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Kentucky Unemployment Benefits

Unemployment Resource

Phone: (866) 291-2926

File a claim

The Department for Employment Services, Division of Unemployment Insurance, is pleased to introduce its Interactive Voice Response System (IVR). By using touch tone telephone service, you may claim your weeks or request the status of your last week claimed.

Week Claiming and Last Week Claimed is available on Sunday from 2 p.m. until 9 p.m. eastern time and Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Eastern time. Phone calls for the IVR system will only be answered during these times. Every 6-10 weeks the system will advise you that it is time to come into the office for a periodic interview. When this occurs please bring the claim card that you received with your last Unemployment Insurance check.

This system offers you the availability of a faster payment. In about the same amount of time it takes you to fill out your pay order card, address it, and take it to the mail box, you can enter your weeks for payment over the telephone. It's that simple and fast!

State of Kentucky Unemployment Benefit Information

The system is easy to use. It will talk you through the step-by-step process. In most cases, you will get three (3) attempts to enter the correct information. To further assist you, a brief outline is shown below.

Please have the following information readily available before you place your call to the voice response unit.

  • Your social security number
  • Your personal identification number (PIN)
  • The date you returned to full-time work, if you have returned to work
  • The number of hours you worked, if you were paid or will be paid for the work, and the gross amount as well as any holiday, vacation or other pay you received or will receive.

NOTICE

  • Do not call the system back to claim your weeks unless there was a system problem and you were advised by the computer to call back later. When you call more than once a day, it will kick your payment out as a duplicate. You will get a call from your local office to certify your weeks again, and YOU WILL DELAY YOUR BENEFITS.
  • If during your telephone call via IVR the system tells you to CONTACT YOUR LOCAL OFFICE, you must contact as instructed before the weeks can be paid. Calling the system again will not issue a payment.
  • Answers to all questions must be personally entered by you and must be truthful. Falsification of information is punishable by fines and/or imprisonment under KRS341.990.
  • If you hang up before the IVR system tells you to, your claim for unemployment insurance benefits will not be processed. If you are using a cell phone and lose your signal, then you have essentially hung up. Please call again and follow the system's instructions very carefully.
  • Once your claim has been accepted by the system, please do not mail your pay order form to the Unemployment Insurance office. If you do not receive your check within 10 days after making your call, you may contact your local office.

Info on Kentucky