How to change mother's maiden name on Washington ESD unemployment account

You'll need to call Washington ESD directly for security information changes like mother's maiden name. That's not something you can update online yourself through your account.

I had to do this exact same thing last year! You definitely need to call them. Have your ID ready and be prepared to answer other security questions to verify your identity before they'll make the change.

Good luck getting through to them on the phone. I've been trying for weeks to get someone about my adjudication issue and can barely get past the busy signal.

Make sure you have documentation proving what the correct maiden name should be - like your mother's birth certificate or marriage certificate. They might ask for proof.

Why is this even necessary? Seems like unnecessary security theater to me. Half the time these security questions don't even help with actual identity verification.

Try calling first thing in the morning right when they open. That's usually the best time to get through without waiting forever.

been there done that, took me 3 tries to get through but once i did they fixed it in like 5 minutes. just be patient and persistent

Another option that worked for me when I couldn't get through by phone was using that Claimyr service I mentioned earlier. Sometimes it's worth paying a little to save yourself the headache of calling all day.

Just to clarify - you'll want to call the main Washington ESD customer service line, not the technical support line. The customer service reps can handle account information changes.

Update us on how it goes! I'm curious to see if you have better luck getting through than I've been having.

this happened to my sister too. she said they were really helpful once she got through. the agent walked her through exactly what info they needed and got it sorted out right away

One more tip - have your claim number ready when you call. They'll ask for it right away to pull up your account.

I wouldn't worry too much about it affecting your claim unless they specifically flag your account for some reason. Most of the time these security question mismatches only matter if there's already some other issue.

If anyone else is reading this and having trouble getting through to Washington ESD for any reason, seriously consider checking out Claimyr. It's designed specifically for situations like this where you need to reach an actual person at the unemployment office.

also make sure you write down who you talk to and when, just in case there are any issues later. always good to have a record of these kinds of changes

The whole security question system is so outdated anyway. Half the time people don't remember exactly how they entered information years ago.

OP, let us know how the call goes tomorrow! I'm sure others will find this thread helpful if they run into the same issue.

been following this thread and it's been really helpful. had no idea there were services like claimyr to help with getting through. might have to look into that for my own situation

UPDATE: Just got off the phone with Washington ESD! Took about 25 minutes of waiting but I got through. The agent was super helpful and changed my mother's maiden name in about 3 minutes once I verified my identity. She said it won't affect my weekly claims at all. Thanks everyone for the advice!

This is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. Bookmarking this thread in case I need to make any changes to my account info later.