When to apply for PFL after SDI maternity leave ends? Timing confusion!

Apply for PFL about 5-7 days BEFORE your SDI/disability ends. You don't want to wait until after your SDI is completely finished because that could create a gap in your payments. The claims take time to process, so submitting early ensures a smoother transition. When I had my baby last year, I applied for PFL about a week before my SDI ended and the transition was seamless. Make sure you have your doctor's documentation ready when you apply!

I totally waited too long and had a 3 week gap between my disability ending and baby bonding starting! the system is SO confusing. definitely apply BEFORE your disability ends. EDD website says 'no earlier than 9 days before' but id say give yourself at least a week. good luck mama!!!

Just to clarify some terminology since I see a bit of confusion: SDI (State Disability Insurance) is what you're on now for recovery from childbirth. PFL (Paid Family Leave) is the baby bonding portion. The technical rule is you should apply for PFL no more than 9 days before your SDI ends, but not after it's already ended. The DE2501F form should be submitted within this window for optimal transition. If you're doing it online, log into your SDI Online account, select "New Claim" and then "Paid Family Leave" to start the process. You'll need to provide your child's birth certificate or other proof of relationship. The benefit is the same amount as your SDI, but it's technically a different program.

I tried applying exactly 7 days before my SDI ended but still had a gap 😡 Had to call EDD about 50 TIMES before getting through to fix it. Their online system is TERRIBLE and the instructions contradict each other. I ended up missing 2 weeks of payments because of their incompetence! Make sure you document EVERYTHING and screenshot your application confirmations.

The correct form for Paid Family Leave is indeed the DE2508. The DE2501 is for Disability Insurance claims. To directly answer your question: you should file your PFL claim (using form DE2508 or through your SDI Online account) approximately 5-7 days before your disability claim ends on 2/22/25. This timing helps ensure continuous payments. When filing online, you'll: 1. Log into SDI Online 2. Select "New Claim" 3. Choose "Paid Family Leave" 4. Select "Bonding with new child" 5. Complete all required fields 6. Submit supporting documentation (birth certificate) Your PFL claim start date should be 2/23/25 (the day after your SDI ends).

my cousin had her babyy in december and she said you gotta apply right away like the DAY your disability ends or before cuz they take forever to approve the new claim. its like they make it complicated on purpose i swear!!! btw congrats on the baby!! the benefit stuff is stressful but sooo worth it to have time with your little one 💕

I just went through this transition in January 2025. Here's exactly what worked for me: 1. Applied for PFL exactly 7 days before my SDI ended 2. Made sure to list my PFL start date as the day immediately after my SDI end date 3. Uploaded my baby's birth certificate to my SDI Online account 4. Called EDD to confirm they received everything (took 3 hours of calling) I received my first PFL payment exactly on time with no gap. The key is making sure your PFL start date lines up perfectly with the end of your SDI - not even one day of overlap or gap. Be very precise with those dates!

when i had my baby last yr i waited too long n had like a 2 week gap with no money coming in...it was awfulll. definitely dont wait til after the disability ends! also make sure u have ur babys birth certificate ready to upload when u apply for the PFL part

Just wanted to add my experience from 2024 - I applied for PFL exactly 6 days before my SDI ended and it worked perfectly! The transition was seamless. One tip that helped me: when you're filling out the online application, double-check that your PFL start date is set for the day AFTER your SDI ends (so 2/23/25 in your case). I also recommend taking screenshots of every page of your application as you submit it - this saved me when EDD claimed they never received part of my documentation. The whole process is definitely stressful but you've got this! Congratulations on your new baby! 🍼

Hey there! I just went through this exact same situation last month - had my baby in December and transitioned from SDI to PFL in January. The timing is definitely tricky but here's what worked for me: I submitted my PFL application exactly 6 days before my SDI ended. The key is to make sure your PFL start date is the day RIGHT after your SDI ends (so February 23rd for you). I used the SDI Online portal and it was pretty straightforward once I found the right section. Just make sure you have your baby's birth certificate ready to upload! One thing that really helped me was calling EDD the day after I submitted to confirm they received everything - took forever to get through but gave me peace of mind. The transition was seamless and I didn't have any gap in payments. You've got this mama! The paperwork stress is temporary but that bonding time with your little one is so worth it. Congrats on your new baby! 💕

I'm going through this exact same transition right now! My SDI ends next week and I was totally panicking about the timing until I read all these responses. Based on everyone's advice, I'm planning to submit my PFL application tomorrow (about 6 days before my SDI ends) and set my start date for the day after SDI ends. It's so helpful to see that multiple people have successfully made this transition recently! The stress of navigating EDD while caring for a newborn is no joke, but this community has been a lifesaver. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences - it's making this process so much less scary for those of us going through it for the first time! 🙏

