Illinois Unemployment Benefits After Moving to West Virginia

Do NOT close your claim with Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES)

Your claim belongs to the state where you earned the wages (the liable state). Moving does not transfer it — you keep the same claim, weekly amount, and remaining weeks.

Update your address and keep certifying weekly

The claim stays with Illinois. IDES tells claimants who lived and worked in Illinois but now reside elsewhere that they may file from any other state, DC, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, or Canada using the same process as residents (online, or Claimant Services 1-800-244-5631), and that they must register for work with the State Employment Service / job service system of the state where they now live. Address and phone changes are made by logging into the IDES online account.

Register for work in your new state if required

Many liable states require interstate claimants to register with the new state's workforce agency and continue work-search logging. Check Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES)'s interstate-claim rules.

Worked in more than one state? Ask about a Combined Wage Claim

If you have wages in two or more states in your base period, a Combined Wage Claim can merge them into one (often larger) claim — you choose a paying state you have wages in.