Florida Unemployment Reopen Claim — Reactivating an Inactive Claim

When a Claim Goes Inactive

Your Florida Reemployment Assistance claim becomes inactive when you miss a biweekly certification window. The Reconnect portal assigns you specific two-week periods to certify. If you do not log in and complete the certification during that window, FloridaCommerce treats your claim as dormant.

Claims also go inactive if you return to full-time work and stop certifying, or if your benefit year expires. Florida law defines the benefit year as the 1-year period beginning on the first day of the first week for which you file a valid claim.

Reopening vs. Filing a New Claim

If your benefit year has not expired and you still have a remaining monetary balance, you reopen your existing claim. Reopening restarts the certification cycle from the current week — it does not create a new benefit year or recalculate your weekly benefit amount.

If your benefit year has expired, you may file a new initial claim if you meet the requirements for a subsequent benefit year, including earning at least three times the weekly benefit amount established for the new benefit year after the start of the preceding benefit year. Exhausting all available weeks by itself does not start a new benefit year. A new claim uses a new base period to calculate eligibility and benefit amounts.

The Reconnect portal handles both scenarios. When you log in after a gap, the system typically prompts you to either reopen or file new based on your benefit year status.

How to Reopen

1. Log into Reconnect at FloridaJobs.org
2. Navigate to the claim reopening section (the system will direct you if it detects an inactive claim)
3. Update any information that changed — new employer, new address, new payment method
4. Answer questions about why you stopped claiming and what your current employment status is

Processing usually takes a few days. Once reopened, you certify for the current two-week period and resume normal biweekly reporting.

What Happens to Missed Weeks

After you reopen an inactive account, you cannot request benefit weeks from before the reopening. Those missed weeks do not reduce your remaining benefit balance.

If a hold or pending issue is still blocking your claim, contact FloridaCommerce at 1-833-352-7759 or use the Reemployment Assistance Help Center for account assistance.

Common Reasons People Need to Reopen

• Temporary job ended. You took a short-term or seasonal position, it ended, and you need to resume benefits on your existing claim.
• Missed certification by accident. You forgot to certify, were traveling, or had a medical issue that prevented you from logging in during the window.
• Returned to part-time work and stopped claiming. Your part-time hours dropped again and you need to resume partial benefits.

In each case, file the reopening request during the first week you are unemployed or underemployed again. The same rule applies as the initial claim: every week you wait is a week you cannot recover.

The Florida Unemployment Claim Guide walks through both reopening and initial filing, including how to verify whether your benefit year is still active and how much of your balance remains.

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