I just went through this transition in December 2024 and wanted to share what worked perfectly for me! I applied for PFL exactly 5 days before my SDI ended, making sure to set my PFL start date for the very next day after SDI ended. The key thing that saved me was being super precise with the dates - no overlap, no gap, just one day flowing into the next. I used the SDI Online portal under "New Claim" > "Paid Family Leave" > "Bonding with new child" and had my baby's birth certificate ready to upload immediately. The whole application took about 15 minutes once I had everything prepared. My first PFL payment came right on schedule with zero interruption! One tip: screenshot your confirmation page when you submit - I've heard too many stories about EDD "losing" applications. Also, if you can manage it, try calling EDD a day or two after submitting just to confirm they received everything. It's a pain to get through but worth the peace of mind. You're going to do great - this transition is totally manageable when you know the timing! Enjoy every moment of that bonding leave with your little one! 💙

As someone who just completed this transition last month, I can confirm that applying 5-7 days before your SDI ends is absolutely the right approach! I submitted my PFL application on a Wednesday for an SDI that ended the following Tuesday, and my benefits continued seamlessly. The most important thing is being crystal clear about your start date - make sure your PFL begins the day AFTER your SDI ends (February 23rd in your case). When you're in the SDI Online portal, you'll see a dropdown for "reason for leave" - select "bonding with new child" and have your baby's birth certificate ready to upload immediately. One thing I wish someone had told me: after you submit, you'll get an email confirmation, but it can take 24-48 hours for your claim to show up in your online account. Don't panic if you don't see it right away! Also, your benefit amount should be exactly the same as what you were receiving on SDI. Congratulations on your new baby! The paperwork stress is temporary, but that bonding time is priceless. You've got this! 💕

Just wanted to add my perspective as someone who made this transition in late 2024! Reading through all these experiences, I can see the 5-7 day window before SDI ends is definitely the consensus. I applied exactly 6 days before my disability ended and it worked perfectly - no gaps, no issues. One thing I'd emphasize is double-checking your math on the dates. I actually wrote out a little calendar to make sure I had the timing right: SDI ends 2/22/25, so PFL should start 2/23/25, which means applying around 2/15-2/17. Also, for what it's worth, I found the SDI Online portal much easier to use than I expected after reading all the horror stories. The "New Claim" > "Paid Family Leave" path was pretty straightforward. Just have that birth certificate file ready to upload right away! The stress of figuring this out while sleep-deprived with a newborn is real, but you're asking the right questions at the right time. Good luck with your transition and enjoy that precious bonding time! 💕

I went through this exact transition just two months ago and I'm so glad you're asking about timing now! The advice everyone's giving about applying 5-7 days before your SDI ends is absolutely correct. I applied exactly 6 days before my disability ended and had zero gaps in payment - it was seamless. Here's what I did that worked perfectly: - Applied through SDI Online on January 10th for SDI ending January 16th - Set my PFL start date for January 17th (the day immediately after SDI ended) - Had my baby's birth certificate ready to upload during the application - Selected "Bonding with new child" as my reason for leave The application itself took maybe 10-15 minutes once I had everything ready. One thing that really helped was calling EDD about 2 days after I submitted just to confirm they received everything - it took about 2 hours of calling but gave me peace of mind. Your timeline should be: apply around February 15-17 for SDI ending February 22, with PFL starting February 23. Don't overthink it - you're ahead of the game by planning this out now! The bonding time is so worth navigating this paperwork stress. Congratulations on your little one! 🍼

I just went through this transition in January 2025 and want to echo what everyone else is saying - definitely apply 5-7 days BEFORE your SDI ends! I made the mistake of waiting until my disability actually ended and had a 2-week gap with no payments. It was stressful trying to manage bills with a newborn. When I finally got my PFL sorted out, the EDD rep told me the ideal timing is to submit your application about a week before your SDI end date. In your case, since your disability ends 2/22/25, you should apply around 2/15-2/17 and set your PFL start date for 2/23/25. The online SDI portal is actually pretty straightforward once you find the right section: log in, click "New Claim", then "Paid Family Leave", then select "Bonding with new child". Have your baby's birth certificate ready to upload right away. Don't make the same mistake I did - apply early and save yourself the headache! The bonding time with your little one is precious and you don't want to stress about missing payments. Good luck mama! 💕

