How to File Unemployment in Illinois: Eligibility and Certifying

To file for unemployment in Illinois, submit a claim through the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) online at ides.illinois.gov, or by phone at (800) 244-5631 if you cannot file online. You will need your Social Security number, a state ID, your employment history for the last 18 months, and gross wage figures for each job. Benefits run up to 26 weeks, with a maximum weekly payment of $859 in 2026 for claimants with a dependent child.

Check Your Eligibility Before You File

Two things decide whether your claim will go anywhere: your recent earnings and the reason you left your job.

You need at least $1,600 in wages during your base period, and at least $440 of that must come from outside your highest-paid quarter. The base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file.¹

Your job loss also has to be involuntary. Layoffs, reduced hours, and business closures generally qualify. Being fired for misconduct connected to work, such as violating a known rule or repeatedly failing to do your job, will disqualify you. So will quitting voluntarily without good cause tied to your employer.²

Illinois recognizes some voluntary quits as qualifying: leaving because a licensed physician determined you were physically unable to do the job, leaving due to documented sexual harassment, quitting to escape verified domestic violence, or leaving because a spouse relocated for military service or similar qualifying reasons.²

You must also be physically able to work, available for full-time work, and actively looking for a job during every week you claim benefits.

What to Have Ready Before You Start

Gather these records before opening the application. A missing item can stall your claim while IDES waits on verification.

Your Social Security number, with your name spelled exactly as it appears on the card.
Your driver’s license or state ID. The application asks for your weight, which is pulled from this document.
Employment history for the last 18 months: each employer’s legal name, mailing address, phone number, your dates of work, and the reason you left.
Gross wages at each job, meaning what you earned before deductions, not your take-home pay.
Your DD-214 (Member 4 copy) if you are a recently separated veteran.
Your alien registration number and expiration date if you are not a U.S. citizen.
Your bank routing and account numbers if you want direct deposit.

Having all of this in front of you before you begin prevents delays from incomplete entries or data mismatches.³

Filing the Claim

The fastest route is the IDES online claims portal at ides.illinois.gov. The site starts you on a “10 Things You Should Know” overview and then walks you through the application field by field.⁴ The form fields mirror the records you gathered: personal information, employment history, and your reason for separation.

Read the “Reason for Separation” field carefully. You have to specify whether you were laid off, discharged, or quit, and IDES will compare your answer against what your employer reports. Inconsistencies trigger an investigation that can hold up your payments.⁵

You will also choose how to receive payments. Direct deposit typically arrives within two to three business days after you certify. If you don’t select direct deposit, IDES defaults to a paper check, which can take about eight days to reach you.⁶

If you cannot file online or need help partway through, call the IDES Claimant Services Center at (800) 244-5631.⁷ After submitting, save your confirmation page. It carries a reference number and timestamp that prove your filing date.

What Happens Next

Within seven to ten days of filing, IDES mails you a UI Finding letter.¹ It tells you two things: whether you’re monetarily eligible based on your base period wages, and your specific weekly benefit amount. A $0 weekly benefit amount means your base-period earnings were too low to qualify.

Your first eligible week is a “waiting week.” Illinois law requires it as a qualifying period, and you do not get paid for it. Payments begin with your second eligible week, assuming you meet every other requirement.⁵

The weekly amount itself is calculated from wages in the two highest-paid quarters of your base period, using roughly 47% of those combined earnings spread across the benefit weeks.⁸ For benefit years starting on or after January 1, 2026, the maximum is $859 per week for a claimant with one or more dependent children. Claimants with a dependent spouse but no children see a lower ceiling, and claimants with no dependents lower still. You can collect for up to 26 full weeks within a one-year benefit period.⁹

Certifying Every Two Weeks

Filing your initial claim opens the case. To actually get paid, you have to certify every two weeks on the day assigned in your UI Finding letter. Certification is how IDES confirms you are still unemployed, available for work, and searching.¹⁰

