DEO suddenly sent me a paper check instead of direct deposit - safe to cash?

Omg same thing happened to my cousin last month! She was freaking out too but ended up cashing it and nothing bad happened.

This is actually pretty common with DEO. Sometimes their direct deposit system has temporary issues or maintenance periods where they default to paper checks rather than delay payments. If your CONNECT account shows the payment was issued, it's legitimate. Just make sure the check has all the proper state watermarks and security features. One important thing to check: look at your payment history in CONNECT and make sure that specific week isn't listed twice. If it only shows up once and the payment method says "check" instead of "direct deposit" for that week, you're fine to cash it.

BE CAREFUL!!! DEO is NOTORIOUS for coming back months later with overpayment notices!!! I would call and confirm before cashing it just to be safe. Document EVERYTHING including the envelope it came in and take pictures of the check before cashing!!!

If you're worried, you should definitely call DEO to confirm before cashing it. But good luck getting through to them on the phone - I spent 3 weeks trying to reach someone about my account being locked. I eventually used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a representative in about 20 minutes. They have a service that calls DEO for you and connects you when an agent answers. Saved me hours of frustration. They have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/UzW_hbUy-ss?si=zORd51jeq1GX5Ldj When I finally got through, the agent was able to check my account and confirm my payment was legitimate. They can check their system and tell you immediately if there's any issue with that check.

just cash the check dont overthink it lol. its free money from the government. their systems mess up all the time

Wait are you sure it's actually from DEO? There are a lot of scams going around. What's the return address? Real DEO checks come from Tallahassee. If it says anything else it might be fake!

This happened to me twice during my claim period last year. Both times it was because they were updating their payment processing system. The DEO rep told me they sometimes default to checks during system maintenance to ensure payments go out on time. The direct deposit system was down for batch processing but they still wanted to meet their legal obligation to pay claims on schedule. I'd suggest keeping a copy of the check and deposit slip just in case, but it's almost certainly legitimate if your CONNECT account shows that payment method changed to "check" for that week.

i got a random check last april when all my other payments were direct deposit. i called DEO (took forever to get through) and they said sometimes this happens when theres a "payment processing flag" that gets triggered in their system. the agent said it was nothing to worry about and to just cash the check. i did and everything was fine after that, went back to direct deposit for next payment

Has anybody else noticed that DEO seems to be having more technical issues lately? Between this check situation, the CONNECT site being down every other weekend, and people getting random fact finding requests for claims from months ago... the whole system feels like it's held together with duct tape and prayers!!

Update for anyone finding this thread later: This is a known issue that happened to multiple claimants during the last week of March 2025. DEO was migrating part of their payment processing system and temporarily issued paper checks to some claimants. It's completely legitimate and you can safely cash the check. Your payments should return to direct deposit for future weeks automatically without you needing to do anything in your account settings.