What are Alabama's unemployment phone numbers and Career Centers?

The Alabama Department of Labor is now the Alabama Department of Workforce, and both names reach the same unemployment lines. ADOW splits those lines by job, so the number that takes a new claim is not the number that answers a question about one you have already filed.

Which Alabama unemployment number to call

The claims line runs 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The line for a claim already filed books a time rather than answering there and then: call 1-800-361-4524 after 5 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and the department calls you back the next day. If you cannot get an appointment, try again the next day after 5 p.m. Only one call back a week can be booked, so keep your phone nearby all day once you have one.

Auxiliary aids and services are available on request to people with disabilities, on 800-548-2546 (TTY) or 711 (Voice) through Alabama Relay. A caller who needs no special service can reach the office directly on 800-361-4524.

Mail for unemployment compensation goes to 50 North Ripley Street, Montgomery, Alabama 36130. A question about a 1099-G can also go by email to Treasurer@workforce.alabama.gov.

Each line has a rule behind it, and the rule sits on its own page. How to file for Alabama unemployment lists what to have ready before you call the claims line. Weekly certifications covers the deadline the certification line exists for. Denials, appeals, and overpayments covers how long you have to appeal and what a written appeal has to say. Taxes on Alabama unemployment covers what the 1099-G shows.

Reporting unemployment fraud

Suspected unemployment fraud is reported to the department through its unemployment fraud and abuse reporting page. The same page sends a taxpayer who received a Form 1099-G without ever drawing benefits to the IRS pamphlet Identity Theft Information for Taxpayers. What Alabama counts as fraud, and what it costs a claimant, is on denials, appeals, and overpayments.

Unemployment information in Spanish

The department keeps a Spanish-language page, Recursos En Español. It lists Spanish versions of general unemployment compensation information, the claims and benefits questions and answers, the benefit rights and responsibilities handbook in large print, and the AL Vantage debit card information.

What an Alabama Career Center does about a claim

Unemployment insurance information is one of the services an Alabama Career Center carries, and the department's own rule lets you file an application for benefits by visiting a local Alabama Career Center Office, as well as online or on the claims line. A question about a claim already filed goes to the callback appointment above.

Identity is the exception. If your check online does not go through, or your claim was denied because the check was never finished, you can go to a Career Center in person with a valid government-issued photo ID, your Social Security card, and proof of your address if it differs from the address on the ID. How to file for Alabama unemployment covers the check itself. What a Career Center does for a job hunt, from resume help to training referrals, is on the Alabama job search page.

Find an Alabama Career Center near you