Have you tried reaching out to your local assembly member's office? They can sometimes help push things through with EDD.

I went through this exact same issue last month! What worked for me was logging into UI Online and looking for the "Report Issue" or "Contact EDD" section. There's usually a form where you can explain the date discrepancy and attach supporting documents like your separation notice or pay stubs. It took about 10 business days, but they eventually corrected my dates without me having to call. Worth trying before you spend hours on hold!

One more tip that helped me - create a calendar reminder for yourself at 4 weeks postpartum to check your EDD online account for the DE2501FP form. I also set another reminder at 5 weeks to call/download the form if it hadn't arrived yet. Having those reminders saved me from the stress of suddenly realizing my disability benefits were ending without the PFL paperwork ready. The last few weeks with a newborn are such a blur that it's easy to lose track of these important deadlines! Also, if you have a partner or family member who can help track these dates, even better - teamwork makes the whole process less overwhelming.

As someone who just went through this transition 3 months ago, I want to emphasize how important it is to stay organized during this process! I created a simple folder (both physical and digital) with all my EDD documents, doctor's notes, and important dates. This saved me so much stress when I had questions or needed to reference something quickly. Also, don't hesitate to ask your doctor's office to help clarify the timeline - they deal with these disability certifications all the time and can often give you a clearer picture of when your post-birth recovery period will end. My OB's office was actually more helpful than EDD in explaining the process! One last thing - if you're planning to take the full 8 weeks of baby bonding PFL, make sure your employer knows the timeline so they can plan accordingly. Good luck with everything - you've got this! 💪

This is such a helpful thread! I'm dealing with a similar issue but mine might be related to having a really long middle name too. Has anyone had success shortening their middle name or just using the initial? I'm wondering if the character limit applies to the whole name field combined or just individual parts. Also, @CosmicCaptain your tip about special characters is gold - I never would have thought of that! Going to try the ASCII-friendly version of my name and see if that does the trick.

I've been lurking here for a while but finally had to create an account because this thread is SO helpful! I'm a new mom trying to file for PFL and have been stuck on this exact E313 error for over a week. My name is Zoë (with the umlaut) and reading through all these comments made me realize that might be the culprit. I'm going to try entering it as just "Zoe" without the special character and see if that fixes it. It's honestly insane that in 2025 we still have to deal with government systems that can't handle basic international characters, but I'm just grateful you all figured out the workarounds! Will definitely report back if this works - fingers crossed! 🤞

Just wanted to add my experience as someone who recently navigated this exact same situation! I was in the same boat - went from pregnancy SDI to PFL with a gap in between, and I was SO confused about the "last day worked" field. Everyone here is absolutely right that you should put 11/11/25 (your actual last physical work day). I made the mistake of overthinking it at first and almost put a different date, but thankfully I got advice similar to what you're getting here. The key thing I learned is that EDD's question is really straightforward - they just want to know the literal last day you performed work duties. All the other dates (SDI effective date, payroll dates, PFL start date) are separate pieces of information that don't affect that specific answer. Your approach with the explanatory note about the payroll situation was spot-on too. I did something similar when I had overlapping payments, and it definitely helped my claim process smoothly. EDD sees these complex transitions all the time, so being transparent about the details actually makes their job easier. One small tip - keep checking your EDD online account over the next week or so. My claim status updated pretty regularly, and it was reassuring to see the progress. Mine went from "submitted" to "processing" to "approved" over about 8 days. Congratulations on your new baby, and I hope you get to enjoy that bonding time without any benefit stress soon!

I just wanted to say how incredibly helpful this entire thread has been! As someone who's currently pregnant and will likely be going through this exact same SDI to PFL transition in a few months, reading through everyone's experiences has been so educational. The consensus is crystal clear - use your actual last physical work day (11/11/25 in your case) for the "last day worked" field. I love how someone explained it as a "factual question, not a strategic one" - that really clarifies the confusion! Your proactive approach with the payroll overlap and adding that explanatory note shows exactly how to handle these complex situations. It's so reassuring to know that EDD's systems are designed for these transitions and that transparency actually speeds up processing rather than causing delays. I'm definitely bookmarking this thread for when I need to file my own PFL claim later this year. Thank you for asking the question and to everyone who shared their experiences - this is exactly the kind of real-world guidance that makes navigating California's benefit system so much less intimidating! Congratulations on your new baby and I hope your claim processes smoothly so you can enjoy that precious bonding time!

As someone who works in government benefits advocacy, I want to echo what others have said about the SDI-to-PFL transition being a common failure point in EDD's system. @Yara Assad your experience is unfortunately typical - these claims often get stuck in a "limbo" status where the computer systems don't properly hand off from one program to another. What's particularly frustrating is that EDD has known about this issue for years but hasn't implemented a systematic fix. The workaround of calling and having a representative manually process the transition shouldn't be necessary, but it's currently the most reliable solution. For anyone else facing this situation: when you call, ask specifically to speak with someone who handles "inter-program transitions" - this can sometimes get you routed to a specialist who deals with these cases regularly. Also, keep detailed records of your call (date, time, representative name if possible) in case you need to follow up. It's ridiculous that we need to jump through these hoops, but documenting everything helps if there are further delays.

Just wanted to jump in as someone who recently navigated this same situation! I had my baby in February and went through the exact same SDI-to-PFL transition nightmare that @Yara Assad described. My claim got stuck for almost 3 weeks with zero communication from EDD. What finally worked for me was calling first thing in the morning (like 8:01 AM sharp) and using the magic phrase "inter-program transition" that @Nora Brooks mentioned - it got me transferred to someone who actually knew what they were doing! One thing I learned that might help others: if you're transitioning from SDI to PFL, make sure the end date on your pregnancy disability claim matches EXACTLY with the start date you put on your PFL claim. Even a one-day gap or overlap can trigger a manual review that adds weeks to processing time. Also, when you do get through to someone, ask them to put notes in your file about the resolution - I had to call back once more about a payment timing question and the notes saved me from having to re-explain everything. The whole system is frustrating but this thread gives me hope that sharing our experiences helps other new parents know they're not alone in dealing with EDD's broken processes!