How to File Your VA Unemployment Weekly Claim

To keep your Virginia unemployment benefits coming, you have to file a VA unemployment weekly claim with the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) certifying that you were unemployed or underemployed, able and available to work, and actively job searching. You have 21 days from the Saturday that ends each claim week to file. Miss that window and you lose the payment for that week entirely, and you’ll have to reopen your claim before you can certify for any future weeks.¹

Two Ways to File Each Week

The VEC accepts weekly certifications through the Customer Self-Service (CSS) online portal or the Voice Response System (VRS) by phone at 1-800-897-5630. The VEC describes the online portal as the fastest option, but both methods produce the same legal certification once you confirm your answers.¹

The 21-day rule is strict. If you file within that window and you’re eligible, you get paid for the week. If you don’t, the system won’t let you file for that week at all, and the payment is gone for good. To resume filing, reopen your claim through the CSS portal or call the VEC Customer Contact Center at 1-866-832-2363.¹

Logging In: ID.me and Your PIN

The VEC uses ID.me for identity verification on the CSS portal. Any PIN you had before November 2021 is no longer valid for logging in.² You’ll need to create an ID.me account and verify your identity through one of three methods: a self-service option that takes about 5 to 10 minutes and involves uploading documents and a video selfie, a live video call with an ID.me agent, or an in-person appointment at an Identity Network Location. Have a government-issued photo ID and your Social Security number ready.

The original four-digit PIN issued by the VEC is still required for the phone-based VRS and for updating your payment information.³

What to Have Ready Before You Certify

The weekly certification asks about four things: employment during the week, your ability to work, your work search activity, and any job offers you received or refused.¹ Gather everything before you start.

If you worked at all during the claim week, you need gross earnings — total pay before taxes or deductions — for each employer, along with the employer’s name and address. Report wages during the week they were earned, not the week you were paid. Getting that wrong is one of the most common ways people trigger an overpayment.⁴

For your work search, log the date of each contact, the type (online application, email, phone call, in-person visit), the position, and the employer’s contact information. Keep the log current through the week rather than reconstructing it at filing time.

Work Search: Two Contacts a Week, Verified

Virginia law requires every claimant to be actively seeking work and to report the names of employers contacted each week.⁵ The VEC’s minimum is two job search contacts per week.⁶ A valid contact means applying for an open position, submitting a resume through an employer’s website, attending a job interview, or directly inquiring about openings with someone who has hiring authority. Browsing listings without applying doesn’t count.

You also need to register for employment services through the Virginia Workforce Connection system. Do this shortly after filing your initial claim. Skipping the registration is a common disqualification trigger.⁵

Don’t invent contacts. The statute explicitly authorizes the Commission to verify what you reported directly with the employers you listed.⁵

How Part-Time Earnings Affect Your Weekly Payment

Working part-time doesn’t automatically kill your benefits. Virginia lets you keep the first $100 of gross wages in a claim week without any reduction. Any gross wages above $100 are deducted dollar-for-dollar from your weekly benefit amount. If your gross wages equal or exceed your weekly benefit amount, you get no payment for that week.⁴

An example: your weekly benefit amount is $300 and you earned $200 gross. Subtract the $100 disregard from your wages, which leaves $100. Subtract that from your benefit, and you’d receive $200 for the week.⁴ Report gross wages, not take-home pay.

What Happens If You Turn Down a Job

Refusing a suitable job offer without good cause disqualifies you until you’ve worked at least 30 days or 240 hours for a new employer.⁷ That’s not a one-week skip; it’s a gap you can only close by finding and keeping work.

The VEC decides whether a job is “suitable” by weighing risk to your health and safety, your physical fitness, your training and experience, how long you’ve been unemployed, and how far the job is from where you live. The longer you’ve been out of work, the more broadly the VEC defines what counts as suitable.⁷

Three refusals are protected from disqualification:

The position is vacant because of a strike or lockout.
The wages, hours, or working conditions are substantially worse than what’s typical for similar work in the area.
The employer requires you to join a company union or to leave a legitimate labor organization.

Report any job offers and refusals during your weekly certification. Concealing a refusal and having the VEC discover it through employer verification makes the situation much worse.

How and When You Get Paid

Virginia pays benefits by direct deposit to your bank account or by a state-issued debit card.⁸ Direct deposit is generally faster and avoids the fees some ATMs charge for debit card withdrawals. Update your payment preferences by calling the VRS at 1-800-897-5630.³

The VEC says initial claims are generally paid within 21 days of filing, though some claims need more review. Weekly certifications after the initial claim is established typically process faster, but the agency doesn’t publish a guaranteed turnaround for weekly payments. Federal bank holidays can add a day or two. If a deposit doesn’t arrive when you expected it, check your payment status through the CSS portal.

If Your Weekly Claim Is Denied

If the VEC issues an adverse determination on your claim, you have 30 days from the date the Deputy’s Decision was mailed to appeal.⁹ The clock runs from the mailing date, not when you read it, so check your mail and your CSS portal during any period when your eligibility is in question.

You can file an appeal in several ways:

Online through the Customer Self-Service portal.
By mail to Virginia Employment Commission, First Level Appeals, P.O. Box 26441, Richmond, VA 23261-6441, or by fax to (804) 786-8492.
In person at a local Virginia Works office.

Every appeal must be in writing and include your name, your claimant ID number, and the specific reasons you’re appealing.¹⁰ State what happened, why the decision was wrong, and what evidence supports you. For process questions, the Clerk of First Level Appeals is at (804) 786-3020 or (800) 552-4500.

A Few Boundaries Worth Knowing

Unemployment benefits are taxable income on both federal and state returns, and the VEC issues Form 1099-G after year-end. If you’d rather not owe money in April, you can opt into voluntary federal withholding at a flat 10% by submitting IRS Form W-4V to the VEC.

If you receive benefits you weren’t entitled to, the VEC will require repayment and can deduct up to 50% of future weekly payments until the balance is cleared. Waivers exist, but only if the overpayment wasn’t your fault and repaying would deprive you of income needed for basic necessities like housing, food, or medicine. Overpayments caused by your own misreporting or fraud don’t qualify.¹¹ The VEC also collects costs, fees, and interest on overpayments that aren’t repaid voluntarily.¹² The best protection is honest, on-time weekly filings with earnings reported in the week they were earned.

1
Virginia Employment Commission. Certify for Weekly Benefits
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Virginia Employment Commission. Helpful Hints for Using the Customer Self Service
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Virginia Employment Commission. Frequently Asked Questions
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Virginia Employment Commission. Benefits Information
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Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 60.2-612 – Benefit Eligibility Conditions
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Virginia Employment Commission. Your Unemployment Benefit Rights and Responsibilities
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Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 60.2-618 – Disqualification for Benefits
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Virginia Employment Commission. Online Services
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Virginia Employment Commission. When Must I File an Appeal, and Can I Extend the Appeal Period
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Virginia Employment Commission. How Can I File an Appeal to First Level Appeals
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Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 60.2-633 – Receiving Benefits Through Error or Fraud
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Virginia Employment Commission. Overpayment of Benefits