Can I apply for EDD baby bonding PFL in advance or wait until start date?

You can absolutely apply for baby bonding PFL in advance! EDD actually recommends filing your claim no earlier than 9 days before your planned leave start date, but no later than 41 days after your leave begins. When you complete the DE2508 form (the PFL claim form), you'll indicate your future start date (Dec 15). The system will hold your application and process it closer to your actual leave date. This gives EDD time to review and approve your claim so payments start promptly. Make sure you have all your documentation ready when you apply - baby's birth certificate and your return-to-work documentation from your PDL claim.

i did my baby bounding like 2 weeks b4 i wanted to start it and put the date i wanted to begin and it was fine but my freind tried to do it like a month ahead and they made her reapply closer to the date so dont do it TOO early

BE CAREFUL!!! I tried to apply for my PFL like 3 weeks before my start date and it caused nothing but PROBLEMS! EDD somehow got confused and thought I was trying to start immediately, even though I clearly put my future date. Then they denied me saying I didn't provide proper documentation because I was still working!!!! Had to call them 27 TIMES before getting through to fix it. The EDD system is COMPLETELY BROKEN. Just wait until 1 week before your start date to be safe. And DOCUMENT EVERYTHING.

Just wanted to clarify something important - there's a difference between Disability Insurance (DI) for pregnancy/childbirth and Paid Family Leave (PFL) for baby bonding. You mentioned returning from "postpartum leave" - that was likely your DI claim. Now you're applying for PFL baby bonding, which is a separate benefit with a separate application (DE2508 form). To answer your specific question: The official EDD guidance is to apply no earlier than 9 days before your PFL start date. You can do it online through your SDI Online account. If you're having trouble reaching EDD to ask questions, I recommend using Claimyr (claimyr.com). I was getting nowhere with EDD for weeks, but Claimyr got me connected to an agent in about 15 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/DOLxZQb92wM?si=6N1iCQ3a8Cdb2Ay5

when i had my baby last year i did NOT apply early because my friend did that and EDD messed up her claim and she had to wait extra weeks for payment and had to keep calling them. i waited until exactly the day i wanted to start and had no problems. just my experience tho!

To answer your follow-up question about online vs. paper - I definitely recommend applying online through your SDI Online account. It's generally processed faster and there's less chance of paperwork getting lost. The online system has a specific field for your intended start date, so it's clear you're planning for future leave. Just make sure to have your documentation ready to upload - usually the birth certificate and possibly something showing you've returned to work after your DI claim. Based on everyone's comments here, applying 1-2 weeks before your planned start date seems to be the sweet spot - not too early to confuse the system, but early enough to get processed before your leave actually begins.

Anyone know if you can apply for baby bonding leave intermittently? Like can I take 2 weeks now, go back to work, then take the remaining 6 weeks later? My husband just lost his job so we're trying to figure out how to maximize our benefits while still having some income coming in. Sorry for hijacking the thread, just seemed related.

I'm actually going through this exact process right now! I submitted my PFL baby bonding claim exactly 7 days before my intended start date. My claim is showing as "pending" but the EDD rep I spoke with said that's normal and it should switch to approved right around my actual start date. One thing to note - make sure your PDL/DI claim is fully closed out before you submit your PFL claim. If there's any overlap or confusion between the two, it can cause major delays. I had to explicitly confirm with EDD that my DI claim was fully processed and closed before they would accept my PFL application.

Just wanted to share my recent experience since I went through this exact same situation last month! I applied for my PFL baby bonding exactly 10 days before my planned start date through the online portal. The key thing that helped me was calling EDD about a week after I submitted to confirm they had all my documents and that my previous DI claim was properly closed. The rep was actually really helpful and walked me through the timeline - she said my claim would automatically activate on my specified start date as long as everything was in order. One tip: when you upload your birth certificate, make sure it's crystal clear and all four corners are visible in the scan. I had to resubmit mine because part of the state seal was cut off in my first upload. Good luck with your application! It sounds like you're being smart about timing it right.