SEAP Eligibility and Acceptance Frequently Asked Questions

The SEAP gives you the opportunity to start your own business. If accepted into the SEAP, you will work full time on establishing your own business while receiving weekly Unemployment Insurance benefits, even if your business is making money. You will not have to look for other work. However, you must receive a written SEAP approval letter before you can start or operate your own business, and you must have 20 hours of entrepreneurial training and two face-to-face meetings with a business counselor to complete the program.

To be eligible for the SEAP, you must be:
• At least 18 years old;
• Identified by the state's profiling system as being likely to exhaust regular Unemployment Insurance benefits;
• Eligible for at least 13 weeks of Unemployment Insurance benefits when the application for the SEAP is received, and;
• Willing to work full-time in establishing a business that is located in New York State.
In addition, you must complete a SEAP orientation and have an acceptable business idea before you apply for the SEAP.

After you have filed a valid Unemployment Insurance claim, a profile score is generated. If you have a score of 50 or above, you are identified as being likely to exhaust regular Unemployment Insurance benefits.

The profile score (between 0 and 100) is based on labor market information and other specific elements gathered during the initial claim process. When all of this information is combined and weighted to the local economy, the result determines your profile score.
The profile score is determined by:
• The number of years you were on the job with your last employer;
• The county where you live;
• The number of effective days claimed on your last Unemployment Insurance claim, within the three-year period prior to your current claim effective date, and;
• The industry in which you received the most earnings in your recent work.

You will be notified by mail or through your NY.gov account that you are eligible to apply for the SEAP. The notification will direct you to the online SEAP orientation, which you must view before you can apply. Contact a SEAP coordinator in your area if you are interested in the SEAP but have not received an invitation letter.

You can submit a supplemental application for further review

It takes time to establish a business, and a minimum of 13 weeks of benefits will help provide some financial support needed to start your new business. This also gives you enough time to complete the entrepreneurial training and business counseling required by SEAP participants.

Yes, you are required to continue with your work search and meet all eligibility requirements for Unemployment Insurance benefits until your SEAP application has been approved.

Yes. You don’t have to live in New York State to be approved for the SEAP. However, you must be eligible for Unemployment Insurance benefits in New York State, and your business must have its principal location in New York State.

The SEAP does not allow time to explore business ideas, only to develop an existing idea. This means the skills you already have should match those needed to operate the business.

No. The purpose of the SEAP is to help those who have not owned a similar business.

No. You must be eligible for regular unemployment insurance benefits before you can participate in the SEAP.

No. Per New York State Unemployment Insurance Law, a person can only participate in the SEAP once.

No. The SEAP requires that you work full time on starting your business. If you are in a full-time training program, you cannot meet this requirement.

No. This will change the terms of your approval and you will be terminated from the SEAP.

To find your regional SEAP coordinator, see the list of coordinators on the SEAP overview page.

If you are approved for the SEAP, you will be notified by mail or through your NY.gov account.
If you are disapproved for the SEAP, you will be notified by mail. The notification will include the reason(s) for your disapproval.