Arkansas Unemployment Insurance Claims
Note: The Arkansas Department of Commerce recently reorganized, splitting programs housed within the former Division of Workforce Services into three new divisions under the Commerce umbrella. The unemployment insurance program is now a separate division known as Reemployment. As we work through this transition and build new websites for these divisions, information related to unemployment insurance claims and the Reemployment division will remain on this site. About Us
Employers, click here to log in to your Tax 21 account or visit the UI Employer Services page.
Click here to learn about Disaster Unemployment Assistance
Five Steps to Filing for Unemployment Insurance
Click each step below to expand or view the printable version.
1. File an Initial Claim Online
File your initial claim online using EZARC (Easy Arkansas Claims).
ezarc.adws.arkansas.gov | Monday–Friday, 6 AM- 6 PM and Sunday, 7 AM- 6 PM
Once you have completed the filing process, information will be mailed to you.
2. Provide Proof of ID (Choose 1 of 3 ways)
When filing for UI, you must present your ID in person or verify your ID online. This confirms it’s YOU trying to file the claim, not someone pretending to be you. After you file your initial claim, you will click the ‘Verify Identity’ link on your confirmation page to choose how you would like to verify your ID. You will have three options.
3 Ways to Verify ID:
1. Online- Login.gov: Your confirmation page will provide a link to Login.gov. Select this method to upload photos of your ID with your phone or computer for verification. Follow the instructions provided. Login.gov accepted identification documents.
2. Post Office (ID and Barcode): Present your valid government-issued ID in person at one of over 200 participating USPS locations in Arkansas. After choosing this method on your confirmation page, a barcode will be generated that you must present at the designated post office along with your ID. You can print the barcode or present it on your mobile device.
3. Arkansas Workforce Center: Present your valid government-issued ID at a local Arkansas Workforce Center.
3. Register for Work Online
Register for work online using Arkansas JobLink (AJL) at www.arjoblink.arkansas.gov. If you need assistance, send an email to [email protected] or contact your local Arkansas Workforce Center.
4. File Weekly Claims
Weekly claims must be completed each week. File weekly claims online using ArkNet. Visit www.arknet.arkansas.gov or call ArkLine at 1-501-907-2590. For UI purposes, weeks begin on Sunday and end on Saturday.
ArkNet
File continued claims online using ArkNet. You must file a continued claim once you have established a valid initial claim and are determined to be eligible for benefits. Click here to go to ArkNet!
ArkLine
If you don’t have access to a computer or the internet to file weekly claims, you can call ArkLine. You can also call ArkLine to reset your PIN, change your mailing address, get general information, and get payment information.
1-501-907-2590 (Applicants)
1-501-907-2591 (Employers)
5. Choose your Payment Option
- Direct Deposit: You can enter your banking information on ArkNet.
- Debit Card: If you do not sign up for direct deposit, you will be registered for a debit card. (Make sure the mailing address on your account is up to date!)
Eligibility Requirements
To qualify for benefits, certain conditions must be met each week that benefits are payable.
To be eligible, you must be:
- Unemployed
- Physically and mentally able to perform suitable work
- Available for work
- Making a reasonable effort to find work
- Free of participation or direct interest in a labor dispute
- Free of disqualification
In addition to the requirements above, a waiting period of one week (called a “waiting week”) must be served before benefits are payable to you. What is a waiting week?
You may not receive benefits if you:
- Left your job for personal reasons not related to work
- Were fired for misconduct
- Are not legally allowed to work in the United States
- Are self-employed
- Are currently receiving workers’ compensation
- Refuse to apply for or accept suitable work
- Refuse recall after being laid off
- Are on leave through the Family Medical Leave Act. You are not considered unemployed
Common Questions
What information is required to file an Unemployment Insurance Claim?
- Your Social Security Number
- Your mailing and physical address
- Your telephone number
- Your last employer’s name and address
- The name and number of your labor union if you find work through a union
- Your Alien Identification Number or registration information if you are not a US Citizen
- Your banking information if you wish to receive UI payments by Direct Deposit
How long does it take to file a claim online?
