How to find my unemployment insurance number - NYS Department of Labor claim lookup help
I think I messed up and forgot to save my unemployment insurance number when I first applied. I've been getting confused trying to log into my account and I'm not sure if I need this number for my weekly claims. Where can I find my unemployment insurance number? I checked my email confirmation but it just has some reference numbers that don't look right. Really worried I'm going to miss filing this week because I can't figure out which number is actually my UI number.
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Isabella Silva
Your unemployment insurance number should be on any correspondence you received from NYS Department of Labor after filing your initial claim. Check for a letter or notice that came in the mail - it's usually labeled as 'Claim Number' or 'UI Number' and starts with specific digits. You can also find it by logging into your my.ny.gov account and looking at your claim summary page.
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Malik Robinson
•I think I threw away the mail thinking it was junk! Is there another way to get it without waiting for new mail?
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Ravi Choudhury
If you can access your online account at all, go to the 'Unemployment Services' section and your claim number will be displayed at the top of your dashboard. If you're completely locked out, you'll need to call NYS Department of Labor but good luck getting through - I was on hold for 3 hours yesterday.
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CosmosCaptain
•Actually had success using claimyr.com to get through to someone at NYS Department of Labor when I couldn't find my claim info. They have this system that calls back when an agent is available so you don't sit on hold forever. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me tons of time.
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Malik Robinson
•That sounds way better than sitting on hold! I'll check that out if I can't figure this out online.
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Freya Johansen
Check your bank statements if you've received any payments yet - sometimes the unemployment insurance number shows up in the deposit description or reference info from NYS Department of Labor.
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Omar Fawzi
ugh the whole system is so confusing why do we need so many different numbers just to file a claim?? i lost mine too and had to call like 50 times before someone answered
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Isabella Silva
•I know it's frustrating but the unemployment insurance number is how they track your specific claim and benefits. Without it you can't certify for weekly benefits or check your payment status.
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Carmen Diaz
Try looking in your text messages if you provided a phone number when applying - NYS DOL sometimes sends confirmation texts with your claim number. Also, if you remember any part of your SSN or personal info used during application, the "forgot username/password" option on the login page might help you recover access to see your full claim details online.
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Zara Mirza
•Great tip about checking text messages! I totally forgot they might send SMS confirmations. The forgot username/password route is worth trying too - sometimes you can recover access even if you don't have the claim number memorized. @Carmen Diaz thanks for the suggestion!
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AstroAce
If you can't find your unemployment insurance number anywhere, you can also try creating a new my.ny.gov account using the same SSN and personal info you used originally. The system should recognize you already have a claim and link you to your existing account automatically. This happened to me when I forgot my login details - it pulled up my claim info right away without needing to remember the specific UI number.
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Riya Sharma
•That's really helpful to know! I didn't realize the system could automatically link you back to an existing claim like that. @AstroAce do you remember if there were any specific steps you had to take when creating the new account, or did it just automatically detect your previous claim when you entered your SSN?
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