This entire thread should be pinned or made into a FAQ! The credit freeze issue is such a game changer - I bet thousands of people are getting stuck on ID.me verification without realizing this could be the culprit. I work in financial services and see credit freezes all the time, but I never connected the dots that they could interfere with identity verification for government benefits. One additional tip for anyone reading: when you lift your credit freeze, you might want to set it to automatically re-freeze after 30 days rather than doing it permanently. Most credit bureaus let you do temporary lifts, which gives you the security benefits while allowing things like ID.me verification to work. Also, if you're still having issues even after lifting freezes, sometimes the problem is that you have different variations of your name across different systems (like "Robert" vs "Bob" or including/excluding middle initials). Make sure everything matches exactly what's on your EDD application. Great job troubleshooting this @Diego Castillo - your persistence paid off!

Just wanted to add another perspective as someone who went through this exact same situation a few months ago. The credit freeze issue is absolutely real and such a hidden problem! But I also discovered that if you have any kind of identity monitoring service (like through your bank or credit card company), those can sometimes interfere too because they put alerts on your credit file. One more thing that helped me - after lifting the credit freeze, I waited about 24 hours before trying ID.me again. Apparently it can take time for the freeze lift to propagate through all the systems they check against. I was so eager to try immediately after lifting it that I got rejected again, which was super discouraging. Also, pro tip: screenshot everything during the verification process! If something goes wrong during the video call or the system glitches, having screenshots of your progress can help when you contact support. The ID.me customer service is actually pretty helpful once you can get through to them (unlike EDD lol). Hope this helps anyone else dealing with this nightmare! The system is definitely designed to be frustrating, but persistence really does pay off.

I'm new to this community and just started collecting unemployment after being laid off from my graphic design job two weeks ago. This thread has been absolutely invaluable! I was really stressed about potentially needing to withdraw from my 401k to help my sister with some emergency expenses, and I had no idea how it would impact my EDD benefits. Reading through Cass's real experience and seeing it unfold exactly as all the knowledgeable members predicted - with just the one-week impact and then back to normal - has been such a huge relief. The step-by-step explanations from Holly and all the personal stories shared here make this process so much clearer than trying to decipher the EDD website alone. It's amazing how supportive and knowledgeable this community is - everyone's willingness to share their real experiences to help newcomers navigate these challenging situations is truly incredible. The key lesson about being transparent and accurate in reporting, even when it means losing benefits for one week, is exactly the guidance I needed. Thank you all for creating such a welcoming environment where people can get practical answers during these stressful times!

I'm completely new to this community and just started collecting unemployment after being laid off from my accounting job last week. This entire discussion has been absolutely incredible to read through! I was really panicking about potentially needing to withdraw from my 401k to cover some unexpected home repairs, and I had zero knowledge about how it would affect my EDD benefits. Seeing Cass's real-world experience unfold exactly as all the experienced community members predicted - with just that one-week impact and then everything returning to normal - has given me such enormous relief. The detailed step-by-step explanations from Holly about proper reporting procedures and all the personal experiences shared by Malia and others make this process so much clearer than anything I could find trying to navigate the confusing EDD website on my own. It's truly amazing how knowledgeable and supportive everyone is here - the willingness to share real experiences and practical advice to help newcomers like me understand the system is invaluable. The key takeaway about being completely honest and accurate in reporting, even when it means losing benefits for that one week, is exactly the kind of guidance I desperately needed. Thank you all for creating such a welcoming and informative community where people can get real answers during these incredibly stressful financial situations!

I'm having the same issue, edd is saying no available weeks to certify, my claim is good. It's Sunday today when I usually receive the notice to certify. Last Tuesday was veterans day and I'm wondering if the federal holiday would effect my certify date by pushing it out a day. Does anyone know if the certification dates are effected by federal holiday?

@Brandon Brown Yes, federal holidays absolutely affect EDD's certification schedule! Veterans Day would definitely push things back by a day or two. Based on all the experiences shared in this thread, holiday delays are super common with EDD's system. Since last Tuesday was Veterans Day, your certification weeks will probably appear Monday or Tuesday instead of the usual Sunday. The same thing happened during Memorial Day weekend as discussed earlier in this thread - everyone's weeks were delayed until Monday/Tuesday. EDD's system runs these batch processes overnight on Sundays, but when there's a federal holiday, it throws off their entire processing schedule. It's frustrating that they never communicate these delays proactively, but it's completely normal. I'd check again tomorrow (Monday) afternoon and Tuesday morning if nothing shows up. If you still don't see your weeks to certify by Tuesday evening, then you might want to call EDD. But based on everyone's experiences here, it's almost certainly just the Veterans Day delay affecting the system. Hang in there - the waiting is always nerve-wracking but holiday delays are just part of how EDD operates unfortunately!

This is such valuable information for anyone dealing with EDD phone certification issues! I've bookmarked this thread because it covers all the main troubleshooting steps. One thing I'd add based on my experience - if you're still having problems even during off-peak hours, sometimes clearing your phone's call history and restarting it before calling can help. I had a weird situation where my phone seemed to "remember" the previous failed connection attempts and would disconnect faster each time. After clearing everything and restarting, the call went through normally. Also, for anyone reading this in the future - the EDD website sometimes posts notices about known system outages or maintenance windows, so it's worth checking there first if you're having issues. Thanks again to everyone who shared their solutions - this community support makes dealing with EDD's technical problems so much more manageable!

Just wanted to add my experience for anyone else dealing with this - I had the exact same phone certification disconnection issue last month and discovered it was actually related to my phone carrier's spam blocking feature! Apparently some carriers now automatically block certain government automated systems thinking they're robocalls. I had to call my phone company and ask them to whitelist the EDD certification number (1-866-333-4606) and after that it worked perfectly. Might be worth checking with your carrier if the late-night calling doesn't solve the problem. Also, I've found that having a backup plan helps reduce the stress - I always keep the paper certification form ready to mail just in case the phone and online systems both fail. The postal delays aren't ideal but at least you know you've met your certification requirement.

So glad to see this got resolved! This is exactly why I joined this community - to help fellow veterans navigate these bureaucratic nightmares. I went through something similar with my Air Force retirement when I filed for UI after my tech job got eliminated. For future reference, veterans should always emphasize the "base period" distinction when dealing with EDD. The key phrase to use is "non-base period pension income" - that's the magic language that gets their attention. I keep a copy of my DD-214 and retirement orders handy whenever I deal with any government benefits. It's frustrating that EDD staff aren't properly trained on military retirement vs regular pension rules. Hopefully your success story will help other vets who face this same issue!

This thread is incredibly helpful! I'm currently dealing with a similar situation - retired from the Marines 5 years ago and just got laid off from my civilian job. EDD initially approved my claim but then suddenly stopped payments saying there was an "income verification issue" with my retirement pay. Based on what I'm reading here, it sounds like they might be incorrectly treating my military retirement as base period income even though my service ended way before my base period. I'm going to call tomorrow and use that key phrase "non-base period pension income" that @Mateo Rodriguez mentioned. Quick question for those who've been through this - when you called, did you need any specific documentation beyond your DD-214? I want to make sure I have everything ready before I try to get through to someone.