ICYMI: Claimants and witnesses must appear on video when testifying during virtual hearings
Starting February 2, 2026, all represented claimants and lay witnesses scheduled to testify in virtual hearings will be required to appear and testify by video with their faces fully visible on screen. Please see the Subject Number 046-1784.
As a reminder, attorneys and legal representatives are required to appear on video for all Board virtual hearings. Please see the April notice on the Board’s website.
To ensure the best hearing experience for all participants, please note these important instructions regarding signing in:
- Claimants who will be participating in a virtual hearing by video should sign into the virtual hearing environment from their own device, at least 20 minutes in advance of the hearing and select the option that they will be joining the hearing virtually. This will prompt the system to text the claimant a link to join the hearing.
- If an attorney signs in on behalf of a claimant and selects the option that the claimant will be joining the hearing as a phone user, then that is the method by which the claimant must join the hearing. In these situations, the judge will call the claimant when the hearing begins.
- If an attorney signs in a claimant as a phone user, and then signs themselves in to appear by video, the attorney must enter their own phone number to receive the text notification. If the attorney erroneously enters the claimant’s phone number for text notifications instead of their own, the claimant will receive the link to join the hearing as the attorney, which will cause confusion and prevent the attorney from being able to join.
More information
Visit the Virtual Hearings section of the Board’s website for more information, including step-by-step instruction for attending a hearing:
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