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Completing Your Weekly Certification

In order to receive your benefits, you need to complete 2 steps each week in this order:

  1. Document your weekly job search activities in the Maryland Workforce Exchange.
  2. Complete your weekly certification in the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON).

Note: While you’re waiting to receive payment, you still need to complete your job search and certifications each week.

Understanding Your Weekly Certification 

Your weekly certification is your request to be paid unemployment insurance benefits for each week you’re unemployed.

By completing your weekly certification, you’re saying that you were unemployed and met the job search requirements during the past week. The weekly certification is your request to be paid unemployment insurance benefits for the week before.

How to Complete Your Weekly Certification

There are 3 ways to complete your weekly certification:

Online

Using the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON)

By Phone

Calling the automated call line 24/7: 

  • 410-949-0022 (if calling from the Baltimore area or out of state)
  • 800-827-4839 (if calling from Maryland but outside of the Baltimore area)

Mobile App

Using our mobile app which you can download from iOS App Store or Google Play Store. (Note: You cannot use the mobile app to file your first claim.)

Note: Make sure to write down the confirmation number when you complete your weekly certification.

If you do not receive a confirmation number or you made a mistake during the certification process, contact a claims agent as soon as possible at 667-207-6520, Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

When to Complete Your Weekly Certification

The unemployment insurance benefit week starts each Sunday and ends the following Saturday.

Complete your weekly certification immediately after the week for which you’re requesting payment, between Sunday at 12:01 a.m. and Saturday at 11:59 p.m.

Example: For a benefit week that started Sunday, May 9, and ended Saturday, May 15, complete your certification between Sunday, May 16, and Saturday, May 21 at 11:59 p.m.

Certifying a claim online in the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON)

To certify your weekly claim online:

  1. Go to the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON) login page and enter your username and password.
  2. Select "Weekly Certification" from the menu on the left side.
  3. Review the "Guidelines for Requesting a Claim Week."
  4. Read the guidelines and select "Next" at the bottom of the screen.
  5. Answer the weekly certification questions for the week listed above the questions. Double check that your answers are correct.
  6. Select “Next.”
  7. You will see the job contact(s) and job search activities that you entered in the Maryland Workforce Exchange during the previous benefit week. This will automatically display in the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON). If you are exempt from the job search requirement, continue the certification process.
  8. Make sure your information is correct in both tabs, since you cannot make corrections after you submit your weekly certification.
  9. Select the checkbox acknowledging that the information you provided is correct.
  10. Press “Submit” to complete your certification for that week.
  11. If you have other certification weeks available, you may continue the same process to complete certifications for every week that you are out of work.
You can also file a weekly certification by accessing your “action items.” Log in to the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON) and navigate to the action items section of your portal homepage. Select the “View” link. This link will display if you have an open action item. Then, complete steps 3 through 11 above.

Understanding Your Weekly Certification Questions

Each week, you’ll answer the following 7 questions when completing your certification in the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON).

Before completing your weekly certification, you must complete and document at least 3 job search activities each week. You must document your 3 job search activities in the Maryland Workforce Exchange before starting your weekly certification in the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON).


To be able to work without restrictions means that there are no limitations on your ability to perform the work that you normally perform.

To be available for work without any restrictions means there are no limitations on your time, which would make you unavailable for work during the hours that you normally work. “Normal hours” for your job are not necessarily the hours you worked at your last job.

For example: You may not be able and available if you couldn’t work due to lack of childcare or transportation, attending school, or have a medical condition that prevents you from working.

Note: If you have a medical condition that prevents you from working, learn about disability benefits.

This question is asking whether you attended school or any online or in-person training during the week, including school or training approved by the Division of Workforce Development and Adult Learning.

If you are attending school or training that is not approved by the Division of Workforce Development and Adult Learning, you may be contacted to provide more information.

Maryland law requires you to be actively looking for a job to receive weekly unemployment insurance benefits.

This question is asking if you met Maryland’s job search requirement during the week. You must complete and document 3 job search activities before completing your weekly certification for the previous week in the Maryland Workforce Exchange.

If you do not meet the weekly job search requirements, your benefit payments may be delayed or denied.

Learn more about the job search requirements.

This question asks whether you worked or earned income during the week. This includes payments from permanent or temporary work, part-time work, self-employment, odd jobs, tips, paid training, remote work, etc.

Payments must be reported in the week that you performed the work, even if you have not yet been paid, with the exception of commission payments (see Question 5 below for information about commission payments).

If you answer “yes,” you’ll report the total amount you earned before taxes or deductions (like medical insurance or union dues) are taken out. This is known as your gross income. You must report all income earned for the week prior to certification.

  • If you begin working full-time or your earnings equal or exceed your weekly benefit amount, you are not considered unemployed.
  • If you’re working a full-time temporary job and become unemployed after the job ends, you may reopen your claim (if you haven’t used all of your unemployment insurance benefits for the year).
  • If you fail to report income you received, you may be disqualified from receiving unemployment insurance benefits. Because this is considered fraud, you may also be required to repay any benefits with interest and fees and may be subject to criminal charges.

You must report any commission pay you received during the week leading up to completing this certification. Commission pay is earnings you make based on a sale (for example, if your employer pays you 10% of every sale you make).

Commission payments are reported the week you receive the payment, not during the week when you perform the work.

If you answer “yes,” you’ll report the total amount of commission you earned before taxes or deductions (like medical insurance or union dues) are taken out. This is known as your gross commission earnings.

If you didn’t report a pension or retirement payment from any employer you worked for during the last 18 months on your initial claim, you must report it on your weekly certification.

These payments may count toward how much money you qualify for.

You must report the effective date of any pension or retirement payments, even if you receive the payments at a later date, and any changes to the payment amount.

You must also report any changes to your pension account. Do not include Social Security benefits in your reporting.

If you select “yes,” the Maryland Health Connection will contact you about free or low-cost health insurance.

Your answer will not impact if you qualify for unemployment insurance benefits.

You will then be asked to review the job contact and job search activities that you documented in the Maryland Workforce Exchange.

You must document at least 3 job search activities, including 1 job contact, before completing your weekly certification. Any information you entered in the log (for the week) will automatically be displayed in the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Portal (BEACON).

The Division of Unemployment Insurance may contact you if they need more information.

Learn more about the job search requirement.

You will then confirm and sign your weekly certification.

How to Stop Receiving Unemployment Insurance Benefits

When you find a new job and start working, do not complete your weekly certification. After 1 week of not completing your weekly certification, you will stop receiving unemployment insurance benefits.

You can continue to collect unemployment insurance benefits until your first day of paid work or until you’ve used all of your unemployment insurance benefits.

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