NY unemployment system saying I didn't certify when I definitely did and have proof
This is so frustrating! I certified for my benefits last Sunday morning, like I always do. I even took a screenshot of the confirmation page that said my weekly certification was complete because I've been paranoid about the system glitching. But when I logged in today to check if my payment was processed, the system is showing I never certified at all and is giving me the option to certify for last week! Has anyone else had this happen? I'm worried if I certify again, it'll flag my account for fraud or something. I'm 100% certain I did it right the first time - I've been on unemployment since September and never had an issue until now. Called the hotline but can't get through to anyone. Any advice on what to do?
45 comments


Luca Ricci
Same exact thing happened to me last month!! The system ate my certification even though I got to the confirmation page. I took screenshots too thank god. I ended up having to just certify again and nothing bad happened - payment came through normally a few days later. The system is trash honestly.
0 coins
Nia Williams
•Thanks for sharing your experience! Did they ever give you any explanation for why it happened? I'm so worried about them thinking I'm trying to double-dip or something.
0 coins
Luca Ricci
•Nope, never got an explanation. I think their system just glitches sometimes and loses data. Just make sure you don't try to claim the same week twice if it eventually does show up as processed.
0 coins
Aisha Mohammed
•This happens way more than they admit. My cousin works in IT and says the ny unemployment system runs on technology from like 1985 🤣 its a miracle it works at all
0 coins
Ethan Campbell
After struggling for WEEKS to get through to ny unemployment, I finally found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real person! They basically wait on hold for you and then call you when they get a live agent. Talking to an agent got my missing payments released within 24 hours. Best money I ever spent after wasting hours trying to get through myself. They have a YouTube video explaining how it works too: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE
0 coins
Yuki Watanabe
•wait is this actually real? sounds too good to be true tbh
0 coins
Ethan Campbell
•100% real. I was skeptical too but was desperate after trying to call for 3 weeks straight. They just dial for you and call you when someone picks up. Saved me literal days of my life.
0 coins
Carmen Sanchez
•sounds like some kinda scam. why would anyone pay for this when you can just call yourself?
0 coins
Ethan Campbell
•lmao have you tried calling NY unemployment lately? It took my friend 67 calls just to get in the queue and then 4 hours on hold. This service just does the painful part for you.
0 coins
Andre Dupont
•I actually tried claimyr.com last week and it worked. Got a call back in like 2 hours with an agent already on the line. Was able to fix my issue right away.
0 coins
Zoe Papadakis
This happens because their servers don't sync properly. The confirmation you saw was just for that specific session, but it didn't actually register in the main database. You need to certify again. Don't worry, it won't flag you - this is a known issue.
0 coins
ThunderBolt7
Seems like theres a whole lotta technical issues with ny unemployment lately. My account was randomly locked last week and it took me 4 days to get it fixed. Make sure u save ALL your confirmation screenshots and document everything. the system is a mess
0 coins
Jamal Edwards
•Facts! I've started taking pics of every single screen when I certify. Even record videos sometimes showing the whole process. Can't trust this system AT ALL.
0 coins
Mei Chen
I'd recommend reaching out through every channel possible: - Call the main unemployment line at 888-209-8124 (use claimyr.com if you can't get through) - Use the message center in your account - Try their Twitter @NYSLabor - Email if possible - If all else fails, contact your state representative Keep all your screenshots as proof. This happens because their mainframe system is outdated and sometimes drops transactions. The key is getting a human on the phone who can manually verify and fix the issue. Don't certify twice until you talk to someone as it could potentially create issues. Make sure to log in every day to check your payment history too. Sometimes the system will correct itself after 24-48 hours. If you need immediate help, services like claimyr.com can connect you with an agent faster than trying to call yourself - it's how I finally got my similar issue resolved.
0 coins
Nia Williams
•Thank you so much for these detailed suggestions! I'll try all of these. Really appreciate the thorough response.
0 coins
Liam O'Sullivan
•The Twitter method actually works pretty well sometimes. I got a response within a day when I DM'd them.
0 coins
Amara Okonkwo
Are you logging in from the same device you certified on? Their cookies are weird and sometimes if you use a different device it shows different status. Try clearing cache too.
