Identity verification taking 6+ weeks with ESD - any way to speed this up?

Unfortunately this is pretty common with ESD identity verification right now. I went through the same thing in January - took almost 7 weeks for them to verify my identity. What helped me was contacting my state representative's office. They have liaisons who can sometimes help expedite ESD issues. Google '[your county] state representative' and send them an email explaining your hardship situation.

same thing happend to me!! took 9 weeks and i almost lost my apartment. ESD is THE WORST

I work as an unemployment advocate, and identity verification delays are unfortunately very common right now. Here's what you should do: 1. Document every call you make to ESD (date, time, agent name if possible, what they told you) 2. If you're facing eviction, request an expedite based on hardship - specifically ask for this 3. Contact your state representative as suggested above 4. File a formal complaint through the ESD website (there's a specific process for this) 5. Call the Office of the Commissioner directly at their special line: 360-902-9301 The system is backlogged, but these steps can help get your case noticed. Also, make sure you keep filing your weekly claims even while waiting for identity verification to resolve.

Just wondering if you sent them all the right documents? When I had to verify my identity, they rejected my first submission because I sent a picture of my driver's license but they couldn't read the barcode on the back or something stupid like that. They never even told me it was rejected - I only found out when I called after waiting for weeks. Might be worth checking if they actually received everything correctly.

I've been through this nightmare and what finally worked for me was using Claimyr to get through to an actual ESD agent who could check on my verification status. I kept getting stuck in the phone queue for hours before getting disconnected, but with Claimyr I got a callback from ESD in about 20 minutes. The agent was able to see that my ID verification was actually complete but hadn't been updated in the system. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 and the website is claimyr.com. Honestly worth it when you're dealing with a time-sensitive issue like potential eviction.

ID verification is THE BIGGEST SCAM. They're just delaying paying people on purpose. I had to wait 11 weeks for them to verify my identity last year even though I've been filing with them for years! They know exactly who we are, they just want to save money by making the process so frustrating that people give up. The whole system is RIGGED against workers!!

My cousin works for ESD (not in the identity verification dept tho) and she says they're still dealing with a huge backlog from some system updates they did in February. Apparently they're prioritizing cases based on hardship and how long they've been waiting, so definitely emphasize your eviction risk when you call. Also, weird tip but she said calling on Wednesday mornings tends to have the shortest wait times.

anyone else notice they always say "3-6 weeks" for EVERYTHING?? like no matter what the issue is its always that same timeframe... so frustrating

Update: I tried a few of the suggestions here - I called early Wednesday morning, specifically asked about expediting for hardship, and contacted my state rep's office. The rep's office got back to me quickly and said they'd send an inquiry to their ESD liaison. Not resolved yet but at least feeling like I'm making progress. Thank you all for the advice - will update when I hear more!