Please be advised that this site is not affiliated with the Service Canada office. Â
It was created to provide general EI information only.
In this page
- Your obligation to complete EI bi-weekly report
- EI report step by step instruction
- Pending repot
Your obligation to complete EI bi-weekly report
4 digits EI Access Code letter
Once you have completed your Employment Insurance benefits online application. You will receive a 4 digits EI Access Code, by mail, within 1-2 weeks of your application date. The Access Code letter will instruct you to complete a bi-weekly report online or by telephone. You will have to log into Service Canada online reporting website (Canada.ca) to find out your first reporting date. Not completing you report on time will result in disqualification of your EI benefits and you will have to re-apply again to be back on EI benefits and may lose your benefits weeks.
If you have applied to Maternity/Parental EI benefits, your EI access code will show a blank space at the bottom half of the page.
Complete your report while waiting for your claim to be finalized
You have to keep doing your report to keep your claim in an active status while waiting for the claim to finalize, unless you are exempt from completing the report. You will be paid retroactively for the weeks you have completed your reports. First week of your EI claim is considered a “waiting period” report which is a none paid week.
When do I complete my report?
You are required to complete your report every 2 weeks, except the 2nd half period report of 1 week. After completing your report, the system will notify you when your next report is due. You don’t have to wait until Saturday to complete your online report? You may complete your EI report as early as Friday.
You may log into My Service Canada Account to view the status of your claim.
What if I lost my EI access code?
If you have lost or did not received your Access Code letter, make sure to call or visit Service Canada centre to received a temporary access code. Then, make sure to use EI automated phone system to change your access code to permanent one.
You may also choose to complete your EI report through the automated telephone service by calling 1-800-206-7218 and select EI reporting option in the automated menu.
How to complete your Regular EI report
(Step by step instruction)
Access the online reporting site at Canada.ca: https://srv265.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/interdec/ouverturedesession-login/ouverturedesession-login.aspx?lang=eng
Enter your SIN (no space), your 4 digits access code (received by mail) and choose your province of residence. Then click “Continue”.
You will prompt to the Important Information page, scroll all the way down to Acceptance of Statement, Then click “I Accept”
Address and Direct Deposit
Choose “no” if nothing has changed. If you have moved or changed your direct deposit, please exit the reporting page and make the necessary update through your My Service Canada Account first. Once you have updated your new information, come back to the reporting site and answer “no”, your money will be deposit into your new bank account. If you choose “yes” to this question, the system will pause your report at the end and ask you to contact EI call centre for manual update. It is strongly not recommended to answer “yes” at this current moment.
Once you have made your selection, the next page will ask you to confirm your answer. Click “I Accept”.
Outside Canada
Choose “no” for the question asking if you are living outside of Canada or travelled outside of Canada. If you have gone outside of Canada during weekend (Saturday and Sunday), you may answer “no” for answer. For more details, please consult our post: Does EI pays for statutory holiday when travel outside of Canada?
Work and Wages
Before answering the questions, please ensure you are declaring your information for the proper weeks indicated on the top of the page.
Are you self-employed? Answer “no”. If you are making any side income while on EI, you will have to answer “yes” to this question.
Did you work or receive any earnings….? Answer “no”. If you are earning any side taxable income within the reporting weeks, you will have to answer “yes” to this question. ***IMPORTANT*** If you have received your salary payment for weeks you worked before your reporting weeks, you don’t have to declare it under this section or in the Other Money section. You must declare your gross earnings within the reporting period even you have not received your pay yet. Therefore you have to make sure to track your earnings while on EI.
If you are receiving CERB payment of $500/week, you will still have to report your earning for documentation purpose but it will not deduct your income against your CERB payment.
Note: If you have started working part-time hours while collecting the EI, please answer “yes” to “did you work or receive any earnings….” question. You will just have to declare your gross earning for that specific week and be deducted 50 cents per dollar earned. For more info, please visit our post: Can I work while on EI? If you have found a new permanent full-time job, you may answer “yes” to the full time job question and the system will end your claim.
Click “Continue”.
Once you have made your selection, the next page will ask you to confirm your answer. Click “I Accept”.
Training
Did you attend school or a training course……? Answer “no”. If you have attended or are planning to attend any training course, you have to declare “yes” to this question.
Click “Continue”.
Once you have made your selection, the next page will ask you to confirm your answer. Click “I Accept”.
Availability
Were you ready, willing and capable of working each day…..? Answer “yes”. You only have to answer “no” when you are on sickness EI claim or you choose not to get paid for the specific week.
If you are not working because your company is closed due to COVID-19 pandemic, you are technically “ready, willing and capable of working”, you are just waiting at home ready to be back in the workforce. Make sure to answer “yes” to this question.
***IMPORTANT*** If you are collecting regular EI benefits, the system will expect you to answer “yes” for this question. If you answered “no” it will trigger a mis-match warning on your report and force you to call the 1-800 number. The report can only be cleared by EI call centre agent. Local Service Canada centre agents do not have the power to clear report.
Click “Continue”.
Once you have made your selection, the next page will ask you to confirm your answer. Click “I Accept”.
Other Money
I there any other money that you have not previously told us about…..? Answer “no”. You have to answer “yes” only if you have receive any other money that was not declared in your application or on your ROE before. This includes, vacation pay, severance, bonus, other private insurance pay, etc. If you have received your salary payment for weeks you worked before your reporting weeks, you don’t have to declare it under this section. Money such as CERB payment, gift cash, OAS and survivor’s pension, lottery winning are not consider income in this category.
***IMPORTANT*** Generally speaking, system will expect you to answer “no” for this question. If you answered “yes” it will trigger a mis-match warning on your report and force you to call the 1-800-206-7218 number. The report can only be cleared by EI call centre agent. Local Service Canada centre agents do not have the power to clear report.
Click “Continue”.
Once you have made your selection, the next page will ask you to confirm your answer. Click “I Accept”.
Report Record and Attestation
Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page. You may review your answers before submitting your online report.
Click “I Accept”.
You have successfully completed your report. The final page will indicate your next reporting date. If you are catching up on your delayed report, you will see the link that ask you to complete your next report.
* * * Pending Report issue * * *
Once you have completed your EI report, if you have received a message asking you to call the 1-800 number, that means you have declared an answer that is not what the EI reporting system was expecting.
It will required you to call the EI call centre to clear the pending report. Your payment will be held up until the report is cleared by the call centre agent. Unfortunately, the agents at your local Service Canada centres does not have the authority to clear a pending report.
New* You may now clear a pending report by sending an email request to Service Canada. Find out more How to clear a pending report through Service Canada E-form?