Best times to call EDD SDI customer service? Tried for 2 days - no luck

monday mornings r the WORST time 2 call. try thursday or friday around 3pm that worked for me last month

I had the same problem last month and discovered a service called Claimyr that actually helped me get through to an EDD representative without the endless calling. It basically holds your place in line and calls you back when an agent is available. I was skeptical at first, but it worked perfectly and saved me days of frustration. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/1X-mEsLtbmQ?si=1hcSq3KFtCr4oAmd The best part is you don't have to keep redialing and can actually do other things while waiting for your callback. Definitely worth checking out if you're desperate to talk to someone about your certification issue.

Former EDD employee here. The best times to call are typically Tuesday-Thursday between 8:15-8:45am or 4:15-4:45pm. Most people call right at opening (8am) or during lunch hours (12-1pm), creating the highest volume times. Avoid Mondays and the day after holidays completely - those are absolute nightmares. Regarding your medical certification issue, you should also check if your doctor's office actually submitted the form correctly. Many doctors think they've sent it but there was an error in submission. If it's been three weeks with no update, I would recommend: 1. Contact your doctor's office to confirm the date they submitted and ask for any confirmation number 2. Try sending a secure message through SDI Online (though responses can take 7-10 days) 3. If you do get through by phone, ask them to check both the document processing queue and the medical certification database - sometimes they're received but not properly linked to your claim Hope this helps!

THE EDD SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO MAKE YOU GIVE UP!!!!! I called 47 TIMES before getting through last month. They don't want to pay out claims so they make it IMPOSSIBLE to talk to anyone!!!! When I finally got someone they told me my paperwork was sitting there THE WHOLE TIME just not processed!!!! This is how they save money - by making the process so frustrating people just give up!!!!

i had 2 call about my pregnancy disability last month and i ended up using my husband's phone to dial at the same time as mine so i had 2 phones going at once lol. finally got through after like an hour. btw make sure u have all ur info ready when u finally get someone. claim number, last work date, doctor info etc or they'll just tell u to call back when u have everything

I've found that using the automated system's option for filing a new claim sometimes routes you to a representative faster than selecting the option for claim questions. Once you get a person, explain that you actually need help with your existing claim. They might transfer you, but at least you're in the system and speaking with someone. Also, if your medical certification isn't showing up after three weeks, there might be a mismatch between your information and what your doctor submitted. Small discrepancies in your name, date of birth, or last work date can cause the system to not match the certification to your claim. When you do reach a representative, specifically ask them to check for unmatched medical certifications in the system. In the meantime, you might want to ask your doctor to resubmit the certification electronically through SDI Online if possible. Electronic submissions typically process faster than paper forms.

my sister works at target and broke her leg and had same problem calling edd. she finally got thru at exactly 8:01am on a wednesday. said all the lines fill up by like 8:03 no joke

Just wanted to follow up - did you manage to get through using any of these suggestions? If you're still having trouble with your medical certification not showing up, another option is to visit an EDD office in person if there's one near you. They can often resolve certification issues on the spot rather than dealing with the phone system.

So glad to hear you got through and got it resolved! That name mismatch issue is actually super common - I've seen it happen with maiden names, middle names, and hyphenated names all causing problems. Your success story gives me hope for others struggling with the same issue. Thanks for following up to let everyone know what worked!

This whole thread is so helpful! I'm currently dealing with a similar issue where my disability claim has been pending for over a month. Reading through everyone's experiences, I'm realizing I should probably check with my doctor's office about potential name discrepancies - my legal name has my middle initial but I'm not sure if that's what they used on the medical certification. @Serene Snow - congrats on getting it resolved! It's such a relief when you finally get through and find out it was something fixable. I'm definitely going to try the 8:15am Tuesday-Thursday strategy that @Justin Trejo mentioned. The fact that a former EDD employee is sharing insider tips gives me so much more confidence about the timing. Has anyone else had success with the early morning approach recently? I want to make sure I'm not wasting time if the patterns have changed.

