How to get unemployment award letter online from Washington ESD?
I need to get my unemployment award letter for a rental application but can't figure out how to download it from the Washington ESD website. I've been looking through my SecureAccess Washington account but don't see an obvious place to get the official letter. My landlord is asking for proof of my UI benefits amount. Has anyone successfully downloaded their award letter online? Where exactly do I find it in the system?
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Evan Kalinowski
You should be able to find it in your eServices account under 'View and Maintain Account Information' then look for 'Benefit Payment History' or 'Award Information'. Sometimes it's called a 'Monetary Determination' letter instead of award letter.
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The Boss
•Thanks! I found the payment history but it's just showing individual payments, not the total award amount. Is the monetary determination the same thing?
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Evan Kalinowski
•Yes, the monetary determination shows your weekly benefit amount and total potential benefits. That's what most landlords accept as proof.
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Victoria Charity
I had the same problem last month. The document you want is under 'Letters and Documents' in your online account. Look for anything that says 'Notice of Application for Benefits' or 'Monetary Redetermination'. Print that to PDF and you're good to go.
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The Boss
•Perfect, I'll check the Letters section. Didn't think to look there!
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Jasmine Quinn
•This saved me so much time, thanks for posting the exact location!
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Oscar Murphy
If you can't find it online, you might need to call Washington ESD directly. I know their phone system is terrible but sometimes documents don't show up in the online portal right away, especially if your claim is newer.
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The Boss
•Ugh I was hoping to avoid calling. Their hold times are insane.
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Nora Bennett
•Actually, there's a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that can help you get through to Washington ESD agents faster. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Might be worth checking out if you need to call.
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The Boss
•Interesting, never heard of that. How does it work exactly?
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Ryan Andre
Make sure you're looking in the right place. Sometimes the award letter is mixed in with all the other correspondence. Check your 'Inbox' or 'Messages' section too. Washington ESD sends a lot of documents electronically now.
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The Boss
•Good point, I'll check messages too. There's definitely a lot of stuff in there.
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Lauren Zeb
•Yeah I found mine buried in like 20 other notifications. The system isn't very organized.
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Daniel Washington
Why do landlords even need this? Can't they just verify employment status some other way? Seems like an invasion of privacy to me...
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The Boss
•It's pretty standard for rental applications. They want to verify income sources.
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Evan Kalinowski
•It's legitimate - landlords need to verify you can pay rent. UI benefits count as income for rental purposes.
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Daniel Washington
•I guess that makes sense. Still feels invasive though.
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Aurora Lacasse
I couldn't find mine online either and ended up having to request it by mail. Took like 2 weeks to get it though, so definitely try the online options first.
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The Boss
•Two weeks? That's way too long for a rental application deadline.
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Victoria Charity
•That's why checking online first is so important. Most documents are available digitally now.
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Anthony Young
Try logging out and back in to your SAW account. Sometimes documents don't load properly and a fresh login fixes it. Also make sure you're using the most recent version of your browser.
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The Boss
•Good troubleshooting tip, I'll try that if I still can't find it.
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Charlotte White
•Yeah the Washington ESD website can be glitchy. I always clear my cache before accessing anything important.
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Admin_Masters
Just went through this last week. The document you need is definitely in the online system. Look for 'Benefit Award Notice' or 'Initial Determination'. It shows your weekly benefit amount and maximum benefit amount which is what rental applications typically require.
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The Boss
•That's exactly what I need - the weekly and maximum amounts. I'll search for those specific document names.
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Matthew Sanchez
•Those are the right terms to search for. Much more specific than just 'award letter'.
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Ella Thompson
If worst comes to worst and you absolutely can't find it online, Claimyr might be your best bet for actually reaching someone at Washington ESD who can help. I used them when I had a similar documentation issue and they got me through to an agent who could email me the documents I needed.
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The Boss
•How long did it take for them to get you connected?
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Ella Thompson
•Way faster than trying to call on my own. The agent was able to send me the documents the same day.
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JacksonHarris
•That sounds too good to be true. What's the catch?
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Jeremiah Brown
Make sure when you download the document that it includes all the official Washington ESD letterhead and signatures. Some landlords are picky about having the 'official' version versus just payment history screenshots.
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The Boss
•Good point, I'll make sure to get the official letterhead version.
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Royal_GM_Mark
•Yes, the PDF versions usually have all the official formatting. Screenshots often get rejected.
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Amelia Cartwright
I work in property management and we accept the monetary determination letter as proof of UI benefits. It doesn't have to be called an 'award letter' specifically. Just needs to show the benefit amounts and be official Washington ESD documentation.
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The Boss
•That's super helpful to know from the landlord side! I'll make sure to get the monetary determination then.
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Chris King
•Thanks for the insider perspective. Good to know what property managers actually look for.
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Rachel Clark
UPDATE: I found it! It was under 'Correspondence' in my eServices account, listed as 'Notice of Application for Benefits Filed'. Thanks everyone for the help, especially the tip about checking different document names.
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Evan Kalinowski
•Glad you found it! That section name varies sometimes which makes it confusing.
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Victoria Charity
•Awesome! Hope your rental application goes smoothly now.
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Zachary Hughes
•Thanks for updating us with the solution! This will help other people with the same issue.
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Mia Alvarez
For future reference, you can also access most Washington ESD documents through the mobile app if the website is giving you trouble. Sometimes one works better than the other.
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The Boss
•I didn't even know there was a mobile app! I'll download it as backup.
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Carter Holmes
•The app is pretty basic but it's good for quick document access when you need it.
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Sophia Long
Washington ESD really needs to make this process clearer. Having documents scattered across different sections with different names is unnecessarily confusing.
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Angelica Smith
•Totally agree. The whole system could use a user experience overhaul.
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Logan Greenburg
•At least most stuff is available online now. Used to be you had to request everything by mail.
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Charlotte Jones
Pro tip: bookmark the direct link to your documents section once you find it. The Washington ESD website navigation can be a maze.
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The Boss
•Smart idea! I'll definitely bookmark it now that I know where everything is.
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Lucas Bey
•I keep all my important Washington ESD links bookmarked. Saves so much time.
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Isaiah Thompson
I just went through this same process recently and it took me forever to find the right document! One thing that helped me was using the search function within the eServices portal - I searched for "monetary" and "determination" and that brought up the document I needed. Also, if you're still having trouble, try looking under different date ranges in case the document was filed under a different time period than you expected. The Washington ESD system can be really counterintuitive about where things are stored.
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Sienna Gomez
•That's a great tip about using the search function! I never thought to search for specific terms like "monetary" and "determination" within the portal. The date range suggestion is really helpful too - I bet a lot of people miss documents because they're looking in the wrong time period. Thanks for sharing what worked for you!
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