Washington ESD weekly certification day - what day do i certify for unemployment?

You can certify any day of the week once your claim week opens up. Most people certify on Sundays since that's traditionally when the new claim week starts, but Washington ESD doesn't require a specific day. Just make sure you certify before the deadline which is usually the Saturday after your claim week ends.

I've been certifying every Sunday morning for 8 months now. It's become part of my routine - coffee, newspaper, then log into my Washington ESD account and knock out the weekly claim. Takes maybe 5-10 minutes if you have all your job search activities ready to enter.

Actually had this same confusion when I first started. The key thing is understanding that your claim week runs Sunday to Saturday, and you certify FOR that week after it's over. So you're always certifying for the previous week's activities. You can certify starting the Sunday after your claim week ends.

Honestly I got so frustrated trying to get through to Washington ESD to ask this exact question. Spent hours on hold multiple times just to get hung up on. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually got me through to a real person at Washington ESD in like 10 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Worth checking out if you need to talk to someone about your certification schedule or any other claim issues.

Just a heads up - some people think you HAVE to certify on Sunday but that's not true. I usually do mine on Tuesday or Wednesday when I have more time to double-check my job search entries. As long as you do it before the Saturday deadline you're good.

Make sure you have your job search log ready before you start certifying. Washington ESD requires 3 job search activities per week and you need to enter the details during certification. Company names, dates, method of contact, etc. Don't try to wing it or make stuff up - they do audit these.

Pro tip: Set up a weekly reminder on your phone or calendar. I use Sunday at 9am as my reminder to certify. Helps avoid accidentally missing a week and having to deal with the hassle of reactivating your claim later.

The Washington ESD website usually sends you an email reminder when it's time to certify, but don't rely on it completely. Sometimes those emails go to spam or just don't send. Better to keep track yourself.

Been on unemployment twice in the past 5 years and both times it took me a few weeks to get into a good rhythm with the weekly certifications. Don't stress too much about getting everything perfect right away - you'll figure out what works best for your schedule.

Quick question - if I certify on Sunday for the previous week, when do I actually get paid? Is it right away or does it take a few days?

WARNING: Do NOT certify late! I was 2 days late one time and my claim got deactivated. Had to go through the whole reactivation process which took forever. Washington ESD is not forgiving about deadlines.

Another Claimyr success story here - I used them when I couldn't figure out why my weekly claims weren't processing properly. Got connected to a Washington ESD rep who walked me through the whole certification process step by step. Super helpful and way better than trying to navigate their phone maze.

I always double-check my entries before submitting. Once you hit submit, you can't go back and change anything for that week. Better to take an extra minute to review than realize you made a mistake later.

The mobile app version of the Washington ESD site works pretty well for weekly certification if you prefer doing it on your phone. Sometimes easier than trying to use a computer, especially if you're tracking your job search activities on your phone anyway.

One more thing - if you're on standby status (like if you're temporarily laid off but expect to return to work), your certification process might be slightly different. Make sure you understand your specific claim type requirements.

Honestly the hardest part isn't knowing when to certify - it's keeping up with the job search requirements week after week. Make sure you're staying on top of that because they can audit your claim at any time and ask for proof of your job search activities.

If anyone else is struggling to get through to Washington ESD for certification questions, definitely try Claimyr. I was stuck in phone hell for days trying to ask about my claim status and they got me connected in minutes. Really takes the stress out of dealing with the bureaucracy.