When to file for CA Pregnancy Disability before maternity leave? Last day is today, due date 01/13/25

Congrats on your baby and starting maternity leave! You can file for Pregnancy Disability (SDI) right away - literally tomorrow. The one-week waiting period isn't about when you can file, it's about when benefits start. So you file immediately after your last day of work, but the first 7 days of your disability period are unpaid. Your benefits will start on day 8 of your leave. So if tomorrow is your first day of leave, you can submit your DE2501 claim tomorrow, but your actual benefit payments will start covering from day 8 onward. Don't delay filing - the sooner you submit, the sooner they can process it.

you def don't get paid for the first week that's just how it works. i had my baby last yr and filed online the day after my last work day. just make sure ur doctor filled out their part already!! mine didn't and it delayed everything by like 2 weeks

Just to clarify what everyone is saying: the 7-day waiting period is a non-payable waiting period. You file your claim immediately after your last day of work, but you won't receive benefits for the first 7 days of your disability period. This is standard for all disability claims in California. Once your claim is established, you'll transition to Paid Family Leave (PFL) after your postpartum recovery period (typically 6-8 weeks depending on delivery type). There is NO waiting period for PFL - you'll get paid for all 8 weeks of baby bonding. Make sure your doctor has certified your disability and estimated disability period on the medical portion of your DE2501 form. This is crucial for timely processing.

just want to add cuz no one said it - if your company has paid leave benefits you might still get paid for that first week even though EDD doesnt pay you. check with HR! some companies have policies to cover the waiting period. i didn't know and could've gotten paid but didn't submit the paperwork in time :

I was in your EXACT situation last year and let me tell you - file tomorrow but be prepared to wait FOREVER to actually get paid. I filed the day after my last work day (online) and it took almost 4 weeks to get my first payment! The EDD website kept saying my claim was "pending" with no explanation. I called like 50 times trying to get through to someone to explain what was happening. I finally used a service called Claimyr to get through to an EDD rep (claimyr.com) and they actually connected me to a real person in about 15 minutes. The rep told me my claim had some flag on it that needed manual review but no one had gotten to it yet. They cleared it while I was on the phone and my payment processed the next day. Totally worth checking out their video demo: https://youtu.be/DOLxZQb92wM?si=6N1iCQ3a8Cdb2Ay5 Just sharing because I wish someone had told me this before I stressed for weeks about money!

To clarify since someone asked - they just connect you with the actual EDD. You're still talking directly to EDD representatives, not sharing anything with a third party. They just have a system that navigates the phone tree and waits on hold for you. Saved me hours of frustration!

THE EDD SYSTEM IS COMPLETELY BROKEN AND DESIGNED TO MAKE YOU GIVE UP!!! I filed my disability claim ON TIME and they "lost" my paperwork TWICE. Then they said I didn't submit the doctor certification when I literally watched my doctor fax it from her office. Then they said I needed to re-submit everything because it had been too long since my original filing date!!!! I ENDED UP HAVING TO GET MY STATE REPRESENTATIVE INVOLVED to get my legitimate benefits. THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS A SCAM.

To answer your follow-up question about transitioning to PFL: You'll need to file a separate claim for Paid Family Leave (baby bonding) after your disability claim ends. It's not automatic. The process works like this: 1. Your doctor will certify you for pregnancy disability for 4 weeks before birth (if you're not working) and typically 6 weeks after vaginal delivery or 8 weeks after c-section 2. When that disability period is ending, you'll file a new claim for PFL using form DE2508 3. Your PFL claim will provide 8 weeks of baby bonding benefits at the same weekly rate as your disability Pro tip: File your PFL claim about 1-2 weeks before your disability ends to avoid a gap in payments. The systems don't talk to each other as well as they should, so being proactive helps.

just make sure u have enough in savings cuz my first payment took 3.5 weeks to come through and i was NOT prepared for that!! the one-week waiting period + processing time means you might not see money for a month!!