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Frances Resources Frequently Asked Questions




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

​You must verify your identity to receive benefits from the Unemployment Insurance Program or Paid Leave Oregon. We have multiple ways to verify your identity to make sure you are the only one with access ​to your information and benefits. You may have to request a Frances Access Letter to help confirm your account before you apply for benefits. We will mail you a letter with a special one-time passcode or a request for additional information if you request a Frances Access Letter. 


Some people who receive unemployment benefits may need to meet with WorkSource Oregon staff in person or online to verify their identity. We will mail you a letter with more information if you need to do that. 

If you make changes to your account, we may need to verify your identity again. 

Tips:

  • ​Make sure you give us a mailing address where you check the mail often. Update your mailing address if you move.
  • Log in to your Frances Online account and check your Action Center for updates. 
  • Respond to letters in Frances Online to quickly complete tasks. 
  • Prepare to verify your identity for unemployment benefits by viewing the list of acceptable identity documents at unemployment.oregon.g​ov/id.  

​If you are applying for unemployment benefits, you can verify your identity at a U.S. Postal Service Post Office. If you verify your identity at a USPS Post Office, you still need to complete your orientation appointment with a WorkSource Oregon agent.
  • You must sign up in Frances Online before you can verify your identity at a Post Office. 
  • Log in to Frances Online 
  • Select "I Want To..." 
  • In the “Verify My Identity” panel, select “Verify My Identity In-Person at a Post Office.”
  • Follow the instructions
After signing up, you will have seven days to complete in-person verification at a USPS Post Office. If you do not complete it in time, you can sign up again through the “Verify My Identity In-Person at a Post Office” option in Frances Online. 
  • USPS accepts these forms of identification:
  • State-issued driver’s license
  • State-issued identification card
  • U.S. Armed Forces or Uniformed Services identification card (requires proof of address)
  • U.S. passport (requires proof of address)
USPS has more information about acceptable forms of identification on its website. The signup process will provide a list of USPS Post Offices near you where you can verify your identity. USPS employees will not be able to answer any questions about unemployment insurance. You​ may not find services in languages other than English available at a USPS Post Office.​

​Take time to read the questions and carefully choose your answers in Frances Online. You can check your answers on the “Review” screen at the end of an initial claim, weekly claim, questionnaire, and other submissions. 

The review scree​n 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 error. ​

Check the “Confirm” box and select “Submit” to complete your response. Once you complete your response, you must 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, a weekly claim, a questionnaire, or other forms you have sent through Frances Online.  ​

​Log in to Frances Online and select “I Want To…” from your home screen to see more options. On the next screen, select “Search Submissions” in the “Submission” panel. 

You can search by date to see submissions through Frances Online from the current date to more than 12 months ago. You cannot change the selections you made when you submitted them; 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-step verification 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 chose when you signed in to your account for the first time. This helps make sure it’s you.  

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 5 minutes. Please wait and try again.   ​

​Frances Online requires two-step verification for improved security. If you have several failed attempts to complete your two-factor authentication, Frances Online will lock you out for 5 minutes. Please wait 5 minutes and then request a new code. ​

​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. 

​​We delete accounts after a few weeks if they have not been used to apply for benefits from the Unemployment Insurance Program or Paid Leave Oregon. We also deleted accounts created before March 4, 2024, that were not associated with a Paid Leave Oregon claim as part of the migration. If we deleted your account, you can create another Frances Online account. You can use the email address that you used before.  

If you get suspicious mail, call, text, or see a questionable website or link, visit our webpage on fraud​ to report it. Be sure to include as much information as possible, such as the website URL, phone number the call or text came from, screenshots, or the body of a text message, so that we can investigate.

You can learn more about what to do on this website, including information about how to report possible ID theft to the Federal Trade Commission, the Office of Inspector General, and more tips.​

​You will not see a claim tracker in Frances Online. After you apply for benefits from Paid Leave Oregon or the Unemployment Insurance Program, we will send you a benefits decision letter as soon as we approve or deny your benefits. It can take about a month, depending on the complexity of your claim. We will contact you if we need more information.​​

If you get suspicious mail, call, text, or see a questionable website or link, visit our webpage on fraud to report it. Be sure to include as much information as possible, such as the website URL, phone number the call or text came from, screenshots, or the body of a text message, so that we can investigate.

You can learn more about what to do on this website, including information about how to report possible ID theft to the Federal Trade Commission, the Office of Inspector General, and more tips.​

​Your username is the email address you used when you created a web logon for Frances Online. Changing your email address in your profile will change where you receive your notifications, but not your username. ​You cannot change your username. You must keep it and use it to log in even if you change your email in your profile. ​

​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.