Certify online between 3:00 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. on your assigned day, including holidays. You can also certify through the Tele-Serve system at (312) 338-4337 during the same hours, Monday through Friday. If you miss your day, Thursday and Friday act as make-up days.¹¹

Certification asks about your availability, any work you did, and your job-search activity. Report all gross wages for any work performed that week, including part-time or odd jobs, in the week you earned the money, not the week you were paid.³

Register on IllinoisJobLink and Keep a Work Search Log

You must register on IllinoisJobLink.com and create or upload at least one resume. Registering on any other job board does not satisfy the requirement. If you miss the deadline in the notice IDES mails after you file, you will not receive benefits for any week before the one in which you finish registering.¹²

You also have to actively look for work every week you certify. IDES may ask for documentation, so keep a written log of every employer contact with the date and the outcome.

Working, Severance, or Vacation Pay During Your Claim

You don’t have to be completely without income. If your weekly earnings from part-time work are less than half of your weekly benefit amount, you receive your full benefit. Once your earnings pass 50% of the weekly benefit, IDES reduces your payment dollar-for-dollar by the amount over that threshold. Fractional results round up to the next whole dollar.¹³

Severance pay generally does not disqualify you. Illinois treats severance as compensation for past service or lost seniority rights rather than as wages for weeks after your separation.¹⁴

Vacation pay is different. If your employer designates a period during which you receive vacation pay or pay in lieu of vacation, and the amount equals or exceeds your weekly benefit, you are ineligible for benefits in those weeks. If the vacation pay is less, your weekly benefit is reduced by that amount instead of eliminated.¹⁴

Taxes on Your Benefits

Unemployment benefits are taxable at both the federal and state level. When you file, or at any point afterward, you can elect automatic withholding of 10% for federal income tax and 4.95% for Illinois state income tax. Skip withholding and you will owe the tax on your annual return.¹⁵

If Your Claim Is Denied

If IDES denies your claim or reduces your benefits, you have 30 days from the mailing date on the denial notice to appeal. You appeal by letter or by completing the Request for Reconsideration form, explaining why you disagree.¹⁶

An IDES administrative law judge, called a Referee, holds the hearing, usually by telephone. The Referee places everyone under oath, and both sides get to present evidence, testify, and cross-examine the other party. Decisions turn on the preponderance of the evidence.¹⁷

If you plan to submit documents, get them to the Referee at least 24 hours before the hearing with your docket number on each page, and send copies to the other party. Documents that come in without testimony from someone with direct knowledge of their contents may be treated as hearsay.¹⁷ If the Referee rules against you, you have another 30 days to appeal to the IDES Board of Review, and 35 days after that to take the case to your county circuit court.¹⁶

1
Illinois Department of Employment Security. Eligibility and Next Steps
2
Illinois General Assembly. 820 ILCS 405 Unemployment Insurance Act
3
Illinois Department of Employment Security. Information Needed to File Online
4
Illinois Department of Employment Security. File an Unemployment Claim
5
Illinois Department of Employment Security. Unemployment Insurance Benefits Handbook
6
Illinois Department of Employment Security. Payment Methods
7
Illinois Department of Employment Security. Contact IDES
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Illinois Department of Employment Security. Table 1 of Weekly Benefit Amounts
9
Illinois Department of Employment Security. Unemployment Insurance Information
10
Illinois Department of Employment Security. Regular UI Benefits Timeline
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Illinois Department of Employment Security. Certify for Benefits
12
Illinois Department of Employment Security. Employment Service Registration Requirement to Apply for UI Benefits
13
Illinois Department of Employment Security. Partial Benefits – Working Part Time
14
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Administrative Code Title 56 Part 2920 – Ineligibility for Benefits
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Illinois Department of Employment Security. FAQs for Claimants
16
Illinois Department of Employment Security. IDES Unemployment Insurance Appeals
17
Illinois Department of Employment Security. Preparing For Your Appeal Hearing