How Do I File for Unemployment Insurance? You can file a new claim for unemployment insurance benefits or reopen an existing claim by calling our telephone filing system, “Hawaii Tele-Claim.”

If you are in the State of Hawaii, call 643-5555.

If you are in another state, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, or Canada, call 1-877-215-5793.

If you are anywhere else outside of Hawaii, you will not be able to complete your call and file a claim because we have no reciprocal claim filing agreement with other countries. You must use a touch-tone telephone and call to Hawaii.

Tele-Claim are free. You can call Hawaii Tele-Claim, Sunday through Thursday from 6:30 am to 12 midnight, and Friday from 6:30 am to 4:30 pm, Hawaii Standard Time. (If Friday is a state holiday, then Thursday’s hours will be from 6:30 am to 4:30 pm.)

When you call Hawaii Tele-Claim, you need to have your social security number, and if you are not a U.S. citizen, you need your alien registration number available.

You will need to provide the following information: employers name, address, zip-code, phone number. and dates of employment during the past 18 months:

Military employees in the past 18 months -have your DD-214 (Member 4) available.

Federal government Employees in the past 18 month - have your Standard Form 8 available.