The weekly claim filing process (also referred to as weekly certification) is used to verify that you were unemployed during the week and are eligible to receive benefit payments (provided that you qualify monetarily and are determined eligible to receive benefits).

Weekly claims are filed by individuals who have applied for Unemployment Insurance (UI) Benefits and/or have an existing Arizona Unemployment Insurance Claim with a monetary balance (meaning, you still have money remaining in your total benefit entitlement).

The following information is needed to file an application (initial claim) for benefits in Arizona:

• Your Social Security Number
• Arizona Driver's License or Arizona State Issued ID (Note: you may still complete your application without these two items)
• Your mailing address, city, state and ZIP code
• If you live in Arizona, know the county where you reside
• The names, addresses, and phone numbers of all your employers for the last 18 months
• The last day you worked immediately prior to filing your UI claim
• If you received severance, vacation, holiday or payment for unused sick pay: give the amount (before deductions) and the date it was paid to you
• The name and local number of your union hall, if applicable
• Alien Registration Number, if applicable
• Copy # 4 of your DD Form 214 if released from the military in the last 18 months
• SF 8 or SF 50 if employed in Federal Civilian service in the last 18 months
• If you are collecting a pension (other than Social Security), you will need the start date of the pension and the monthly benefit amount

When you apply for UI benefits, you must provide the correct mailing address and telephone number for your most recent employer (the individual or company you worked for immediately prior to filing your application for benefits).

Unemployment Insurance (UI) Benefits are not retroactive: therefore, you should apply for UI Benefits as soon as possible after the last day of work. If you are still currently working, you will need to wait until after your last day of work to complete your application for UI benefits.

All weeks must be filed (certified) in order, without a break. If you miss a week, you will be able to file for the current week and the prior week (the one you missed filing for) only. If you miss filing your weekly claims for more than two weeks, the weekly claim filing system will no longer recognize you. 

Failing to file a weekly claim can result in a delay in having your benefits approved and/or in receiving your weekly benefit payments. If you receive a message indicating that there is no record of your Social Security Number, the system is missing two or more of your most recent weekly claims (meaning that the two previous consecutive benefit weeks were not submitted for processing/payment in a timely manner).