I'm currently going through this same transition and this thread has been incredibly helpful! Based on everyone's experiences, it's clear that the 5-7 day window before SDI ends is crucial. I love how @StarStrider broke down the exact steps for the online portal and @Lucas Parker's detailed timeline from December really helps visualize the process. One thing I'm wondering about - has anyone had issues with the birth certificate upload? My baby's birth certificate is a PDF but I want to make sure it's in the right format before I apply next week. Also, for those who called EDD to confirm receipt, what's the best time of day to call to actually get through? I've heard the wait times are brutal but it sounds like it's worth it for peace of mind. Thank you everyone for sharing your real experiences - it makes this whole process so much less scary for us first-time parents! The bonding time ahead will definitely be worth navigating all this paperwork stress. 💙

I just successfully completed this transition in December 2024 and want to reinforce what everyone is saying about timing! Apply 5-7 days BEFORE your SDI ends - this is absolutely critical. I submitted my PFL application exactly 6 days before my disability ended and the transition was seamless with zero payment gaps. Here's my exact timeline that worked perfectly: - SDI ended: December 20, 2024 - Applied for PFL: December 14, 2024 (6 days before) - PFL start date: December 21, 2024 (day after SDI ended) - First PFL payment: Right on schedule For your situation: Apply around February 15-17 for your SDI ending February 22, with PFL starting February 23. Use the SDI Online portal: "New Claim" > "Paid Family Leave" > "Bonding with new child." Have your baby's birth certificate ready to upload immediately - PDF format works fine! One tip that saved me stress: I created a simple timeline on paper with all the key dates written out. Sometimes seeing it visually helps ensure you don't miss anything. The whole online application took about 15 minutes once I had everything ready. Don't overthink it - you're being proactive by planning this out now, which puts you ahead of the game! The bonding time with your little one will be so worth navigating this paperwork. Congratulations on your new baby! 🍼✨

I'm so glad you posted this question - I just went through this exact transition in February 2025 and the timing advice everyone's giving is absolutely spot-on! After reading all these experiences, I can confirm that applying 5-7 days before your SDI ends is the golden rule. I submitted my PFL application on February 15th for my SDI that ended February 22nd, and set my PFL start date for February 23rd - exactly what you should do! The transition was completely seamless with zero payment gaps. One thing I'd add that I haven't seen mentioned much: when you're in the SDI Online portal filling out your PFL application, there's a section where it asks for your "expected return to work date." Don't stress too much about this - you can always extend your PFL later if needed (up to 8 weeks total for bonding). I initially put 6 weeks but ended up extending to the full 8 weeks. Also, make sure to save/print a copy of your confirmation page after submitting. I had a friend whose application got "lost" in the system and having that confirmation number saved her from having to reapply. You're being so smart by planning this out ahead of time! Most people wait until the last minute and end up with gaps. Follow the timeline everyone's shared and you'll be golden. Enjoy every moment of that precious bonding time with your little one! 💙

I just completed this exact transition in January 2025 and can confirm everything everyone is saying about the 5-7 day window! I applied for PFL on January 15th for my SDI ending January 22nd, with PFL starting January 23rd - zero gaps, perfect timing. One thing I want to add that really helped me: I actually called EDD the day BEFORE I planned to submit my online application just to confirm my SDI end date was exactly what I thought it was. Sometimes there can be slight discrepancies and it's better to know for sure. The rep I spoke with also walked me through the online application process which gave me confidence. Also, when you upload your birth certificate, make sure the entire document is clearly visible and readable. I've heard stories of people having to resubmit because their upload was blurry or cut off. Take a few extra seconds to check it looks good before hitting submit. You're asking all the right questions at the right time - this shows you'll navigate this successfully! The stress of coordinating all this EDD stuff while caring for a newborn is real, but having that uninterrupted bonding time is absolutely worth it. Congratulations on your baby and good luck with your application! 🍼💕

I'm a new mom who just went through this transition last week and wanted to share my experience! I applied for PFL exactly 6 days before my SDI ended (so similar timing to what you'll need) and it worked perfectly - no payment gaps at all. The key things that made it smooth for me: - Applied through SDI Online using "New Claim" > "Paid Family Leave" > "Bonding with new child" - Set my PFL start date for the day immediately after SDI ended - Had my baby's birth certificate ready as a clear PDF to upload right away - Took screenshots of every page including the final confirmation One thing that really helped was writing out the timeline on paper first: your SDI ends 2/22/25, so apply around 2/15-2/17 and set your PFL start date for 2/23/25. Having it visually mapped out made me feel so much more confident about getting the timing right. The whole online application took about 10-15 minutes once I had everything prepared. Don't let the EDD horror stories scare you too much - when you follow this timing advice from everyone here, it really can go smoothly! Enjoy that precious bonding time ahead - it's absolutely worth navigating all this paperwork stress. Congratulations on your little one! 💕