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BEACON System Overview - Unemployment Insurance

BEACON is the Maryland Division of Unemployment Insurance’s online unemployment insurance (UI) system. BEACON integrates all benefits, appeals, and tax functions, allowing claimants, employers, and third party agents to complete several UI tasks online.

  • Claimants - Use the BEACON Claimant portal
    • A claimant refers to an individual who submits a claim for UI benefits.
  • Employers - Use the BEACON Employer portal
  • Third Party Agents - Use the BEACON Third Party Agent portal
    • A third party agent is an individual authorized by an employer to act on its behalf. A third party agent is required to have an active Power of Attorney (a document that gives an individual legal authority to act for another person) on file and approved by the Division to perform activity on an employer's behalf.

Creating / Activating a BEACON Account

An individual must create an account in BEACON to use the system. For instructions, see:

Claimants Employers Third Party Agents

BEACON Features

Claimants can use BEACON to:

  • Access their UI claim;
  • File initial claims;
  • File weekly claim certifications;
  • Update account details (name, address, e-mail);
  • Update requests for tax withholding;
  • Review benefit payment history;
  • Receive immediate updates regarding their claim status;
  • Retrieve correspondence;
  • Review benefit payment history
  • Respond to fact-finding requests;
  • Submit supporting documents;
  • File appeals;
  • Track and pay overpayments; and,
  • Maintain their portal account.
Employers can:
  • Submit required reports and information;
  • Update their account information (address, contact, and ownership);
  • Access their tax rate and other UI-related information;
  • Submit wage reports and pay contributions;
  • Submit adjustments to previously filed wage reports;
  • Respond to Requests for Separation Information;
  • File an appeal;
  • Submit supporting documents;
  • View all correspondence; and,
  • Set up an agent to manage their account
Third Party Agents can:
  • Submit a power of attorney online and access their customer’s account based on their privileges granted by the power of attorney
  • File wage reports on behalf of their clients
  • Make contribution payments on behalf of their clients
  • File appeals on behalf of their clients
  • Obtain rate information for their clients

Mobile Apps

In addition to the BEACON system, the Division created two BEACON mobile apps - MD Unemployment for Claimants and MD Unemployment for Employers.

MD Unemployment for Claimants is available to download for free from the iOS App Store or Google Play Store. The mobile app allows claimants to file weekly claim certifications, view and update claimant information, and more.

MD Unemployment for Employers is available to download for free from the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store. Registered employers can use the mobile app to make contribution payments, submit wage reports, file appeals, and more.

Resources

Claimant Resources Employer and Third Party Agent Resources

Assistance

Claimants who have questions regarding BEACON should call a claims agent at 667-207-6520 (Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.). Employers or third party agents who have questions should call the Employer Call Center at 410-949-0033 (Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.).