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Overview. It takes about four weeks from the date you apply for benefits to know if you are eligible for benefits. We use this time to gather information on your past wages, job separation, and general eligibility.

You can reset your PIN on Tele-Serv by providing personal information from your claim, such as: Date of birth. Texas driver license or ID number. Telephone number. Amount of your last benefit payment. Part of your bank/credit union account number.

Your payment should be in your direct-deposit or debit-card account within three days of TWC processing your payment. If you request payment online after 6 p.m., allow two additional business days for processing.

You are eligible to receive unemployment benefits starting from the time you lost your job, but if you aren't able to immediately reach the TWC, you can request “backdated benefits” to ensure you receive benefits beginning with the week you lost your job.

If you are eligible, we will issue your first payment approximately four weeks after you apply for benefits. Typically, your first payment is only for one week even though you submitted a payment request for two weeks. This is because the first payable week is your “waiting week.”

Please contact Unemployment Benefits Services Support toll-free at (866) 274-1664 to reset your password.

After you have been unemployed for eight weeks, you must be willing to accept a suitable job that pays at least 75 percent of your normal wage. If you do not apply for suitable work, accept suitable work, or return to your regular self-employment work, TWC may disqualify you for benefits.

If we do not receive a response within the 14-day deadline, you are not an interested party to the claim. This means you do not receive a determination on the claim and you do not have the right to appeal the determination.