How to File for Unemployment in Texas

Apply online through TWC's Unemployment Benefit Services (UBS) or call a Tele-Center at 800-939-6631. Your former employer has up to 14 days to respond, and an eligibility decision can take up to four weeks. Request payments every two weeks online or through Tele-Serv at 800-558-8321, reporting work and earnings for the week you worked.

The base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your claim's effective date. You must have wages in more than one base-period quarter, and your total base-period wages must be at least 37 times your weekly benefit amount. If you qualified on a prior claim, you must have earned 6 times your new weekly benefit amount since then. An alternate base period is available if you missed at least seven weeks of work in a quarter because of a medically verifiable illness, injury, disability or pregnancy.

You must register for work, search for work, keep a log of your work search activities, and apply for and accept suitable full-time work. Your local Workforce Development Board sets how many activities you need each week, so the number varies by county. TWC's county list currently ranges from 1 to 5, and large counties such as Harris, Dallas, Tarrant and Travis require 5. Go by the number in the letter TWC mails you.

Texas Workforce Commission Unemployment Benefits Services (UBS) is the online system (available 24 hours a day) where you select "Request a Payment" every two weeks on your designated filing day (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, per your instructions); if you miss it, you can request on the open filing days, Thursday-Saturday of that week. Log in with the same User ID and password you use for WorkInTexas.com. Check "Claim and Payment Status" in UBS. By phone, use Tele-Serv at 800-558-8321 (Option 1 to request payment, Option 2 for status) with your SSN and PIN. For late requests, call the TWC Tele-Center at 800-939-6631.