Welcome to UI Online – your fast, convenient, and secure way
to certify for continuing unemployment benefits and manage your claim.
In this video, we’ll walk you through one of the biggest features of
UI Online – Reopening your claim.
With UI Online you can reopen your UI Claim 24 hours a day 7 days a week, without speaking
to a representative.
If you think you may need to reopen your claim, log into UI Online to view your notifications.
In order to reopen your claim using UI Online, you first need to register in Benefit Programs
Online and create a UI Online account.
If you haven't created an account yet, please view our other instructional video, "UI Online:
Overview and Registration," which will assist you in creating your Benefit Programs Online
and UI Online accounts.
Once you login and arrive to the UI Online Home page, check the notifications section
to see if you need to file a new claim or reopen your claim.
If the notifications indicate that your claim is expired and a new claim is required, select
the "Start filing a new claim now" link.
If you still have a current claim on file and stopped claiming benefits for 24 days,
the system will also advise you if you need to reopen your claim.
If you need to reopen your claim, this notification will appear. It’s that simple.
Now let’s get started! Select the "Reopen Your Claim" button to begin the claim filing
process.
When beginning the process of reopening your claim, you will first be navigated to the
Contact Information page.
This is where you can verify your current contact information, such as your mailing
address and telephone number.
If needed, you can update any of your contact information here on this page before moving
forward.
Once finished reviewing or updating your contact information,
you'll be navigated to the Employer or Union Issued Claim Forms page.
At the top of this page you'll notice a progress bar.
This lets you know where you are in the reopen your claim process.
In this example, we are currently on the Employer or Union
Issued Claim forms page. The first question that will display
is, “Did your employer or union issue you one of the following
unemployment insurance claim forms?” If you answer “yes” to
this question you will need to contact the EDD directly to reopen your claim.
There is specific information on the form unique to your employer
that the EDD will need to collect. If you answer “no” you can proceed
to the remaining questions.
You will be asked a series of questions about your most recent employment, last employer
and some eligibility questions, such as the first question which asks you if you are unemployed
due to a disaster.
This question is asked to determine if you are eligible to receive Disaster Unemployment
Assistance benefits if and when they become available.
If at anytime you’d like further assistance in reopening your claim, select the "Help"
link at the top right corner of the page, or click on any of the question mark icons
next to any of the questions to access a Help window.
UI Online is very intuitive. If more information is needed
regarding a specific answer the system will present clarifying questions at the end
to help the EDD gather as much information as possible
in order to expedite the process of reopening your claim.
If your unemployment is due to COVID-19, select the options related to COVID-19.
Be careful to select the correct option. If your employer has closed or “locked-up shop”
because of COVID-19 this is not a Trade Dispute.
Trade Dispute is only selected if your separation is associated with a Labor Action and/or Union
Dispute.
If at any time you need to walk away from your computer to gather additional information,
use the Save as Draft button at the bottom of the page to save your information and complete
it at a later time.
This feature alows you to complete the application at a later time without losing any of the
information you have already entered.
It is important to answer all required questions entirely to expedite the reopening of your
claim.
Your information will be saved until Saturday, 11:59 p.m., Pacific Standard Time, of the
week in which you began the process.
You will need to restart the process if you do not submit the application by that date
and time.
As long as you log in again, before the information is erased, you'll be able to continue the
process from the point where you left off.
This screen provides a list of employers you worked for during the last 18 months.
Select your last employer from the list shown.
If your last employer is not listed, select Last Employer Not Listed, and select Next.
If your last employer was not listed, enter your Employer's state ID number and select
Search.
Your employer's state ID number contains 8 numbers and can be found in Box 15 on your
W-2.
If you're unable to locate your employer's state ID number, go ahead and select Last
Employer Not Listed, and select Next.
For this demonstration, we will select the employer shown in the Search Results.
The next page you will be navigated to when reopening your claim is the Last Employer
Details page.
On the Last Employer Details page you will enter the information of the last employer
you worked for.
If you selected your employer on one of the previous screens, these fields will be pre-populated.
After completing the Last Employer Details page,
you will be navigated to the Review and Submit page.
On the Review and Submit page you will have an opportunity
to review the questions and answers.
Once you confirm your information is correct, review the
acknowledgement section at the bottom of page. Please read
the Acknowledgement section carefully. This is important because submitting
false information or withholding facts can result in denial of benefits
and/or penalties. If everything is correct, select the
acknowledgement check box at the bottom of page
and enter your ZIP Code.
Checking the box and entering your ZIP code also serves as your
electronic signature, indicating you have read and understand the
Acknowledgement statement. If you need to make changes to any
of your answers, simply select the “Previous” button to go back to
any of the previous screens. When you're ready, select "Submit".
Selecting "Submit" finalizes and completes the process of reopening your claim.
That’s it! The Confirmation page validates that you have completed
the process for Reopening Your Claim. You can print a Summary/Confirmation
of the questions and answers for your reference, such as the one seen here.
If you need a printed copy of your Summary/Confirmation,
be sure you print it out before leaving this page.
This is your only opportunity to print out your Summary/Confirmation as you will not
be able to access it again once you leave this page.
Also, make sure to select the “Return” button to return to the UI Online Home Page.
It’s important you go back to the UI Online Home page to review the
Notifications section for updates related to your claim.
On the UI Online Home Page you will be able view new notifications
regarding your benefits, such as when you will be able to certify
for benefits or that EDD has received your request to reopen your claim.
Be sure to check your account periodically for new updates and
notifications regarding your claim.
We hope you have found this video helpful in reopening your claim in a fast,
convenient, and secure way online.
We invite you to visit our EDD website and view other instructional videos available
to learn more about the many different benefits and conveniences of using UI Online.