I've been following this thread as someone who recently went through a similar nightmare with EDD SDI. What really helped me was keeping a detailed log of every call attempt - date, time, how long I waited, and what happened. After about 20 failed attempts, I noticed a pattern that Tuesday mornings around 8:20am seemed to have slightly better success rates than other days. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is that if you're calling about medical certification issues specifically, there's actually a different department that handles those cases. When you finally get through to a regular representative, ask them to transfer you to "Medical Services" - they have access to more detailed records about certification processing and can often resolve document matching issues faster than general customer service. Also, pro tip: if you get disconnected while on hold (which happened to me twice), call back immediately and mention to the next rep that you were just disconnected. Sometimes they can see recent call activity on your account and will prioritize getting you back into the queue. Saved me from starting over completely at least once. Hope this helps someone else avoid the weeks of frustration I went through!

I've been dealing with EDD SDI for a few months now and wanted to add something that hasn't been mentioned yet - if you're having trouble getting through by phone, you can also try contacting your local state assembly member's office. They have constituent services that can sometimes help escalate issues with state agencies like EDD. I know it sounds weird, but my neighbor used this approach when her disability payments were stuck for 6 weeks. The assembly member's office made a few calls and suddenly her case got priority attention. It took about a week after contacting them, but her payments started flowing again. You can usually find your assembly member's contact info on the CA legislature website. Obviously try all the phone timing strategies first since they're faster, but if you're really stuck and bills are piling up, it might be worth reaching out to your elected representatives. They work for us and helping with state agency issues is literally part of their job!

Wow, this thread has been an absolute goldmine of information! I'm currently in week 4 of trying to get through to EDD about my disability claim status, and reading through everyone's experiences has given me so much hope and practical strategies to try. The timing tips from @Justin Trejo are incredibly valuable - having insider knowledge about the best call windows makes such a difference. I'm definitely going to try the Tuesday-Thursday 8:15-8:45am approach tomorrow. The assembly member contact suggestion from @Matthew Sanchez is brilliant too - I had no idea that was even an option! @Serene Snow, so glad you finally got your issue resolved! The name mismatch problem seems to be way more common than I realized. I'm going to double-check with my doctor's office about exactly how they submitted my information. One thing I wanted to add that might help others: I noticed that when I call, writing down the exact prompts and menu options beforehand helps me get through them faster, which might increase chances of getting into the queue before lines fill up. Every second counts during those narrow windows! Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and tips. This community support makes dealing with the EDD system so much less isolating and frustrating.

I'm so grateful to have found this thread! I've been struggling to get through to EDD for three weeks now about my disability claim that's been stuck in "pending" status. Reading through everyone's experiences has been both validating and incredibly helpful. I wanted to share a small tip that worked for me yesterday - I used the redial function on my phone instead of manually dialing each time, which saved precious seconds between attempts. I also discovered that if you get the "high call volume" message, sometimes hanging up immediately and calling back within 30 seconds can get you a different result. @Justin Trejo your timing advice is pure gold - thank you for sharing your insider knowledge! @Serene Snow congratulations on getting your issue resolved, it gives me so much hope. And @Miguel Ortiz the call log idea is brilliant, I'm starting one today. One question for the group: has anyone had success using the TTY line for hearing impaired? I'm wondering if that might have shorter wait times, though I'm not sure if it's appropriate to use if you're not hearing impaired. This community support means everything when dealing with such a frustrating system. Thank you all for sharing your knowledge and experiences!

