EDD baby bonding approval notification - online portal update or mailed letter first?

In my experience (applied Jan 2025), the online portal updated first showing my claim was approved, then I got the official letter in the mail about 4-5 days later. The online status will change from "pending" to "approved" and show your benefit amount calculation. Just keep checking every day and you should see something soon!

mine was opposite lol... got paper mail saying approved then nothing online for like a week then suddenly money appeared in my account with no warning. EDD is weird sometimes.

Just went through this last month with my PFL baby bonding after my SDI ended. In my case, I was going CRAZY checking online and nothing was changing for almost 3 weeks! I called EDD every day but couldn't get through to anyone. Then I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that connected me to an EDD agent in less than 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/DOLxZQb92wM?si=6N1iCQ3a8Cdb2Ay5 Turns out there was a document missing they never notified me about. Once I sorted that out, my online account updated 2 days later, and the letter came about a week after that. The first payment hit my account 3 days after the online status changed to approved.

THE SYSTEM IS SO BROKEN!!! I went through this in February and my online account NEVER updated but I got a paper letter. Then they sent me a debit card with money but the online still said pending for like 2 more weeks!!!! Don't trust the online system AT ALL. EDD is the worst agency in CA government and the people working there don't care if us moms are struggling!!!!!

my siter got her baby boding aproval in mail frist than the next week her online update but she got paid before even seeing the aproval online so who knows lol

It varies by claim, but here's what typically happens with PFL baby bonding claims: 1. Online status updates first (70% of cases) 2. Paper notification arrives 3-7 days after online update 3. Payment is issued 2-3 days after approval (direct deposit) or 5-7 days (paper check/debit card) However, if there are any issues with your claim (missing documentation, employer verification needed, etc.), you might see delays in both notifications. For baby bonding claims, make sure you submitted: - Properly completed DE2508 form - Child's birth certificate or proof of relationship - Verification that pregnancy disability has ended (if transitioning from SDI) If it's been more than 14 days since submission with no updates, I'd recommend calling EDD directly. Baby bonding claims are generally processed faster than initial pregnancy disability claims, especially if you're transitioning from SDI to PFL.

Update: My first payment deposit came 3 days after the online portal updated to approved. So for me it was: online update → payment → paper letter. Hope that helps with your timeline expectations!

when i had my baby last year the whole process was a mess because my work HR person didnt submit something right. but when it finally got fixed my online updated and money came the next day. the paper letter came after i was already spending the money lol. baby stuff is expensive!!

Thanks everyone for your responses! I just checked my portal and it actually updated today - it now says approved! Based on your experiences, I should hopefully have the payment within a few days. This is such a relief!

Congratulations on your approval! That's such great news. I'm currently waiting on my own baby bonding claim decision (submitted 2 weeks ago) and this thread has been so helpful. It's reassuring to see that most people get their online updates first, though clearly EDD's system can be unpredictable. The timeline info from everyone is really valuable - sounds like payments usually come pretty quickly after approval. Hope your payment comes through soon and you can enjoy your bonding time without the financial stress!