To file for unemployment in Arizona, you submit a claim online through the state’s CACTUS portal at uibenefits.az.gov, verify your identity through ID.me, and then file a weekly certification every week you want to be paid.1Arizona Department of Economic Security. Apply for Unemployment Insurance (UI) Benefits The program is run by the Department of Economic Security (DES) and pays up to $320 a week for as long as 26 weeks.2Arizona Department of Economic Security. Receiving Unemployment Insurance Benefits FAQ Your first payable week won’t arrive until after a mandatory unpaid waiting week, so the sooner you file, the sooner the clock starts.
What to Gather Before You Start
Have everything in front of you before you open the application. Stopping partway to find a phone number can cost you your progress. DES asks for:1Arizona Department of Economic Security. Apply for Unemployment Insurance (UI) Benefits
- Your Social Security number and driver’s license or state ID number.
- Your current mailing address, phone number, and county of residence.
- Employment history for the past 18 months: every employer’s name, address, and phone number, plus the exact last day you worked for the most recent one.
- Pre-tax pay figures and the date and amount of any severance, vacation, holiday, or unused sick pay.
- Union name and local number, if you belong to one.
- Pension start date and monthly amount (other than Social Security), if applicable.
- Your Alien Registration Number, if applicable.
- Bank routing and account numbers if you want direct deposit rather than a debit card.
If you served in the military within the last 18 months, add a copy of your DD-214 (Member Copy 4). Federal civilian employees need Standard Form 8 or Standard Form 50 for the same period.
Filing Through the CACTUS Portal
All initial claims go through uibenefits.az.gov. Before you reach the application, DES routes you through ID.me, a federally certified identity provider, to confirm you are who you say you are. You upload a photo of your government-issued ID and usually take a live selfie. If the automated check can’t verify you, ID.me offers a video call with a live agent, which can add time. Start the process on a day when you can wait out that call if it’s needed.
Once you’re verified, you create your CACTUS account with a username, password, and a four-digit PIN for phone access. The application walks you through personal information, your 18-month work history, and the reason for separation from each employer. Be precise about dates and pay. If what you enter doesn’t match what your employer reports, DES may pause your claim for a fact-finding interview.
After you submit, save or print the confirmation page and write down your Claimant ID. You’ll use it every time you contact DES. If you can’t file online, call DES at 1-877-600-2722 (602-364-2722 in Phoenix, 520-791-2722 in Tucson).3Arizona Department of Economic Security. Contact Arizona Unemployment Insurance (UI) Benefits
Whether You Qualify
Two things determine whether your claim will be approved: your recent earnings, and why you’re out of work.
Recent Earnings
Arizona looks at your wages during a “base period,” meaning the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file. Most filers qualify under this test: your highest-earning quarter in that period must equal at least 390 times Arizona’s minimum wage ($15.15 per hour, making the 2026 threshold $5,908.50), and your total base-period wages must be at least 1.5 times your highest quarter.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 23-771 – Eligibility for Benefits A second wage path exists for higher earners with concentrated income; if you were recently hired or worked an uneven schedule, apply anyway and let DES run both.
Reason for Job Loss
You must have lost the job through no fault of your own. Layoffs, closings, and reductions in hours qualify. Two situations disqualify you: quitting without good cause connected to the job, and being fired for willful or negligent misconduct.5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 23-775 – Disqualification From Benefits Arizona reads misconduct broadly to cover repeated unexcused absences, insubordination, failing an employer drug test, dishonesty on work records, and violating safety rules.6Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 23-619.01 – Misconduct Connected With the Employment
A disqualification is not always permanent. You clear it by earning at least five times your weekly benefit amount at a new job. At the $320 maximum, that’s $1,600 in new wages before you can reapply. Arizona also recognizes some quits as good cause, including a commute that exceeded 30 miles or 90 minutes, and leaving to follow a military spouse transferred to a new location.
How Much You’ll Get and For How Long
Your weekly benefit equals 1/25 of the wages you earned in your highest-paid base-period quarter, capped at $320.7Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 23-779 – Amount of Benefits If your best quarter was $6,000, your weekly benefit is $240. If your best quarter was $10,000 or more, you hit the $320 cap. Benefits last up to 26 weeks, and fewer if your total base-period earnings were modest.
The Unpaid Waiting Week
Arizona doesn’t pay benefits for the first week you’re otherwise eligible. That week is your “waiting week,” and it’s unpaid. You cannot use a week where you earned as much as your weekly benefit amount, or a week you were otherwise ineligible, to satisfy this requirement.8Arizona Department of Economic Security. Unemployment Insurance Benefits Definitions – Waiting Week The practical takeaway: file as soon as you’re separated, because the waiting week can’t start until you do.
Weekly Certifications and the Job Search Rule
Filing once isn’t filing. Every week you want to be paid, you file a weekly certification through CACTUS confirming you were able and available to work and did the required job search. Arizona’s benefit week runs Sunday through Saturday, and you certify for the previous week.
Arizona requires at least four work search contacts on at least four different days each week.9Arizona Department of Economic Security. Work Search and Your Eligibility for Unemployment Benefits The state reads “contact” broadly. Applying for a job online or in person counts. So does attending a job fair, going on an interview, registering with a staffing agency, uploading a resume to a job board, creating a profile on a professional networking site, or using career tools at an ARIZONA@WORK location. Creating a reemployment plan or completing a skills assessment also counts.
Keep a log for every contact: employer or site name, date, activity type, and result. DES can audit your records, and failing to document is treated the same as failing to search. If you miss a weekly certification or fall short on contacts, you lose the benefit for that week, and there is no way to file retroactively to recover it.
Reporting Part-Time Work and Other Earnings
Picking up part-time or freelance work doesn’t automatically disqualify you. Arizona lets you earn up to $160 in a week without any reduction. Above $160, each dollar comes off your benefit dollar-for-dollar.10Arizona Department of Economic Security. UIA-1057A – Arizona Unemployment Basic Information If your weekly benefit is $320 and you earned $170, only $10 comes off, leaving $310. Once your earnings reach your benefit amount plus the $160 allowance, you get nothing that week, but you should still file the certification to keep the claim active.
Report gross earnings, before taxes and deductions, and include severance, vacation, and holiday pay. Underreporting is treated as fraud and can trigger repayment plus penalties.
If Your Claim Is Denied
You have 15 calendar days from the mailing date of the DES determination to request reconsideration or file a formal appeal.11Arizona Department of Economic Security. Unemployment Insurance Benefits Appeals The clock runs from when DES mailed the decision, not when you opened it, so check your mail and your CACTUS account regularly after filing. Appeals go to an Administrative Law Judge in a telephone hearing where you and your former employer both present evidence.12Arizona Department of Economic Security. Frequently Asked Questions About the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Hearing and Appeal Process Disputes over whether a quit was voluntary or a firing involved misconduct are often worth pursuing, because the employer’s account is not taken at face value.