Frances Online Instructions for Unemployment Insurance Claimants

Frances Online is the Employment Department’s new, modern, easy-to-use online system for Unemployment Insurance and Paid Leave Oregon benefits. 

Please take time to read the questions and carefully choose your answers in Frances Online. We have updated the order and wording of some questions.  

You can check your answers on the “Review” screen at the end of an initial claim, weekly claim, questionnaire, and other submissions. The review screen will list the questions and the answers you provided. Make sure those answers are correct. If you see a mistake, select “Previous” to go back and fix the mistake.  

You will need to check the “Confirm” box and select “Submit” to complete your response. Once you complete your response, you will need to contact us to update or change the information if you made a mistake or sent incomplete information. That will delay your benefits. 

You can review an initial claim, weekly claim, questionnaire, or other forms that you have submitted through Frances Online.   

First log into Frances Online. On the Home screen, select “I Want To…” to see more options. On the next screen, select “Search Submissions” in the “Submission” panel.  

You will see all the submissions you have made through Frances Online during the past 12 months. You can also search by date to look for submissions through Frances Online from more than 12 months ago.   

Select a submission to review the information you provided. You can also see information about when you sent it and when we reviewed it. You cannot change the selections you made when you submitted it, you can only review them.    

If you find a mistake, use the “Send a Message” option in Frances Online to tell us. 

We use two-factor authentication to protect your account and personal information. That means each time you log into your Frances Online account, we send a unique code to a cell phone number, email address, or a special authenticator program you choose when sign into your account for the first time. This helps make sure it’s you.   

Some tips:  

• Read the instructions carefully so you know where to check for the code.  

•  Sometimes it can take a few minutes for the code to appear.   

•  You need to use the code within 15 minutes.   

• Check your spam folder.   

If you enter the code incorrectly several times, you may be locked out for 15 minutes. Please wait and try again.   

Frances Online requires two-factor authentication for improved security. If you have several failed attempts to complete your two-factor authentication, Frances Online will lock you out for 15 minutes.   

Please wait 15 minutes and then request a new code.  

We deactivate Frances Online accounts after a few weeks if they have not been used to apply for benefits from the Unemployment Insurance Program or Paid Leave Oregon.  

If your account has been deactivated, you need to create an account. You can use the email address that you used before.   

You can use your smartphone or tablet to do everything in Frances Online. The site will adjust to fit the size of your screen. If we ask you to send us copies of documents, you can use your smartphone or tablet to take a picture of the document and upload it as an attachment in Frances Online. The best place to start with mobile devices is frances.oregon.gov/Claimant.   

You can use Frances Online with any device that you are comfortable using.   

The Oregon Employment Department will mail you letters with important information about your claim for benefits. If you have difficulty reading our letters, we provide reasonable accommodations. You can choose to receive letters in large print, audio, or braille formats. Letters are only available in English and Spanish.  

For help in other languages, go to the Need Help? page. 

If you need a reasonable accommodation, you can request it: 

• When creating your account in Frances Online 

• After you have created an account in Frances Online 

• By using Contact Us to send us a detailed request 

• By calling our contact center: 877-345-3484 

Call wait times are currently long. Frances Online is the fastest and easiest way to complete many tasks, including to apply for benefits, file a weekly claim, check on the status of your claim, and respond to any questions about your claim.   

If you need to contact us and can’t wait on hold, using live chat or sending us a message are other options to receive support.   

Use live chat by going to frances.oregon.gov and selecting the owl icon, then typing “live chat.”   

To send us a message, log in to Frances Online and select “I Want To...” and then “Send a Message” under “Messages.” Sending a message while logged in will help us respond more quickly.  

If you can’t log into Frances Online, you can use our Contact Us form.  

Moving the Unemployment Insurance Program to Frances Online has meant making some changes to the way you can file for benefits.   

Make sure to check the “Action Center” for questionnaires about your claim. We will send you questionnaires to complete if we find issues in your claim or need more information. Completing the questionnaires quickly and accurately will help us make decisions about your claim. After you complete the questionnaire, you don’t need to contact us.   

If you think you made a mistake when applying for benefits or filing a weekly claim, you can send us a message through your Frances Online account. After you have logged in, select “I Want To…” from the home screen. Then look under the “Messages” panel and select “Send a Message.”   

You can select what program and what week the message is about. The more specific you can be, the more quickly we can respond and work on the issue.  

The name Frances was chosen in honor of Frances Perkins, who was born in 1880 and was a lifetime advocate for working Americans. She was the first female presidential Cabinet member and the longest-serving Secretary of Labor in U.S. history. Perkins was instrumental in forming the Social Security Act and the Unemployment Insurance program.