Got approved email for NY unemployment but confused about 'claim can now be paid' message

Good news! That "your claim can now be paid" email means you ARE approved. After your claim is processed and approved, NYSDOL sends that standardized email. You should receive your first payment within 3-5 business days if you've been certifying weekly. The money will go to whatever payment method you selected during application (direct deposit or debit card). Make sure you continue certifying every week on time!

yep ur good to go, I got same message in january. money showed up 2 days later. just keep doing the weekly thing

Are you SURE the email is actually from NYSDOL?? There are TONS of scam emails going around! A real approval usually comes through your online account message center too, not just email. Check your account online directly (don't click email links!!!) to verify your status. So many people get these fake emails and then give away their info!!!!!

Just adding my experience - I got the same "claim can now be paid" email in March 2025 and it definitely meant approved. But here's what nobody mentions: I still had to wait almost 2 weeks before money hit my account! NYSDOL is crazy slow with that first payment, even after approval. It's faster after that though - weekly payments come regularly once the first one processes. Don't panic if it's not immediate.

Congrats on approval! Just make sure you don't miss any weekly certifications while waiting for that first payment. I missed one week and it completely messed up my claim - had to call them to fix it which was a NIGHTMARE. Took me 3 days of constant calling to get through.

just waitied til tues and my $ was there after that same email. ur fine dude

I got that same email back in February, and yes it means you're approved! But I had a random issue where my bank rejected the direct deposit (something about verification) and I didn't know until I called them. Make sure your bank info was entered correctly. I had to update mine and then got paid the next week with no problems after that. Just something to check if the payment doesn't show up in the next week or so.

OK so I was wrong about your email being fake (sorry!!) but DID YOU KNOW that your first payment might include back pay for previous weeks too?? If you certified for weeks while waiting for approval, they should pay ALL those weeks in your first deposit! So check if the amount matches what you're expecting! A lot of people miss this and don't get all their money!!!!

Just wanted to check back - did your payment come through yet? Mine took exactly 8 days after that email to hit my account.

That's awesome that it worked out! For anyone else reading this thread who might be in a similar situation, I just want to add that if you're still waiting for your first payment after getting the "claim can now be paid" email, you can actually track your payment status in your online account under "Payment History" or "Payment Information." It will show as "Pending" until it's actually sent to your bank. Also, if you chose the debit card option instead of direct deposit, those usually take an extra few days to arrive by mail before you can access your funds. Just wanted to share since I see a lot of people get anxious about the timing!

Just wanted to share my recent experience for anyone else going through this - I got the exact same "claim can now be paid" email about 2 weeks ago and was in the same boat as you, totally confused about what it meant! Turns out it really is their way of saying you're approved. My payment showed up 5 days later via direct deposit. One thing I learned is that you can also call the automated phone line (888-209-8124) and it will tell you your payment status without having to talk to a human - super helpful when you're anxiously waiting! The key thing is just keep doing your weekly certifications no matter what. Even if payments seem delayed, don't skip those or you'll create bigger problems for yourself down the road.

As someone who just went through this exact same situation last month, I can confirm that "claim can now be paid" email is definitely NYSDOL's way of saying you're approved! I was just as confused when I got it because like you said, it doesn't explicitly say "approved" anywhere. But that's their standard language. One thing I wish someone had told me is that even though the email says your claim "can now be paid," there's still usually a processing delay of about a week before you actually see the money. Also, make sure you check that your payment method info is correct in your online account - I had a friend who had to wait an extra 2 weeks because there was a typo in their bank routing number. Keep certifying weekly and you should be all set! Congrats on getting through the approval process!

Just wanted to add my recent experience to help anyone else in this situation! I got that same confusing "claim can now be paid" email about 3 weeks ago and was totally lost like you were. It definitely means approved - that's just NYSDOL's weird way of saying it! My payment took exactly 7 days to hit my account after getting that email. One thing that really helped ease my anxiety was setting up text alerts through my bank so I got notified the moment the deposit came through. Also, if you're like me and obsessively checking your account balance, try to resist calling NYSDOL unless you hit the 10-14 day mark with no payment - their phone lines are swamped and you'll just add to your stress. The system works, it's just slower than we'd like! Hang in there and keep up with those weekly certifications.

I just wanted to chime in as someone who went through this exact same confusion about 6 weeks ago! That "claim can now be paid" email is definitely their approval notification - I know the wording is super confusing because it doesn't actually say "approved" anywhere. From reading all these responses, it sounds like you're in great shape! One thing I learned that might help future people reading this thread is that you can actually see more detailed status information if you log into your NY.gov account and look under "Claim Summary" - it will show your claim status as "Active" once you're approved, and you can see your weekly benefit amount there too. Also, don't stress if the first payment seems to take forever - mine took 9 days but after that, weekly payments were super consistent and came like clockwork every Tuesday. The waiting is definitely the hardest part, but sounds like you're doing everything right with the weekly certifications!

Just wanted to add my recent experience to this helpful thread! I got the same "claim can now be paid" email about a month ago and was equally confused - it really is NYSDOL's way of saying you're approved, even though the wording is super unclear. My payment took 6 days to appear via direct deposit. One tip I haven't seen mentioned yet: if you have a smartphone, download your bank's mobile app if you haven't already - it usually shows pending deposits before they fully clear, which can give you peace of mind that the payment is on its way. Also, I found it helpful to screenshot that approval email and save it, just in case you ever need proof of your approval date for any reason. Congrats on getting approved - the hardest part is behind you now!