- The claim process should take approximately 30 minutes.
- You may experience delays when saving each page. Please be patient and do not interrupt the process.
How can I save my claim and finish filing later?
- You may exit the claim filing process at any time by clicking “Log Out.” If you click “Log Out,” any information you have entered on the screen will not be saved; however, any information you have entered prior to that screen will be saved for 24 hours. You must complete any remaining portions of the application process within 24 hours. Any partially completed claim information will be lost if you do not complete the application within that time. Remember that the effective date of your claim is the day you SUBMIT the application, not the day it is saved.
- Any information you have entered and saved will automatically be saved for 24 hours in the event of a system failure.
- Your claim is effective the day you submit the claim and receive confirmation the application has been accepted.
What do I do after I file my claim?
- Once you have completed the online application for benefits, click on the SUBMIT button and wait for the Confirmation Page. Save (or print) the Confirmation Page for your records as proof of filing.
- Provide proof of ID following the instructions on your Confirmation Page.
- Register for work and conduct your required job search activities.
- Read all notices you receive from the Division of Workforce Services and follow any instructions provided.
- File weekly claims for each week you are unemployed.
- You will receive your unemployment insurance benefits on a debit card unless you choose to receive your benefits through direct deposit. You will have the option to set up this payment method on the Confirmation Page.
- See more details in the 5 Steps for Filing for Unemployment Insurance below.
Will I be required to report to a Local Office after filing my claim?
- There may be some circumstances where you may still be required to report to your Local Office, although most items are handled online.
- Certain circumstances require you to mail or fax documents to your Local Office before processing your claim. These documents must be received within 10 days, or your claim will not be processed.
- Your claim’s Confirmation Page, which provides information and instructions, will address any additional action you need to take.
Contact the UI Service Center
If you have any questions about Unemployment Insurance, contact the UI Service Center.
1-844-908-2178 | Monday – Friday, 8 a.m.– 3:30 p.m.
Additional Information Related to Unemployment Insurance
Recent changes to Arkansas unemployment insurance laws took effect January 1, 2024. Learn more.
FRAUD WARNING
It is important to report information truthfully and accurately when filing for unemployment insurance. There are penalties for willfully withholding information. You must supply correct and complete facts when filing for unemployment insurance benefits.
It is a Crime! Arkansas Division of Workforce Services law provides severe penalties for making false statements or failing to disclose material facts when claiming unemployment insurance benefits. Deliberately giving false information to receive benefits is a crime in Arkansas:
- Theft of public benefits of more than $500.00 is a FELONY.
- Theft of a lesser amount is a MISDEMEANOR.
- If you are assessed with fraud of $1,000 or more, you will be disqualified from receiving benefits for ten (10) years.
Remember, it’s not worth the risk! Report your earnings and all other information honestly and accurately to avoid the possibility of criminal prosecution and/or stiff fines.
Appeals
Appeal Tribunal
If you wish to file an appeal to the Appeal Tribunal, follow the instructions on your Notice of Agency Determination or download a Request for Appeal to Appeal Tribunal form. To check on the status of an appeal, contact the Appeal Tribunal at 501-682-1063.
Board of Review
If you wish to file an appeal to the Board of Review, follow the instructions on your decision notice from the Appeal Tribunal or download a Request for Appeal to Board of Review form. To check on the status of an appeal, contact the Board of Review at 501-683-4300.
Court of Appeals
If you wish to file an appeal to the Court of Appeals, download the Petition for Review to the Arkansas Court of Appeals form here.
Overpayments
To repay overpayments, mail payments directly to Benefit Payment Control, PO Box 8007, Little Rock, AR 72203-8007. If you have any questions regarding overpayments, call Benefit Payment Control at 501-682-3241. Click here to learn more about overpayments.
