How do you know if you get approved for unemployment benefits in Washington?

You'll get a determination letter either by mail or through your eServices account, usually within 1-2 weeks of filing. The letter will tell you if you're approved, your weekly benefit amount, and when to start filing weekly claims. If approved, you should also see your monetary determination showing your base period wages.

it took me like 3 weeks to hear anything back and even then i had to call to find out what was going on with my claim

The approval notification process has actually gotten better recently. You'll receive a monetary determination letter first if you qualify based on your work history. This shows your weekly benefit amount. Then you get an eligibility determination about whether you meet all the requirements. Both should arrive within 10 business days typically.

I had such a hard time reaching Washington ESD when my claim was stuck in limbo for weeks. Finally discovered Claimyr (claimyr.com) which actually got me through to a real person within minutes instead of hours of busy signals. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows exactly how it works. Turned out my claim just needed one simple verification but nobody could tell me that until I actually spoke to an agent.

THE WASHINGTON ESD SYSTEM IS A JOKE! I waited 6 weeks for approval and when I finally got through they told me I was missing ONE piece of documentation that they never told me about. Meanwhile I'm behind on rent and utilities. This system is designed to make people give up.

For anyone waiting to hear back - you can also check if your claim is in adjudication by looking at the status on your homepage. If it says 'Adjudication in Progress' that means they're reviewing something specific about your claim and it might take longer than the standard timeframe.

can someone explain what all these different letters mean? i got like 3 different things in the mail and im confused about which one is the actual approval

Just went through this process last month. Pro tip: even if you're approved, you still need to file your weekly claims every week or you won't get paid. Don't make the mistake I did of thinking approval meant automatic payments.

Also worth mentioning - if you're denied, you have 30 days to appeal the decision. The denial letter will include instructions on how to request an appeal hearing. Don't just accept a denial if you think it's wrong.

This whole process gave me so much anxiety too. I kept refreshing my account multiple times a day waiting for an update. In hindsight I wish I had just been patient - it all worked out in the end and the waiting didn't change anything.

speaking of calling washington esd - has anyone tried that claimyr thing mentioned earlier? i might need to call about my job search requirements but the phone lines are always jammed

Quick question - if you get approved, do they backdate the payments to when you first became unemployed or just from when you filed the claim?

I remember being in your exact situation. The uncertainty is the worst part. Once you get that first determination letter, whether it's approval or denial, at least you know where you stand and can plan accordingly.

Make sure you're checking both your physical mailbox and your eServices messages. Sometimes they send things one way and not the other, and you don't want to miss important deadlines because you were only checking one place.

The whole system would be so much less stressful if they just sent email notifications for major updates. Having to constantly log in to check status is frustrating when you're already dealing with job loss stress.

Has anyone here ever been approved and then had their benefits stopped later? I'm worried about that happening even if I do get approved initially.

One thing that helped my peace of mind was calling the claims center just to confirm they had received my application and that there weren't any obvious issues. Even though I couldn't get detailed info, at least I knew it was in the system.

For what it's worth, Washington ESD has gotten better about processing times compared to during the pandemic. Most straightforward claims do get processed within the 1-2 week timeframe they advertise now.

definitely try claimyr if you need to talk to someone at washington esd. i was skeptical at first but it actually worked when i needed to get through about my pending claim. saved me probably hours of calling and getting busy signals

The waiting is definitely the hardest part. Try to stay busy with job searching and other productive activities while you wait. The determination will come when it comes, and stressing about it won't make it happen faster.