How to fax Florida Reemployment Assistance (unemployment)

Appealing a determination

You have 20 calendar days from the date of the determination (its “distributed date”) to ask for an appeal hearing. If the 20th day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.

FloridaCommerce prefers appeals filed in Reconnect or through its Reemployment Assistance Help Center, but it also takes them by mail and by fax. To fax:

1. Fill in the Notice of Appeal form (COM – A100), with your claimant ID, the last four digits of the claimant’s Social Security number and the issue identification number from the determination. Attach a copy of the determination if you have it.
2. Fax it, with your appeal request, to the Office of Appeals at 850-617-6504.

For a fax, the filing date is the date stamped by FloridaCommerce’s fax system, the day your fax arrives. Employers appeal the same way, to the same number.

Before and after the hearing

• Evidence: mail a copy of each document to the Appeals Office and to every address on the Notice of Hearing, so that all parties have it at least 24 hours before the hearing.
• Withdrawing an appeal: by mail or fax to the address or fax number on your Notice of Hearing, with the docket number and the claimant’s first name.
• Postponing: use the Request for Continuance form (COM – A200), which asks for the docket number.

The decision is mailed to you after the hearing.

Appealing to the Commission

If you disagree with the appeals referee’s decision, you can appeal to the Reemployment Assistance Appeals Commission within 20 calendar days of the decision’s date. The Commission takes appeals by fax at 850-488-2123, and asks you to call it at 850-487-2685 to confirm it received your fax. A faxed appeal counts as filed on the date it’s stamped received.

Include the name, Social Security number and claimant ID (if available) of each claimant, the employer’s name and number, the date, subject and docket number of the referee’s decision, and your reasons. The Commission has its own online filing system, separate from FloridaCommerce’s Office of Appeals.

Federal and military wages

If your claim includes wages from the federal government or from military service, FloridaCommerce’s claimant handbook asks you to fax the supporting documents, such as a Leave and Earnings Statement or a DD-214, to 850-617-0442. Errors in your Monetary Determination must be reported within 20 days of its distribution date.

What isn’t faxed

• Identity: FloridaCommerce requires an ID.me account to verify who you are.
• Employer responses: employers must answer claim documents electronically, through Reconnect or SIDES, unless they’re exempt.

FloridaCommerce posts copies of its documents in Reconnect, on the Documents screen, and also mails them if you chose mail. Nothing comes back by fax.

FaxTonic can’t receive faxes, and Florida doesn’t reply by fax. For the Commission, use the phone number it gives to confirm your appeal arrived.

How to fax a Florida appeal with FaxTonic

1. Complete and sign the Notice of Appeal, or the Commission appeal with every detail listed above, and add a copy of the determination or decision.
2. Scan the pages, or photograph each one flat. FaxTonic takes PDF, JPEG, and PNG files, up to 4 MB once prepared for faxing and 20 pages per fax.
3. Open FaxTonic and add your file. Keep the free cover page with your name, a phone number and your claimant ID or docket number in the subject.
4. Choose the United States, enter 850-617-6504, 850-488-2123 or 850-617-0442, and check the price: $1.49 a page. Pay by card, ahead of the deadline.
5. Save a screenshot of the status page once the fax is delivered. For a Commission appeal, then call 850-487-2685 to confirm receipt.