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The claim certification includes a series of questions that help determine if you are eligible to continue receiving UC benefits. For example, for each week you will be asked if you: • Were able and available to accept work • Looked for work • Refused any jobs or offers of work • Completed any work, and if so, how much money you earned for that work • Were absent from work when work was available, and if so, how much you could have earned for days missed. Under penalty of law, you are required to truthfully answer the questions for each week you claim UC benefits. When to File Your Weekly Claim Filing weekly claims is time sensitive. If you are already approved for benefits, are not yet sure if you will be approved, or you have been denied but you appealed the denial, you must continue filing a weekly claim for each week you are unemployed and seeking payment. If you are eligible for benefits, you will ultimately receive payments only for weekly claims you filed. Your weekly claim must be filed during the week (Sunday through Saturday) immediately following the week you were unemployed. Weekly claims must be completed by 11:59 PM on Saturday of each week you are claiming benefits. If you remain totally or partially unemployed, you will continue to file weekly claims every week until you exhaust your benefits. For example, if you lost your job on Monday, the 3rd of the month, you could file an initial claim for UC benefits on the same day or on any other day that week. Then you could submit a weekly claim for your first week of benefits starting on Sunday the 9th. Remember this first week is an unpaid waiting week. Failure to submit the weekly claim before 11:59 PM, Saturday the 15th may result in delayed benefit payment or a denial of benefits for that week. If You Forget to File If you fail to file your weekly claim at the proper time, your UC claim will become “inactive.” The next time you go to file a weekly claim, you will be prompted to reopen your claim. You can reopen your claim online at www.benefits.uc.pa.gov, but the weeks you failed to file for will not be available. Your reopened claim will be effective Sunday during the week you complete the reopen. The following Sunday you can resume filing weekly claims. You must call us at 888-313-7284 if you want the department to consider your eligibility for weeks you missed. The missed weeks will be filed through our staff and a determination regarding those weeks may be necessary. You may be denied for late filing if the reason does not fall within the allowable provisions of UC law and regulations. How to File Your Weekly Claim Online For fastest service, visit: www.benefits.uc.pa.gov. By Phone You may file by phone by using the PA Teleclaims (PAT) system: 888-255-4728 - Call Sunday through Saturday 24 hours a day. Please be advised that filing online is the fastest and easiest way to file. Using PAT may cause your payments to be delayed. You will need the following when calling PAT to file a biweekly claim for benefits: • Access to a touch-tone telephone, a push-button telephone, or a cell phone with a tone-pulse switch; • Your Social Security number; • A pen and paper to note important information; and • Your personal identification number (PIN), which you must obtain by calling the UC Service Center at 888-313-7284. Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Handbook 9