Skip to main content

As of July 8, 2026, IDES will no longer send benefit payments via paper check.  You may select direct deposit or debit card as your method for receiving benefit payments.  If you were receiving paper checks, you will be switched over to debit card payments unless you choose to enroll in direct deposit.

Filing unemployment claims will be unavailable Sunday, July 26th from 12:00 a.m. until noon for a scheduled system upgrade.  Access for claimants will resume Sunday afternoon.

Sign Into My Account

UI Benefit Handbook - Certification

This section covers:

  • Certify for Benefits
  • Scheduled Appointments

Certify for Benefits

After filing your claim you will receive a UI Finding, which includes, among other things, your base period wages, your weekly benefit amount and your bi-weekly certification day.

You must certify every two weeks for the weeks just ended. IDES permits you to file bi-weekly certifications online or by Tele-Serve.

Instructions for certifying are detailed here:

• I Filed My Claim What Happens Now, and

• Tele-Serve

 

Scheduled Appointments

After filing your claim, you may be scheduled for a telephone interview. An interview can be triggered by your claim application, your answers to certification questions, or by an employer protest. In some cases, you may only be required to complete and return a questionnaire. Under rare circumstances you may be required to report in person to an IDES office.

When scheduled, remember to do the following:

  1. If you are scheduled for a telephone interview, always  make yourself available to accept the phone call at the telephone number you have provided. During the interview, you should be in an environment where you can hear well, take notes, and not be distracted.
    •  If you are not available for your appointment, return the Request for Change of Interview Date that was attached to your Notice of Interview.
    • If you are not available for your appointment, you may also call IDES Claimant Services or report to an IDES office as soon as possible to explain why you were unavailable.
    •  If you do not have good cause for not being available, you may lose benefits.
    • If the telephone number on the Notice of Interview is incorrect, you must call Claimant Services at (800) 244-5631 as soon as possible and prior to the interview date to correct it.
  2. If your appointment is scheduled in person, bring all other completed forms or documents you wereinstructed to bring.
  3. At your interview, be be prepared to tell the IDES representative:
    • About any work you performed since you last certified.
    • About any vacation pay, holiday pay or other income you have received since you last certified.
    • If you were sick or otherwise unable to work or not ready to take a job for any reason since you last certified. 
    • If you quit, refused, or were discharged from a job.
    • If you were out of work since you last certified because of a labor dispute.
    • If you received or applied for unemployment benefits from a state other than Illinois since you last certified.
    • Where you looked for work since you last certified. Keep a separate record of all work search efforts; you may be required to provide this information later.
    • If you had earnings since you last certified. Report the gross wages for any work performed, full or part-time. Gross means before taxes or other deductions, not your take-home pay. Earnings in the form of lodging, meals, merchandise or in any other form should be included.

Remember, wages must be reported for the week when you earn them, not when you actually receive them. If your gross wages earned in any week are less than your weekly benefit amount, you still may be eligible to receive a full or partial benefit payment.