How to File for Unemployment in New York

File online (best between 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.) or by calling the Telephone Claim Center during business hours. Identity is verified through ID.me. After the Department notifies you, certify for benefits every week at labor.ny.gov/signin or by phone; the week runs Monday to Sunday and you certify from Sunday through the following Saturday. Turn off any VPN or proxy. The first payment generally arrives two to three weeks after the claim is processed.

You must have been paid covered wages in at least two calendar quarters of your base period; for claims filed in 2026, at least $3,500 in one quarter; and total base period wages of at least 1.5 times your high-quarter wages (if your high quarter was $19,118 or more, you need at least $9,559 in the other three quarters combined). The basic base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters; if that does not qualify you, the last four completed quarters are used.

When you certify each week, you must confirm that you completed at least three work search activities that week or followed an official work search plan, and that you are complying with the work search requirements.

New York unemployment claimants certify for (claim) weekly benefits online through their NY Department of Labor online services account, or by phone through Tel-Service at 1-888-581-5812 (Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m.-midnight; Saturday 12:01 a.m. through Sunday midnight), using the PIN created when first filing; press 2 for claim services, then 1 to certify. Tel-Service processes one week at a time; claim by the Sunday ending the week you are claiming. You can update your address and phone online when you claim weekly benefits. For a forgotten PIN, call the Telephone Claims Center at 888-209-8124.