Step One: Financial Eligibility
Are you financially eligible for benefits? You must have enough wages and weeks of work in your employment history to qualify for UC. This is known as "financial eligibility." You will receive a Notice of Financial Determination (Form UC-44F) from the department that will state whether you are financially eligible and, if you are, the amount of benefits you may receive. Your Notice of Financial Determination will be accompanied by an insert that fully explains financial eligibility. Read these documents carefully and follow all instructions that apply to you.
Step Two: Your Job Separation
Why are you unemployed? To qualify for benefits, you must be unemployed or working reduced hours through no fault of your own (a qualifying separation).
There may be times when a department representative will contact you and your employer to discuss the reason for your separation from your job. If you and your employer disagree on the reason for your unemployment, or any other issues arise that may affect your eligibility for benefits, you will be given a chance to explain your side of the story. For example, you may receive a questionnaire to complete and return. If benefits are denied, you will receive a written determination, which you can appeal. (See Your Appeal Rights)
REMEMBER! Promptly complete and return all forms you receive from the UC service center to avoid delays and to explain your side of the story.
Working Part Time: You may be eligible for benefits if (1) your regular hours of work are reduced, (2) you are separated from your job and have obtained part-time employment with fewer hours of work, or (3) you are separated from one job but continue to have part-time employment with another employer(s). If you are working your normal, full-time hours in any job during a week, you are not eligible for benefits for that week.
Step Three: Maintaining Eligibility
Have you met the continuing requirements? If you are financially eligible and your separation from employment is qualifying, you must satisfy certain requirements on a continuing basis in order to remain eligible for benefits. The following chapter will explain those requirements.
To receive benefits, you have to meet a minimum earnings requirement during your “base period.” The base period is the timeframe used to determine if you qualify for UI benefits and to calculate your benefit amount.
The regular base year period consists of the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before the week you file an initial claim.
Your regular base year period consists of 52 weeks and is determined by the date you apply for Unemployment Insurance benefits, as outlined in the chart below:
| If your claim is dated in: | Your claim is based on employment from: |
| January 2022 February 2022 March 2022 | October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021 |
| April 2022 May 2022 June 2022 | January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021 |
| July 2022 August 2022 September 2022 | April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022 |
| October 2022 November 2022 December 2022 | July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022 |
To be eligible for Unemployment Insurance benefits in 2021, you must have earned at least $220 per week during 20 or more weeks in covered employment during the base year period, or you must have earned at least $11,000 in total covered employment during the base year period.
To be eligible in 2022, you must have earned at least $240 per week during 20 or more weeks in covered employment during the base year period, or you must have earned at least $12,000 in total covered employment during the base year period.
The wages earned during your base year will determine the amount of weekly benefits you may receive, and the total amount you can claim in a given year.
For workers who don't qualify with a standard base year, we have other ways of calculating a base year. Click here for more information on these alternate base years, including if you are filing for Unemployment Insurance benefits after a period of disability.
If you have employment in between your base year period and your date of claim, it is called lag employment. The employer or employers you worked for during that time are called your lag employers.
To be eligible for unemployment benefit payments, you must:
- Lose your job through no fault of your own OR quit for good cause related to the work or the employer.
- Make at least $2,250—at least $1,500 during one of the calendar quarters, and at least $750 during the remainder of the base period—from an insured employer during your base period. (See chart below).
- AND your total base period wages must be at least 1.5 times your highest quarter wages.
- OR you must make at least 1.5 times the Taxable Wage Base during two of the four base period quarters.
How to determine your base period
| January 1 - March 31 | October 1 - September 30 | |
| April 1 - June 30 | January 1 - December 31 | |
| July 1 - September 30 | April 1 - March 31 | |
| October 1 - December 31 | July 1 - June 30 |
Special Notes:
- Any information provided during the claims application process may be subject to verification through computer matching programs.
- If your hours were reduced, you may also be eligible for partial unemployment benefits.
- To remain eligible:
- You must report all wages earned each week, even if you won’t be paid until later. This includes tips, commissions, bonuses, show-up time, military reserve pay, board, and lodging.
- You must be able and available for work each week. This means you have no illness, injury, or personal circumstances that would keep you from working full time.
- Refusing an offer of work may result in denial of unemployment benefits.
- Visit jobs.mo.gov at least once a month. At jobs.mo.gov you can create your resume and begin searching through thousands of jobs posted statewide
- You may visit MO Careers to browse open positions in State Government.
- NOTE- The Division of Child Support Enforcement has the ability to intercept up to 50 percent of a claimant’s weekly benefits if they are delinquent on their child support payments. The Division of Employment Security does not have the ability to alter, remove, or add child support intercepts. Any questions regarding the interception of unemployment benefits for Child Support should be directed to Child Support Enforcement at 866-313-9960.