How to know if Washington ESD unemployment claim is approved - still waiting
I submitted my unemployment application about 10 days ago and I'm getting anxious about whether it's been approved or not. I can log into my account on the Washington ESD website but it just shows my claim is 'under review' with no other details. I've been filing my weekly claims like I'm supposed to but I haven't received any payments yet. How do I actually know if my claim has been approved? Should I have gotten some kind of notification by now? I'm worried something went wrong.
67 comments


Aiden Chen
Usually you'll get a determination letter either by mail or through your online account. Check your eServices account under 'Messages' - that's where they typically post important updates about your claim status.
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Sophia Bennett
•I've been checking messages every day but nothing new. Should I be worried that it's taking this long?
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Aiden Chen
•10 days isn't unusual, especially if they need to verify your employment history. It can take 2-3 weeks sometimes.
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Zoey Bianchi
mine took forever too, like 3 weeks before i heard anything. then one day there was just a letter in my account saying approved
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Sophia Bennett
•Did you get back pay for all the weeks you were waiting?
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Zoey Bianchi
•yeah they paid me for all the weeks i had filed claims for, so make sure you keep doing your weekly claims
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Christopher Morgan
If you really need to check your status, I had luck using Claimyr to get through to someone at Washington ESD. The phone lines are always busy but this service (claimyr.com) actually got me connected to an agent who could tell me exactly what was happening with my claim. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works.
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Sophia Bennett
•Never heard of that before. Is it legit? I'm getting desperate to talk to someone.
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Christopher Morgan
•Yeah it's real, I was skeptical too but it actually worked. Way better than sitting on hold for hours just to get disconnected.
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Aurora St.Pierre
•I used something similar when I couldn't get through. Sometimes you just need to hear from a real person about what's happening.
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Grace Johnson
The approval process involves several steps. First, Washington ESD verifies your identity and employment history with your previous employer. Then they determine if you meet the eligibility requirements including the reason for separation from your job. You should receive a monetary determination showing your weekly benefit amount, followed by a determination on your eligibility. Both will be available in your eServices account under documents.
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Sophia Bennett
•I see a monetary determination in my account but no eligibility determination yet. Does that mean I'm partway approved?
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Grace Johnson
•Yes, the monetary determination means they've verified your wages and calculated your benefit amount. The eligibility determination is the final step that actually approves your claim.
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Jayden Reed
•Same situation here! Got my monetary determination last week but still waiting on eligibility.
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Nora Brooks
Check if there are any 'actions required' in your account. Sometimes they need additional information from you before they can approve the claim.
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Sophia Bennett
•I don't see any actions required but I'll double check. Thanks for the reminder.
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Nora Brooks
•Also check the 'correspondence' section, not just messages. Sometimes they put stuff in different places.
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Eli Wang
The Washington ESD system is SO SLOW. I waited 4 weeks just to find out they needed one more piece of paperwork from me. Meanwhile I'm behind on rent and bills. This whole system is broken.
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Sophia Bennett
•That's exactly what I'm worried about. Did they tell you what paperwork was missing?
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Eli Wang
•They wanted some stupid form from my employer about my separation. Took another week after I submitted it.
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Zoey Bianchi
•ugh that sucks, why cant they just tell you upfront what they need
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Aiden Chen
Pro tip: Once you're approved, you'll see your payment status change from 'Not Paid' to 'Paid' for each week you've filed. That's usually the first sign that money is coming.
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Sophia Bennett
•Mine still shows 'Not Paid' for all my weekly claims. Guess I'm still waiting.
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Aiden Chen
•Yeah, that confirms you're still in the approval process. Keep filing though, you don't want to miss any weeks.
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Cassandra Moon
idk about anyone else but when my claim got approved i got an email notification too, not just the letter in my account
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Sophia Bennett
•I haven't gotten any emails from them yet. Did the email come right away or later?
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Cassandra Moon
•think it was the same day as the letter showed up online
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Aurora St.Pierre
I tried calling Washington ESD for weeks and never got through. Finally used one of those callback services - I think it was Claimyr or something similar. Got connected to someone who explained exactly where my claim was in the process. Saved me so much stress not knowing what was happening.
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Zane Hernandez
•How much did that cost you? I'm wondering if it's worth it.
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Aurora St.Pierre
•Honestly didn't care about the cost at that point, I just needed answers. But it wasn't expensive and way cheaper than the stress I was dealing with.
