Filing for CA Pregnancy Disability at 36 weeks - step by step process needed!

Hi there! I went through this last year, so here's the step-by-step process: 1. First, you'll need your doctor to certify your pregnancy disability. Some doctors submit this electronically directly to EDD, while others give you a physical DE2501 form to submit. Call your OB's office now to ask about their process - don't wait until Dec 8th! 2. Once your doctor submits their certification, you can file your claim online through SDI Online (https://edd.ca.gov/disability/). Create an account now if you haven't already. 3. When you file on Dec 8th, you'll need: your doctor's info, employer details, last day worked, and wage info. 4. After filing, you'll receive an EDD Customer Account Number by mail - keep this safe as you'll need it for baby bonding PFL later. 5. If all goes smoothly, benefits typically begin after a 7-day waiting period. Good luck with your pregnancy! The system can be confusing but take it one step at a time.

just had my baby in sept and the whole prosess is a NIGHTMARE!!!! dont even get me started on how they calculate ur benefit amount... they used my income from like 18 months ago when i was working part time instead of my current job! and nobody could explain why! i spent 4 HOURS on hold trying to talk to someone at EDD. finally gave up.

You actually don't have to wait until exactly 36 weeks! I filed my claim at 34 weeks but put my last day of work as my future date (when I'd be 36 weeks). The doctor's certification can be dated before your actual leave starts - they just certify the expected disability period. So you could start the process now and avoid any delays.

When I filed for pregnancy disability earlier this year, I spent DAYS trying to reach EDD with questions. Their phone lines are insane - either busy signals or disconnected after waiting for hours. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got connected to an EDD rep within 15 minutes instead of waiting for hours. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/DOLxZQb92wM?si=6N1iCQ3a8Cdb2Ay5 Completely worth it because the rep walked me through the whole filing process and fixed an issue with my doctor's certification that would've delayed my payments. Just sharing since I wish someone had told me about this service earlier!

Let me clarify a few important points about Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) that others haven't fully explained: 1. You need to have your doctor complete the DE2501 form. Some medical offices submit this electronically, others will provide you a paper form to submit with your claim. 2. The standard disability period for pregnancy is 4 weeks before your due date through 6-8 weeks after delivery (depending on delivery type). 3. Your claim start date should match your last day worked plus one day. So if your last day is Dec 7th, your claim starts Dec 8th. 4. The 7-day waiting period is unpaid and begins on your claim start date. 5. After your pregnancy disability ends, you'll need to file a separate claim for Paid Family Leave (PFL) for baby bonding. 6. Important: Contact your physician NOW to understand their process for completing the medical certification. This is the most common delay in the process. The base period for benefit calculation is the highest-earning quarter in the 5-18 months prior to your claim start date, which is why some people experience unexpected benefit amounts.

One thing nobody mentioned is that you should create your SDI Online account RIGHT NOW, not on the day you want to file. The system sometimes has a 24-48 hour verification period before letting you submit a claim. I found this out the hard way and it delayed my whole application by several days. Also, take screenshots of EVERYTHING during the application process. The EDD website can be glitchy and I've heard of people having their applications "disappear" or status updates not showing correctly.

ALSO keep in mind u need to have ur work submit some info too!!! my HR dept was sooooo slow with this part n it delayed my payments by like 3 weeks because they took forever to respond to EDD! tell ur work NOW that ur gonna be filing for disability so they can get ready

Thank you everyone for all your advice!! I called my OB office today and they said they submit the medical certification electronically, but I need to let them know when I'm ready to file. I also created my SDI Online account (took like 10 minutes) and talked to my HR department. They gave me a separation notice that I'll need to upload when I file my claim. I'm still a little confused about the transition from disability to baby bonding though... do I need to file a whole new claim for that? And how do I make sure there's no gap between the two?