fall 2 billing cycles behind, ESD takes 50% of future benefits (100% for fraud). For past-due debts ESD may file a lien in superior court, garnish wages or bank accounts, and take federal tax refunds (only for an overpayment caused by fraud or unreported earnings, after a notice giving you at least 60 days to respond) or lottery winnings. Call the Collections Unit at 1-866-697-4831 to set up payments you can afford.

Law: RCW 50.20.190; WAC 192-220; RCW 50.20.190(2); WAC 192-220-030, 192-220-080

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 1-800-318-6022. Legal aid and other free help in Washington → Official sources →

More questions about unemployment in Washington

Where can I get free help with an unemployment claim in Washington?

Unemployment Law Project (nonprofit; free or low-cost help with unemployment appeals), CLEAR legal aid hotline (Northwest Justice Project) and Washington Office of Civil Legal Aid.