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.

Glad to hear your payment came through @Issac Nightingale! 5 business days seems pretty typical from what I've seen here. For future reference, you can also check if your payment is being processed by looking at the "Payment Activity" section - it usually updates a day or two before the money actually hits your account. This gives you a better heads up on timing for budgeting purposes. Hope your disability situation improves soon!

This is such valuable information for anyone going through the SDI approval process! I'm currently waiting for my claim decision and this thread gives me hope that once it's approved, the payment timing is fairly predictable. @Issac Nightingale glad you got your payment in time for rent! The 5 business day timeline seems consistent with what others have shared. I'm bookmarking this thread for reference since I'm sure I'll be checking my Payment History obsessively once I hopefully get approved. The tip about checking Payment Activity for earlier updates is gold too - thanks @Dmitry Popov for that insight!

Just wanted to chime in as someone who went through this process twice (unfortunately had to reapply after returning to work briefly). The first time took 6 business days from approval to payment, the second time was only 4 days - I think they had all my banking info already verified which sped things up. One thing that really helped my anxiety during the wait was setting up text alerts through my bank app so I'd get notified immediately when any deposit hit my account, rather than obsessively checking online banking every hour. Also worth noting that EDD typically processes payments in batches, so if your approval falls on certain days of the week, it might affect the timing slightly. But overall, the 3-6 business day range seems pretty consistent for most people once you see those benefit amounts listed!

This thread is incredibly helpful! I'm currently in week 2 of waiting for my SDI claim decision, so seeing everyone's experiences with the payment timeline after approval is really reassuring. The 3-6 business day range seems pretty consistent across everyone's stories. @Issac Nightingale thanks for updating with your actual timeline - 5 business days from seeing approved amounts to money in account is super useful to know. I'm definitely going to set up those bank text alerts that @Benjamin Carter mentioned so I don't drive myself crazy checking my account constantly. Also going to double-check my direct deposit info is correct in my EDD profile. The Payment Activity section tip from @Dmitry Popov is something I'll remember too. It's such a relief to see that while EDD is slow with approvals, once you're approved the payment process is fairly predictable. Gives me hope that when my time comes, I'll be able to plan accordingly for bills and rent!

This thread has been so helpful! I'm currently on day 3 since my claim showed approved with benefit amounts, so reading everyone's experiences gives me realistic expectations. The 3-6 business day timeline seems pretty consistent. @Issac Nightingale congrats on getting your payment! And @Benjamin Carter the tip about bank text alerts is genius - I just set mine up so I'll know immediately when it hits rather than refreshing my account obsessively. It's such a relief to know that while the initial approval process with EDD takes forever, once you see those amounts listed the payment timing is actually fairly predictable. Really appreciate everyone sharing their real experiences and timelines!

This thread has been incredibly valuable! I'm currently waiting for my claim decision and it's so reassuring to see the consistent 3-6 business day timeline for payments once approved. The tip about checking the Payment Activity section for earlier updates is something I hadn't heard before - definitely going to use that. @Issac Nightingale thanks for coming back to update with your exact timeline, that 5-day window really helps set expectations. And @Benjamin Carter the bank text alerts idea is brilliant, I'm setting those up now so I won't be constantly checking my account when my time comes. It's frustrating that EDD takes so long with approvals, but at least the payment process after approval seems fairly predictable. Really appreciate everyone sharing their real experiences here - it makes this whole stressful process feel more manageable!

This is such a comprehensive thread! I'm new to this community and currently dealing with my own SDI claim situation. Reading through everyone's experiences has been incredibly helpful and reassuring. The consistent 3-6 business day timeline after approval seems pretty reliable based on all the stories shared here. @Issac Nightingale thanks for updating with your actual results - that 5-day timeline is really valuable data! And all the tips about Payment Activity section, bank text alerts, and double-checking direct deposit info are things I never would have thought of. It's amazing how this community comes together to help each other navigate what can be such a stressful and confusing process with EDD. Definitely bookmarking this thread for future reference!

This thread is incredibly helpful! I'm currently dealing with my first SDI claim and the waiting period between approval and payment has been so stressful. Seeing everyone's consistent experiences with the 3-6 business day timeline really helps set realistic expectations. @Issac Nightingale thank you for coming back to update with your exact timeline - knowing it was 5 business days from seeing approved amounts to money in account is exactly the kind of real-world data that helps. I'm definitely going to set up those bank text alerts that @Benjamin Carter mentioned and check out the Payment Activity section tip from @Dmitry Popov. It's such a relief to know that while EDD is notoriously slow with approvals, the actual payment process after approval is fairly predictable. This community support makes navigating this whole process so much less overwhelming!