0 coins
Nia Williams
•Yep, same laptop I always use. I'll try clearing the cache though, thanks for the suggestion!
0 coins
Giovanni Marino
something similar happened to me in february. the system actually registered my certification but wasn't displaying it. The next day my payment was in process anyways. Maybe wait 24 hrs before certifying again?
0 coins
Fatima Al-Sayed
the whole ny unemployment website is GARBAGE 🤮 ive had so many problems with it. one time it logged me out IN THE MIDDLE of certifying and then locked my account for "suspicious activity" when i tried to log back in.
0 coins
Dylan Hughes
•omg same!!! took me a week to get that fixed. absolute trash system built on dinosaur computers 🦖💻
0 coins
NightOwl42
•this happened to me too!! had to verify my identity all over again. what a joke.
0 coins
Sofia Rodriguez
•I read somewhere they're still using COBOL programming from the 1980s for parts of the system. No wonder it breaks all the time.
0 coins
Dmitry Ivanov
Call them immediately!!! This happened to me and when I waited too long they marked me as abandoning my claim. Took 3 weeks to fix.
0 coins
Nia Williams
•Oh no, that's scary! Did you eventually get all your payments?
0 coins
Dmitry Ivanov
•Yes but it was a nightmare. Had to do a whole appeal process. Don't be me - call asap.
0 coins
Ava Thompson
i think its an error on their end. the system probably didn't save your certification properly. unfortunately you'll need to get a human on the phone to fix it. the ny unemployment phone system is impossible to get through tho 😩
0 coins
Miguel Herrera
try logging out and back in? Sometimes the site doesn't refresh properly. Also check ur payment history tab, not just the main page.
0 coins
Nia Williams
•Already tried that several times. Payment history shows nothing for last week. This is stressing me out so much!
0 coins
Zainab Ali
•deep breaths! worse case you'll just have to certify again. they've seen this before.
0 coins
Connor Murphy
whatever you do DONT CERTIFY TWICE without talking to someone first!!!!! it could trigger a fraud alert and freeze everything. happened to my roommate and it took him 2 months to fix
0 coins
Yara Nassar
•Actually that's not always true. I had to certify again when this happened and it was fine. System recognized it was the first successful one.
0 coins
Connor Murphy
•maybe u got lucky but why risk it? better to talk to someone first
0 coins
StarGazer101
•this is exactly what happened to me and I had to pay back money they said I wasn't entitled to. Be very careful.
0 coins
Keisha Jackson
its prob cuz their site maintenance they do on thursday nights. sometimes it messes everything up for a few days. check again monday, it might fix itself
0 coins
Paolo Romano
THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME TODAY!!!! I certified on Sunday and now it's saying I didn't!! NY unemployment system is such trash I swear. Did you get it fixed?
0 coins
Nia Williams
•Not yet! I'm going to try calling tomorrow. I'll update if I get it fixed. So frustrating that we're dealing with the same issue.
0 coins
Amina Diop
Have u recenly updated ur web browser? Sometimes this can cause weird issues with how the site loads. Try using a different browser and see if the certification shows up there.
0 coins
Oliver Schmidt
Did you reach the confirmation page that has the confirmation number? Without that number your claim isn't complete even if you went through all the questions.
0 coins
Nia Williams
•Yes! I even took a screenshot of it with the confirmation number. That's why I'm so confused about what happened.
0 coins
Oliver Schmidt
•oh that's weird then. definitely system error. you'll need to talk to a rep.
0 coins
Natasha Volkov
lol welcome to the wonderful world of ny unemployment where nothing works right and nobody can help u 🤡 been dealing with this nonsense since october
0 coins
Javier Torres
•i feel this in my SOUL 😠it's like they intentionally make it difficult
0 coins
Emma Wilson
•fr unemployment be like: 'sorry we can't pay u but also we won't tell u why' 💀
0 coins
QuantumLeap
I had a similar issue and ended up contacting my state assembly person. They have special liaisons with ny unemployment who can actually fix things. Might be worth a try if you can't get through on the phone.
0 coins