Official Site of The State of New Jersey
Reopening or reapplying for unemployment benefits
If you applied for unemployment benefits in the past year, reopen your existing application and update it.
You have up to one year from the day you apply for unemployment (Date of Claim) to collect the maximum balance of your UI benefits (up to 26 weeks if you qualify).
You should reapply for unemployment (sometimes called reopening your application) if:
- You become unemployed again after a period of unemployment,
- or - - You were previously ineligible or disqualified for UI benefits, and the reason(s) why you were ineligible no longer apply,
- or - - You stopped collecting payments for some amount of time, and now want to certify and begin receiving payments again.
To reopen your application, you’ll answer a few questions. Because you already have an application in our system, this should be easier and faster than filling out the original application and your existing information will already be in our system.
After you submit your answers to these questions, we will review your application. If you’re eligible to receive payments you can begin certifying for payments the following week, and can receive payments for the current week.
If you believe you're eligible for weeks you missed prior to reopening or reapplying, call 732-761-2020 to request access to certify for those weeks.
We calculate your payment amount based on your earnings for the 18 months before the day you first applied (this is called Date of Claim). If you reopen your application within a year, your payment amount will not change.
We calculate a maximum amount of money you may receive in payments based on your earnings for the 18 months before you applied for unemployment. This isn’t a guarantee that you’ll receive this amount. You can only be paid for weeks that you certify and remain eligible.
On your homepage, you may see a number called "Amount Remaining." This shows the most money you could receive in payments for one year from the Date of Claim, or until the funds are used up, whichever happens first.
If you have not applied for unemployment in the last 12 months, you should begin a new application.
If you have applied for unemployment in the last 12 months, and your application was not approved and you did not receive any payments, then you should begin a new application.
Alana was laid off from her job at a shoe store in January, so she applied for unemployment. She received benefits for a month before she got a new job at a grocery store in March. She stopped certifying every week and stopped receiving benefits because she had a new job. After six months, the grocery store closed and Alana was laid off again in September. Instead of starting over with a new application, she reopened her application, answered a few questions about her job at the grocery store, and then was able to begin certifying and receiving benefits again.
Kai was laid off from their job as a carpenter. They applied for unemployment in August right after they were laid off, and began receiving benefits as they looked for a new job. While they were looking for a new job, their car broke down, so they no longer had transportation and wouldn’t be able to take a new job even if it was offered to them. They stopped certifying for a few weeks while their car was repaired. When their car was fixed, they reopened their application and began receiving benefits again while they looked for a new job.
Anton was laid off from his office job, so he applied for unemployment in June. The Department of Labor used his wages from the 18 months before the date he applied to determine how much money he received as payments. He was approved and began receiving $458 each week that he certified. After two months, he got a new job, so he stopped certifying and receiving benefits. In February, Anton was laid off again. He reopened his application, and his payments were still $458 each week, even though his most recent job paid more than his original office job. When he got a new job in May, he still had some money remaining, but he was no longer eligible to receive benefits because he was employed.
