EDD PFL payments stopped after first week - Do I need to recertify weekly for baby bonding?

PFL payments are bi-weekly! You don't need to reapply at all. The system automatically processes payments every two weeks after your initial claim is approved. The first payment often comes through quickly as a single week, then the system switches to the regular bi-weekly schedule. You should see your next payment next week covering two weeks.

Thank you so much! That's a relief. I was panicking thinking I'd done something wrong or would need to file more paperwork every week.

u have to do the certification thing not a new application!! they send u a thing every 2 weeks to fill out basically asking if ur still bonding with baby and if u worked at all

Wait, so I DO need to fill something out? I haven't received anything to certify. Should I be looking for an email or something in the mail?

There's some confusion in this thread that I want to clear up. For California PFL baby bonding, you DO NOT need to certify every two weeks like you do with unemployment. Once your claim is approved for the dates you requested (sounds like you requested all 8 weeks at once), payments should process automatically on a bi-weekly schedule.\n\nThe first payment is often for just one week because of how the pay periods align with your claim start date. After that, you'll receive payments every two weeks until your claim ends.\n\nIf you don't receive your next payment by the end of next week, THEN you should contact EDD to check if there's a problem with your claim.

oh i mixed it up with unemployment sorry!!!

No worries! I'm glad to get clarification. With a newborn, my brain is too fried to figure out all these systems!

When did you receive your first payment exactly? They process payments on specific days, so it depends on when your claim was initially approved. Also, did you transition from SDI (pregnancy disability) to PFL? Sometimes there's a delay during that transition period.

I got the first payment last Thursday (March 14th). And yes, I was on SDI for 6 weeks after delivery, then applied for PFL on March 5th when my disability ended. Maybe that's causing some delay?

I dealt with this EXACT same issue in January! The transition from SDI to PFL causes a payment gap that's SUPER annoying and not explained anywhere!! They don't tell you this, but there's usually a 1-2 week processing lag when switching from pregnancy disability to baby bonding. Your claim is probably fine, but if you want peace of mind, good luck trying to reach someone at EDD to confirm! I spent HOURS redailing only to get disconnected.

Have you guys tried Claimyr? They got me connected to an EDD agent in about 15 minutes when I was having issues with my PFL claim. Saved me days of stress trying to get through. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/DOLxZQb92wM?si=6N1iCQ3a8Cdb2Ay5 and their website is claimyr.com. It was honestly worth it just to get confirmation that my claim was processing correctly.

Thanks for the tip! If I don't see a payment by the end of next week I might try that. Just hoping it's processing normally and I don't need to call.

One more thing - you can check your payment status online through your EDD account. Go to Claim History and look for any pending payments. Sometimes they show up there before they actually hit your BofA card or bank account. That might give you some peace of mind that things are processing correctly.

This!!! The website actually updates before the payments process. When my wife was on maternity leave last year, we could see the next payment was

I checked and don't see anything pending, just the single payment that already came through. I'll keep checking daily and hope something shows up soon!

Since you transitioned from SDI to PFL, your payment schedule starts fresh with PFL. Here's what typically happens:\n\n1. First PFL payment: Often covers just 1 week\n2. Subsequent payments: Every 2 weeks thereafter\n\nThe most likely scenario is that your next payment will cover 2 weeks and arrive next Thursday (March 21st). If it doesn't arrive by March 22nd, then I'd recommend contacting EDD.\n\nThis payment schedule is one of the most confusing parts of the process, but rest assured that you don't need to reapply or certify for baby bonding. Once your claim is approved for your requested dates, payments should process automatically.

Thank you for breaking it down so clearly! So I likely have one more week to wait. That makes sense, and I feel much better now understanding the timeline. I really appreciate everyone's help!

I went through this same transition from SDI to PFL last year and it's so stressful when you're not sure what's happening! Just wanted to add that in my experience, the timing Evelyn mentioned is spot on. My first PFL payment was also just one week, then I got regular bi-weekly payments after that. The gap between SDI ending and PFL payments starting can feel longer than it actually is when you're dealing with a newborn and all the expenses that come with it. Hang in there - it sounds like everything is processing normally for you!

I'm going through this exact situation right now! Filed my PFL claim on March 10th after my SDI ended, got my first payment last Friday for just one week, and have been anxiously checking my account every day since. Reading through all these responses is such a relief - I had no idea about the bi-weekly schedule or that the transition from SDI causes delays. It's so frustrating that EDD doesn't explain any of this clearly when you're applying. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences, especially knowing the typical timeline helps so much when you're stressed about finances with a new little one!