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Lost your job in District of Columbia? How unemployment works

District of Columbia pays regular unemployment insurance through the DC Department of Employment Services, Office of Unemployment Compensation. Weekly benefits run $50–$444 for up to 26 weeks. All claimants can receive a standard 26 weeks; the total is the lesser of 26 times the weekly amount or half of base-period wages. 1 unpaid waiting week. Last checked .

What to do this week

  1. File your claim now. File as soon as you are unemployed. Weekly certifications start on the Sunday after you file, and a claim cannot be certified if more than 14 days have passed since the last week claimed. You can file online, in person. Open the DOES filing page or call 202-724-7000 (Office of Unemployment Compensation: Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.).
  2. Gather your records. The agency will ask for your last employers, dates and pay. To qualify: At least $1,300 in one quarter, at least $1,950 in two quarters, and total base-period wages of at least 1.5 times your highest quarter (or within $70 of that).
  3. Start certifying every week. Weekly online at does.dcnetworks.org or by phone at 202-724-7000; mail-in forms and American Job Centers are the fallback. File within 7 calendar days after the week-ending date. At least two verifiable work search contacts each week with a written record. Union members whose union seeks work for them may be exempt. Effective January 31, 2026, DOES waived work search for furloughed federal government employees; this does not apply to federal contractors, separated employees or other claimants.
  4. Line up other help. District of Columbia SNAP income limits.

District of Columbia unemployment at a glance

Agency
DC Department of Employment Services, Office of Unemployment Compensation (DOES)
Weekly benefit
$50–$444 (table in force from January 5, 2020)
Most weeks
26 — All claimants can receive a standard 26 weeks; the total is the lesser of 26 times the weekly amount or half of base-period wages.
Waiting week
Since September 5, 2021 there is a one-week unpaid waiting period: the first week for which you would otherwise be eligible, usually the first week of your claim.
Appeal deadline
The appeal must be postmarked or received within 15 calendar days of the date DOES mailed the claims examiner's determination (not the date you received it); if it was not mailed to your correct address, 15 calendar days from actual delivery; a deadline on a weekend or legal holiday extends to the next business day.
Spanish / Chinese help
DOES posts Spanish and Vietnamese appeal forms at https://unemployment.dc.gov/page/ui-forms-select-language; no Chinese found.

How much you could get

DOES lists the maximum weekly benefit as $444 (DC law sets the maximum each year by DOES recommendation). The $50 minimum follows from the $1,300 high-quarter requirement divided by 26. How it is figured: One twenty-sixth of the wages paid in your highest base-period quarter (rounded up to the next dollar), capped at the maximum.

At the top of the table — $444 a week for 26 weeks — the most a claim can pay is $11,544. That is a ceiling, not a typical claim; most people get less because the amount follows past wages.

Who qualifies

  • Base period. A fixed 12 months by claim date: a claim starting in Jan-Mar uses the 12 months ending the prior September 30; Apr-Jun uses the prior December 31; Jul-Sep uses the prior March 31; Oct-Dec uses the prior June 30. An alternate base period exists.
  • Work and wages. At least $1,300 in one quarter, at least $1,950 in two quarters, and total base-period wages of at least 1.5 times your highest quarter (or within $70 of that).
  • If you quit. You may be disqualified if you voluntarily left your last employer (30 work days) without good cause connected with the work.
  • If you were fired. You may be disqualified if discharged for misconduct, with gross misconduct treated more severely.
  • Part-time, gig and self-employed work. Partial benefit = weekly benefit amount plus $50, minus 66% of the week's earnings, never more than the full weekly amount. Self-employment earnings must be reported on the weekly claim; DOES pages do not describe gig-worker coverage.

Weekly certification, taxes and appeals

How to file
File the initial claim online at does.dcnetworks.org with ID.me single sign-on; DOES no longer takes new claims by phone. Identity can also be verified in person at an American Job Center.
Weekly certification
Weekly online at does.dcnetworks.org or by phone at 202-724-7000; mail-in forms and American Job Centers are the fallback. File within 7 calendar days after the week-ending date.
Work search
At least two verifiable work search contacts each week with a written record. Union members whose union seeks work for them may be exempt. Effective January 31, 2026, DOES waived work search for furloughed federal government employees; this does not apply to federal contractors, separated employees or other claimants.
Taxes
Benefits may be taxable income; you can choose 10% federal withholding and, as a DC resident, 5% District withholding.
State withholding
Optional for DC residents: 5% District income tax withholding.
If you are denied
DC Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), mail, in person, fax 202-442-4789 or email Keep certifying every week while the appeal is pending.
Overpayments
Overpaid benefits can be repaid in a lump sum or installments, withheld from future benefits, or taken from DC tax refunds; fraud adds a 15% penalty.

Good to know in District of Columbia

  • DOES site does.dc.gov blocks automated access; figures come from unemployment.dc.gov and the DC Code. The claimant handbook linked from DOES is dated January 2020.
  • The $444 maximum is confirmed on the current DOES FAQ and Information for Claimants pages and in DOL's July 2026 table; the weekly maximum is reset by DOES each year under D.C. Code 51-107(b)(3).
  • keepFilingWhileAppealing is null: the DOES appeals page reviewed does not say; the weekly certification page says certifications are required for any week you want paid.
  • Benefit-weeks note: the DC handbook lists 26 weeks regardless of unemployment rate.

Sources

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