Can't certify for NY unemployment before BYE date with effective days left - what happened?

same thing happend to me last month!! the website is ALWAYS having issues. try closing your browser completely and signing back in. sometimes that fixes it. if not you probably need to call them which is IMPOSSIBLE unless you have 5 hours to waste on hold 🙄

Did you check if you hit your maximum benefit amount? Sometimes even if you have effective days left, if you've reached your maximum $ amount, you can't certify anymore. You should log in and check your payment history to see if you've received your total benefit amount already.

sometimes the system glitches on sundays when everyone's trying to certify. try again tomorrow morning when less people are on the site

I had this exact problem back in January. It turned out there was an identity verification hold on my account that I didn't know about. The system doesn't always notify you when this happens. You need to call and speak to an agent to find out if there's a hold or issue with your account that's preventing certification.

They said it was random - they do periodic verification checks. It took about 2 weeks to resolve BUT only because I was able to actually speak to someone. The problem is getting through on the phone. I spent 3 days trying to call before giving up.

Before assuming the worst, check these things: 1. Make sure you're looking at the correct section. The certification option is under the "Unemployment Services" menu, then "Claim Weekly Benefits." 2. Verify you're within your claiming window. You can only certify for the previous week, not future weeks. 3. Check your message inbox on the DOL website. If there's an issue with your claim, you should have received a message. 4. If you certified already for this week, the option won't appear again until next week. If none of these apply, then yes, you'll need to contact NYSDOL directly. Their technical issues have increased since the January 2025 system update.

This sounds like it could be related to the recent system update. Several claimants have reported certification issues following the January update. In most cases, it's resolved within 48 hours without any action needed. I recommend: 1. Try again tomorrow morning as someone suggested 2. If that doesn't work, try using a different browser or the mobile app 3. If by Tuesday you still can't certify, then you should contact NYSDOL Importantly, document your attempts to certify (screenshots, dates/times). If this is a system issue on their end, you should be able to certify for this week retroactively once it's fixed, but having documentation helps if there are any disputes about timely certification.

After reading through all these responses, I thought I'd share what worked for me when this happened. I tried the Claimyr service someone mentioned above, and it actually worked really well. I was skeptical, but they got me connected to an agent in about 45 minutes versus the 3+ hours I spent trying on my own. The agent found a "certification block" on my account that was caused by a random quarterly review. They fixed it while I was on the phone, and I was able to certify immediately after that. Just sharing since this sounds exactly like what happened to me.

UPDATE: I tried again this morning and still nothing. Used a different browser too. I finally broke down and called them. After 2.5 hours on hold (!!!) I finally got through. Turns out there was a "program review" flag on my account that was blocking me from certifying. The agent removed it and I was able to certify right away. She said this is happening to a bunch of people right now because of some internal review process they're doing. So if anyone else runs into this problem, unfortunately you DO need to call. Thanks everyone for your help!