UI Law
The Arkansas Division of Workforce Services Law that governs your UI claim can be searched in Title 11 – Chapter 10 of the Arkansas Code. http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/arcode/
Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) Program
The U.S. Department of Labor funds the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) program to help certain Unemployment Insurance claimants return to work faster. If you are claiming unemployment benefits, you could be selected to participate in the RESEA program. Participants are obligated to meet various program requirements. Learn more here.
Trade Adjustment Assistance
TAA benefits are for those workers who lose their jobs or whose hours of work and wages are reduced due to increased imports. This program includes a variety of benefits and reemployment services to help unemployed workers prepare for and obtain suitable employment. Workers may receive assistance in skill assessment, job search workshops, job development/referral, and job placement. In addition, workers may be eligible for training, a job search allowance, a relocation allowance, and other reemployment services.
Trade Readjustment Allowances
This specific form of Trade Adjustment Assistance is paid to an eligible adversely affected worker every week after he/she exhausts entitlement to regular unemployment compensation, including state and federal extensions. Click here to learn more.
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (Program Expired)
- The PUA program expired on September 6, 2021, and the last payable week for PUA benefits in Arkansas was the week ending June 26, 2021.
- The Arkansas PUA Portal is permanently closed to claimants. (PUA claims filed before expiration have been archived for reference.)
- If, in addition to working in Arkansas, you worked in another state and that state continued to offer PUA after June 26, 2021, you may qualify for a second PUA claim in that state. Read more here: https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/pdf/pua_claims_limited_circumstances.pdf.
- PUA claimants with pending appeal decisions may still be paid retroactively for weeks before June 30, 2021, if later deemed eligible. For PUA appeal decision questions, please email [email protected].
- The expiration of the PUA Program has no impact on the state’s regular unemployment program. Claimants still receiving their weeks of regular unemployment benefits should continue to certify as normal.
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) is a program under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 that provides temporary income to eligible individuals who became unemployed as a result of the novel COVID-19 pandemic and are either self-employed, do not have sufficient work history to be eligible for a claim, or have exhausted other forms of unemployment insurance benefits. It is funded by the federal government, not by state unemployment taxes paid by employers.
Disaster Unemployment Assistance
DUA is a federally funded program that provides financial assistance and employment services to jobless workers and the self-employed when they are unemployed as a direct result of a significant natural disaster if DUA benefits are made available. Click here to learn more about DUA.
More Resources
Servicios de Interpretación/Traducción disponibles por medio de su oficina local.
Ewōr Jerbal in ukok ikijien jeje im kennaan ilo opij ko ijo kwoj pād ie.
Các Dịch Vụ Thông Dịch/Phiên Dịch có sẵn qua văn phòng địa phương của quý vị.
ຫ້ອງການປະຈໍາທ້ອງຖິ່ນຂອງທ່ານໃຫ້ບໍຣິການນາຍພາສາແລະການແປເອກະສານ
Interpretation/Translation services available through your local office.
Instructions Card PDF En Español
Confidentiality Policy
DWS Protects Your Information. Read about our policies that guarantee the safety of the data you provide when filing your claim – whether over the Internet or at a local DWS office.
The Arkansas Division of Workforce Services maintains strict policies and security controls to protect your personal information in our computer systems and files. We have established security controls and procedures to safeguard the information we collect about you. Any information collected via the Internet between DWS and our customers relies on industry-standard SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption.
It is necessary for employees to have access to your information to provide service to you. However, our employees’ access is restricted to information necessary to conduct a transaction or respond to your inquiries. Employees cannot access your Personal Identification Number (PIN).
All employees are trained to respect customer privacy. Arkansas Employment Security law 11-10-314, Disclosure of Information, provides in part that information obtained by the Division of Workforce Services from any employing unit or individual, pursuant to the administration of a claim for unemployment benefits or any determination as to rights or status of the employing unit or individual, shall be held confidential and shall be protected by government privilege.
You may also visit www.ssa.gov to read about the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), which requires state and federal agencies to protect the information we collect from you.
