How to File for Unemployment

Filing an unemployment claim with New Hampshire Employment Security, step by step: what to have ready, the weekly claims and work search that follow, and how to appeal a determination.

Checked against its sources October 17, 2026.

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“How to File for Unemployment.” Granite Record, https://graniterecord.org/guides/file-for-unemployment. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.
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Granite Record. (n.d.). How to File for Unemployment. Retrieved 19 Oct. 2026, from https://graniterecord.org/guides/file-for-unemployment
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Granite Record. “How to File for Unemployment.” Accessed 19 Oct. 2026. https://graniterecord.org/guides/file-for-unemployment.
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@misc{guides-file-for-unemployment, title = {How to File for Unemployment}, howpublished = {Granite Record}, url = {https://graniterecord.org/guides/file-for-unemployment}, note = {Accessed 19 Oct. 2026} }

At a Glance

If you are out of work, or your hours were cut, through no fault of your own, you can file a claim for unemployment benefits with New Hampshire Employment Security, online. File with the state where you physically worked. You will be told whether your past wages qualify and how much you could receive, and each week after that you file a claim and, unless you are told otherwise, look for work.

  1. File your claim online with New Hampshire Employment Security.
  2. Read your monetary determination: whether your past wages qualify, and how much.
  3. Each week, file your weekly claim and do your work search.

  4. Do you disagree with a determination?

    • YesAppeal within 14 calendar days, as the determination explains.
    • NoKeep filing each week while you are out of work.

Step by Step

  1. Check that unemployment fits your situation

    Unemployment insurance replaces part of your wages if you are unemployed, fully or partly, through no fault of your own. To be paid for a week you must be able to work, available for work, and looking for it unless you are exempt, and you must file your claims on time. Working part-time does not rule you out; working full-time does. School employees between terms are judged case by case.

    You must also have earned enough in a base period of four calendar quarters before your claim; New Hampshire Employment Security’s eligibility page gives the amounts.

    Unemployment eligibility

    The law: RSA 282-A:31, I

  2. Have these ready

    • your Social Security number;
    • if you are not a U.S. citizen, your alien registration number and its expiration date;
    • the name, address and phone number of every employer you worked for in the last 18 months;
    • your DD 214, if you were in the military in the last 18 months; and
    • your bank details, if you want payments by direct deposit.

  3. File your claim online

    On New Hampshire Employment Security’s filing page, choose Register or Login and create an account in Workforce Connect, its claims site. From your dashboard choose File for Benefits, then Apply for Unemployment Insurance Benefits. Answer every question accurately, since your answers affect your claim; review and certify it; and print the confirmation for your records.

    File for unemployment benefits

  4. Every week: file a claim and look for work

    You file a claim for each week. Unless you are told you are exempt, you must also look for work every week and report it on your weekly claim: contacting employers, and taking part in activities that prepare you to go back to work. If you work part-time, report your hours and earnings on the weekly claim.

  5. If you disagree with a determination

    Every determination on your claim is on your dashboard and explains how to appeal. You have 14 calendar days from when it was issued. After you appeal you will get an Appeal Request Notice, and the hearing is held by an Appeal Tribunal chairperson.

    Unemployment appeals

    The law: RSA 282-A:48

Who Can Help

New Hampshire Employment Security’s unemployment hotline, (603) 271-7700, answers questions on weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Its NH Works offices help in person, with claims and with finding work.

NH Works offices

In the Record

Chapter 282-A: Unemployment Compensation

Bills now before the General Court that would change it:

Laws that changed it since 2020, newest first:

Where This Comes From