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Genevieve Cavalier
Don't panic yet. My sister works for a different state agency and she says unemployment offices are still backed up from all the changes they made to their systems. 10 days is actually pretty normal right now.
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Sophia Bennett
•That's reassuring to hear. I was starting to think I did something wrong on my application.
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Eli Wang
•normal doesnt mean its right though, people need money to live
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Genevieve Cavalier
•Oh I totally agree it's frustrating. Just saying it's not unusual so probably nothing wrong with your claim.
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Grace Johnson
Another thing to watch for is if your claim goes into 'adjudication' status. This means they need to investigate something about your separation from work or eligibility. If that happens, it can add several more weeks to the process.
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Sophia Bennett
•How would I know if it's in adjudication? Would it say that somewhere in my account?
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Grace Johnson
•Yes, it would show up in your claim status. You might also get a fact-finding questionnaire to fill out if they need more information.
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Ethan Scott
•Mine went into adjudication and I didn't even know what that meant at first. Took 6 weeks total.
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Lola Perez
ugh the waiting is the worst part. I remember refreshing my account like every hour when I was waiting for approval
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Sophia Bennett
•That's exactly what I'm doing! Glad I'm not the only one.
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Zoey Bianchi
•lol same, i was obsessed with checking it
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Christopher Morgan
Just to follow up on my earlier comment about Claimyr - I ended up using them again when I had an issue with my weekly claim getting stuck. Really helpful to actually talk to someone at Washington ESD instead of just guessing what's happening.
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Nathaniel Stewart
•I might have to try that. Been trying to call for days with no luck.
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Christopher Morgan
•Yeah the regular phone lines are basically useless. This at least gets you to a real person who can see your account.
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Riya Sharma
Make sure you're checking the right place for updates. I was looking in the wrong section of my account for weeks before I found my approval letter.
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Sophia Bennett
•Where exactly should I be looking? I've been checking messages and correspondence.
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Riya Sharma
•Try looking under 'Letters and Notices' if you haven't already. Sometimes stuff gets filed in weird places.
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Santiago Diaz
The whole system is such a mess. I know people who got approved in a week and others who waited 2 months for the exact same type of claim. There's no consistency.
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Sophia Bennett
•That's so frustrating. I wish they would just give better updates on timing.
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Eli Wang
•RIGHT?? like just tell people what to expect instead of leaving everyone in the dark
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Grace Johnson
•The timing varies based on the complexity of each case and their current workload. I know it's frustrating but each claim is different.
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Millie Long
Once you do get approved, the first payment usually comes pretty quick. Mine was approved on a Wednesday and I had money in my account by Friday.
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Sophia Bennett
•That's good to know! I've been wondering how long the payment takes once approved.
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Zoey Bianchi
•mine took a little longer but still got it within a few days of approval
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KaiEsmeralda
Keep doing your weekly claims no matter what. I missed one week while waiting for approval and it was a huge pain to get that week paid later.
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Sophia Bennett
•Good reminder, I'll make sure to keep filing even while waiting.
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Grace Johnson
•Absolutely correct. You must file your weekly claims to be eligible for payment, even during the approval process.
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Debra Bai
My advice is try not to stress too much. I know that's easier said than done when you need the money, but 10 days really isn't that long in unemployment time. I've seen people get approved at the 3 week mark and get paid for everything they were owed.
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Sophia Bennett
•Thanks, that helps put it in perspective. I'll try to be more patient.
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Lola Perez
•easier said than done when bills are due though
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Debra Bai
•Oh totally, I get it. The financial stress makes the waiting so much worse.
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Aurora St.Pierre
One more thing - if you do end up needing to talk to someone at Washington ESD, I'd recommend trying that Claimyr service I mentioned earlier. Way less stressful than the regular phone system.
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Sophia Bennett
•I'm definitely going to look into that if I don't hear something soon. Thanks for the suggestion.
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Gabriel Freeman
•I used something similar and it was worth it just for the peace of mind of knowing what was happening with my claim.
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Laura Lopez
Just wanted to add that sometimes no news is good news. If there were major issues with your claim, they would probably contact you pretty quickly for more information.
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Sophia Bennett
•That's actually really reassuring. I hadn't thought about it that way.
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Grace Johnson
•That's generally true. Claims that require additional verification or have eligibility questions usually generate requests for information fairly quickly.
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