You must file a claim on iowaworks.gov each week that you wish to receive unemployment benefits.
During this process, you must confirm that you are still eligible – in other words, that you are totally or partially unemployed and looking for work. If you do not file a weekly claim, you will not receive an unemployment payment for that week.
To file a weekly claim, you must certify that you:
Are unemployed or working only reduced hours. 
Are able and available to work. 
Have not refused any job offers or referrals. 
Are actively looking for work (unless search requirement is waived) and logging your four reemployment activities (of which at least three must be job applications). 
Are reporting any pension income that you may receive. 
Are reporting any gross wages, vacation (PTO), severance and/or holiday pay that you may be receiving. 
List items for Important Information about the Weekly Claims Process
Effective June 3, 2025, an upgraded iowaworks.gov system allows you to handle both your unemployment benefits claim tasks and your job search tasks using the same platform.
Benefits of this include: 
Creating an electronic job search log to follow up on job leads. 
Reducing the chance of experiencing interruptions in your benefits. 
Expanding your reemployment activities, including access to virtual workshops that build your job skills. 
Making certification of your activities easier, since iowaworks.gov will automatically record job searches and reemployment activities done within the system. 
Saving time and preventing overpayments of unemployment insurance benefits. 
Easier tracking of reemployment activities makes it easier to make sure that your claim documents everything correctly. If you are paid for a week of unemployment benefits when the reemployment activities have not been certified, you will be required to either call in for a scheduled fact-finding or appear at a local office to validate your reemployment activities for that week. If you are unable to validate your reemployment activities for any weeks you received benefits, you will be required to repay those weeks. 
To continue receiving unemployment benefits in Iowa, you must also register for work and complete at least four reemployment activities each week.
Three of these activities must be job applications.
You will complete and certify your weekly activities each time that you file a weekly claim in iowaworks.gov.
You must also log into ID.me each week when you file your weekly claim on iowaworks.gov. However, unlike during your initial claim, you do not need to submit any documents or additional information (you simply need to just login to your ID.me account).
You can check your unemployment benefits claim status on iowaworks.gov to confirm:
The last week that you received unemployment pay.
The date and amount of your last payment.  
The amount of benefits that you can still claim during your benefit year.
