Receiving Benefits After Filing Your Internet Claim

You are about to file an Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits claim through the Internet. The following information is to alert you to the importance of certifying (claiming weeks of unemployment) for UI benefits after you file this claim.

Why Certify for Benefits (Claim Weeks of Unemployment)?

If you do not certify, you will not receive Unemployment Insurance benefits.

The term “certify” is used by IDES to describe how you claim weeks of unemployment and receive benefits if you are entitled. This term is used because you are “certifying” on a biweekly basis your answers to IDES questions about your unemployment status are correct. Your answers to these questions are factors in determining your entitlement to benefits for the weeks for which you are claiming.

When To Certify

Approximately two weeks after you have filed your claim you must certify for benefits on the claim by calling Tele-Serve, an automated system that enables you to claim weeks of unemployment insurance benefits over the telephone.

You will receive a "finding" in the mail that will inform you of your Bi-Weekly Certification Call Day and the date you should first call Tele-Serve to certify (click to see an example).

If you do not receive this information sheet within two weeks from the date you filed your claim, contact your local office. After your first certification, you will continue to call Tele-Serve on a biweekly basis on your call day. Your specific date to call Tele-Serve will be printed on your Statement of Certification which will be mailed to you after each time you certify.

If you cannot certify over the telephone because you do not speak or read either English or Spanish, contact your local office within one week after filing your claim to arrange for special accommodations.

More Information regarding certifying and Tele-Serve can be found in the Tele-Serve brochure.

Benefit Payment Options

All unemployment benefits to which you are entitled will be issued to a debit card sent to you by Illinois National Bank unless you have enrolled in our "Direct Deposit"program. Under the "Direct Deposit" program, benefits to which you are entitled will be deposited into your personal savings or checking account.

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More Information about Payment Options | Enroll or Modify Direct Deposit Information

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