I've been lurking on this thread for a while and finally decided to join and share my experience! Like many of you, I was stuck in EDD hell for almost 6 weeks with my disability claim showing "pending" status. What finally worked for me was a combination of strategies from this thread: I called at exactly 8:16am on a Tuesday (thanks @Justin Trejo!), had all my information pre-written on a notepad, and when I got through, I specifically asked to be transferred to the "Medical Services" department as @Miguel Ortiz suggested. The regular rep initially said she could help, but I politely insisted on the transfer and I'm so glad I did! The Medical Services rep was amazing - she found my doctor's certification immediately and discovered it was sitting in a "pending review" queue because of a minor date discrepancy (my last day of work was listed differently on my claim vs. the medical form). She fixed it on the spot and said payments would start within 5 business days. Sure enough, I got my first payment yesterday! One additional tip: when you're on hold, don't put your phone on speaker or use headphones - apparently some reps can tell and they prioritize regular phone connections. Not sure if that's true but the rep mentioned it to me. This community support has been incredible through this stressful process. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and keeping each other's spirits up! 🙏

This thread has been absolutely incredible to read through! I just joined this community after dealing with my own EDD SDI nightmare for the past month. My claim has been stuck in processing since I submitted my medical certification, and like so many others here, I've been getting nowhere with the phone system. Reading through everyone's detailed strategies and success stories has given me the first real hope I've had in weeks. @Justin Trejo, your insider timing advice is pure gold - I had no idea about those specific windows when call volume is lower. @StarSeeker and @Serene Snow, your success stories prove these methods actually work when executed properly! I'm particularly grateful for the Medical Services department tip from @Miguel Ortiz - I had no clue there was a specialized department for certification issues. That could be exactly what I need since my problem seems to be related to document processing rather than general claim questions. @Matthew Sanchez, the assembly member suggestion is brilliant and something I never would have considered. It's reassuring to know there are multiple avenues to explore if the phone system continues to fail. Tomorrow I'm going to try the 8:15am Tuesday approach with all my information pre-written and ready to go. I'll also double-check with my doctor's office about exactly how they submitted my paperwork to avoid any potential name or date mismatches. Thank you all for creating such a supportive community and sharing your hard-won knowledge. Dealing with EDD is stressful enough without feeling like you're navigating it alone!

I've been following this thread closely and wanted to add something that might help others who are still struggling. After reading through all the excellent advice here, I tried a slightly different approach that worked for me last week. Instead of calling right at 8:15am, I actually called at 7:58am and stayed on the line through the "we're closed" message until exactly 8:00am when the system opened. This seemed to put me ahead of people who called exactly at opening time. I got through to a rep after only 15 minutes on hold! The key insight from @Justin Trejo about Tuesday-Thursday timing was spot on - I called on a Wednesday. And @Miguel Ortiz's advice about asking for Medical Services was crucial. The regular rep initially tried to help but the Medical Services specialist was able to access different systems and found my certification immediately. For anyone still waiting, don't give up! The combination of strategies shared in this thread really does work. Having your information organized beforehand makes such a difference when you finally get someone on the line. This community has been amazing for moral support and practical advice during such a stressful process.

I've been dealing with a similar issue for about 3 weeks now and this thread has been absolutely invaluable! After reading through everyone's strategies, I'm planning to try the 7:58am pre-opening call approach that @QuantumQuasar mentioned - that's such a brilliant workaround to get ahead of the rush. Like many others here, my medical certification seems to be lost in the system somewhere. My doctor's office confirmed they submitted it electronically, but it's not showing up in my SDI Online account. Based on all the success stories shared here, I'm going to specifically ask for the Medical Services department when I get through, since that seems to be key for certification-related issues. One thing I wanted to add - I've been keeping a detailed spreadsheet of my call attempts (inspired by @Miguel Ortiz's suggestion), and I noticed that I've had slightly better luck getting past the initial menu on calls made between 8:00-8:03am versus later in the morning. The system seems to start rejecting calls completely once those first few minutes pass and all the lines fill up. This community support has been a lifesaver during such a stressful time. Thank you to everyone who's shared their experiences and strategies - especially @Justin Trejo for the insider timing tips and all the folks who've reported successful outcomes. It gives the rest of us hope that there's light at the end of the tunnel!