How long after EDD claim status shows 'approved' until first SDI payment arrives?

Congrats on getting approved! In my experience last summer, it took about 3-4 business days after seeing the approved amounts in my SDI account before the money hit my bank account. They do direct deposit if you set that up when you applied. If not, they'll mail a check which takes longer (7-10 days). You can check if your payment is processed by looking at the

Thank you! I just checked the Payment History tab and it shows 'pending' still. I did set up direct deposit when I applied, so hopefully it comes through soon. I appreciate the quick response!

Same thing happened 2 me. Took like a week after I saw amounts. Got direct deposit eventually but EDD is always slow with everything lol

A week isn't too bad I guess. As long as it arrives before rent is due I'll be okay. Thanks for sharing your experience!

The first payment takes the longest because they have to fully process your claim. In my case (April 2025), it took 5 business days after my claim status showed approved. Every payment after that was much faster - usually 2-3 days after each certification. Check your Payment History tab daily - when it changes from \

That's super helpful, thank you! I'll keep watching the Payment History tab. It's reassuring to know subsequent payments come faster.

EDD is HORRIBLE with communication! My claim was approved and showed all the amounts but then took 9 days to actually get paid!!! By then I was already late on bills and got hit with late fees. The whole system is designed to make disabled people suffer even MORE than we already are. Why show amounts if they're not actually going to PAY us for another week+?

Exactly! Same thing happened to me and it created so much unnecessary stress :

In my situation it took 6 business days from approval to payment. But I was checking the wrong account at first! Double-check which bank account you linked to your EDD profile because I had changed banks recently and forgot I'd put my old account number when I applied. Almost had a meltdown before I realized what happened lol. \n\nAlso if you're really worried about the timing, you might want to call EDD to confirm everything is on track. I know it's nearly impossible to reach them, but I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a real person at EDD when I was stressing about my payment. They have this service where they keep calling EDD until they get through, then connect you with the agent. You can see a demo at https://youtu.be/1X-mEsLtbmQ?si=1hcSq3KFtCr4oAmd - it saved me hours of redial frustration.

Oh that's a good point about checking the right account! I'm pretty sure I entered my current checking account but I'll double check the details in my profile. And thanks for the Claimyr tip - if it doesn't show up by Tuesday I might try that rather than spend all day calling.

i think it depends when u applied and when the disability started?? my cousin got paid in 3 days but my roommate took like 2 weeks for first payment. did u do direct deposit or paper check?

You're right that timing can vary, but once the claim shows as approved with benefit amounts listed (which OP mentioned is already the case), the payment process itself is more consistent. Paper checks definitely add 3-5 extra days compared to direct deposit.

Anyone else notice how the payments are always less than they should be? My weekly benefit was supposed to be $875 but I only got $808 when it finally came through???

That's probably due to tax withholding. SDI is subject to federal income tax (but not state tax in California), and you can choose whether to have taxes withheld. The default is 10% federal tax withholding if you didn't specify otherwise when you applied.

Quick update for anyone finding this thread later: My payment finally arrived today, so it took exactly 5 business days from when the approved amounts showed up to when the money hit my account. The Payment History tab changed from 'pending' to 'issued' yesterday, and the deposit came through this morning. Thanks everyone for your help and reassurance!

Thanks for coming back to update! This will definitely help others who find themselves in the same situation.