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Lost your job in Colorado? How unemployment works

Colorado pays regular unemployment insurance through the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Division of Unemployment Insurance. Weekly benefits run $25–$884 for up to 26 weeks. Total benefits are the lesser of 26 times the weekly amount or one third of base-period wages in each quarter, so many claims get fewer than 26 weeks. 1 unpaid waiting week. Last checked .

What to do this week

  1. File your claim now. Apply right after your last day of work and file as soon as possible to avoid delays. You can cancel within 12 calendar days of filing. Request payment every week even while the claim is processed. You can file online, by phone, in person. Open the CDLE filing page or call 303-318-9000 (Customer Service Center: Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Denver metro 303-318-9000; toll-free 1-800-388-5515; Spanish 303-318-9333 or 1-866-422-0402.).
  2. Gather your records. The agency will ask for your last employers, dates and pay. To qualify: At least $2,500 in wages during the base period (the DOL table says 40 times the weekly amount or $2,500, whichever is greater).
  3. Start certifying every week. Request payment every week online in MyUI+ or by phone at 303-813-2800 or 1-888-550-2800. If you miss the Saturday 10 p.m. deadline the claim becomes inactive. You must complete work search activities every week and keep proof for 2 years. CDLE recommends at least 5 activities per week (another CDLE page says 3-5) and does not state a hard minimum. Register as a job seeker with Connecting Colorado within one week.
  4. Line up other help. Colorado SNAP income limits, Colorado health coverage.

Colorado unemployment at a glance

Agency
Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Division of Unemployment Insurance (CDLE)
Weekly benefit
$25–$884 (table in force from July 1, 2026)
Most weeks
26 — Total benefits are the lesser of 26 times the weekly amount or one third of base-period wages in each quarter, so many claims get fewer than 26 weeks.
Waiting week
The first week of a claim is an unpaid waiting week; your first payment request is the Sunday after the first week of your claim. CDLE pages do not use the term; the one-week waiting period comes from state law as summarized by DOL.
Appeal deadline
Appeals must be submitted within 20 calendar days of the date the determination was mailed; if day 20 is a weekend or holiday it moves to the next business day. Appeals more than 180 days late are dismissed.
Spanish / Chinese help
Spanish claimant guide (https://cdle.colorado.gov/ui/claimants/claimant-guide/guia-para-solicitantes-de-desempleo), MyUI+ in Spanish, and Spanish phone lines. No Chinese pages found.

How much you could get

The current cap is $804 under the first formula and $884 under the second, with a $25 minimum. The caps are adjusted each July 1 for new claims. How it is figured: Colorado uses whichever formula gives the higher weekly amount: (1) 60% of 1/26 of wages in the highest two consecutive quarters (max $804), or (2) 50% of 1/52 of total base-period wages (max $884). The minimum is $25.

At the top of the table — $884 a week for 26 weeks — the most a claim can pay is $22,984. That is a ceiling, not a typical claim; most people get less because the amount follows past wages.

Who qualifies

  • Base period. Standard: the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters. Alternate: the last four completed quarters if you did not earn at least $2,500 in the standard base period.
  • Work and wages. At least $2,500 in wages during the base period (the DOL table says 40 times the weekly amount or $2,500, whichever is greater).
  • If you quit. You may receive benefits if you left for good cause related to the job (for example unsafe conditions); leaving for personal reasons unrelated to work may disqualify you.
  • If you were fired. You may not receive benefits if you were fired for misconduct (careless or deliberate behavior that results in being fired or suspended).
  • Part-time, gig and self-employed work. You may get partial benefits if you worked fewer than 32 hours and earned less than your weekly amount; you can earn up to 50% of the weekly amount with no reduction, then benefits drop dollar for dollar. Full-time self-employed people are not eligible; part-time self-employment hours and profit must be reported, and CDLE's eligibility page describes eligible workers as traditional W-2 employees.

Weekly certification, taxes and appeals

How to file
File and manage the claim online in MyUI+, which also needs ID.me identity verification. The Customer Service Center can help by phone; in-person help is available by appointment at the Denver UI lobby (707 17th Street, Suite 150), mainly for claimants with limited computer access or tech skills.
Weekly certification
Request payment every week online in MyUI+ or by phone at 303-813-2800 or 1-888-550-2800. If you miss the Saturday 10 p.m. deadline the claim becomes inactive.
Work search
You must complete work search activities every week and keep proof for 2 years. CDLE recommends at least 5 activities per week (another CDLE page says 3-5) and does not state a hard minimum. Register as a job seeker with Connecting Colorado within one week.
Taxes
Benefits are taxable by the federal and state governments; you can have taxes deducted from payments and may change that choice once per claim.
State withholding
Optional. CDLE says you can have taxes automatically deducted, but the claimant guide does not state a rate.
If you are denied
CDLE Unemployment Appeals (online in MyUI+, mail P.O. Box 8988 Denver CO 80201-8988, or fax 303-318-9014) Keep certifying every week while the appeal is pending.
Overpayments
Overpaid benefits are due immediately; installment plans are available in MyUI+ and unpaid accounts may go to collections after 90 days. If you cannot repay because of financial hardship you may ask CDLE to stop collection and waive the balance with form B-491 (mail to Benefit Payment Control or fax 303-318-9037); fraud overpayments that do not qualify for waiver consideration are not processed, and a waiver request is not an appeal of the decision.

Good to know in Colorado

  • CDLE pages do not name the waiting week; the waiting-week answer relies on DOL's 2023 comparison plus the CDLE first-payment-request wording.
  • The CDLE Claimant Guide web page was last updated 07/07/2025; the benefits estimator page (which shows the $804/$884 caps and the Oct 16 2026 wage window) is the current source.
  • The estimator says caps are adjusted each July 1; $884 is the cap in force on 2026-10-16.
  • The CDLE guide does not state the federal withholding rate, so federalWithholdingPct is null.

Sources

Legal and agency information, not legal advice. Rules and benefit tables change — confirm with CDLE before you rely on a number. How we check: methodology.