EDD payment still pending after 2 certifications - no card received & can't reach anyone

same exact thing happen to me in novembr. took 4 weeks for my card to show up even tho my portal showed payments issued!! EDD is the WORST. they don't tell u they mail the card separate from approval letter so ur just waiting around like an idiot. keep certifying every 2 weeks tho!!

Thanks for responding! So your payments were actually processing in the system even though you didn't have the card yet? Mine are still just stuck on

There could be a few reasons why your husband's claim is stuck in pending status. The most common reasons are:\n\n1. Identity verification issues with ID.me\n2. Employment history discrepancies\n3. Eligibility interview needed\n4. Quarterly income review\n\nThe most reliable number to reach EDD is 1-800-300-5616, but you need to call right when they open at 8:00 AM. Don't wait until 8:01 - call at 7:59 and get in the queue as soon as they open. Press 1, then wait for the next prompt and press 2, then 4. This routing has worked for many people.\n\nAlso, check his UI Online account to see if there are any notifications or messages requiring action. Sometimes there's a questionnaire or form that needs to be completed before payments can process.

This never works anymore!! I tried calling at 8am EXACTLY for two weeks and still got the stupid 'too many callers' message. The system is totally broken. They don't want to help anyone.

Thank you for the detailed response! I've been checking his UI Online account daily and there aren't any pending forms or questionnaires that I can see. Everything looks complete from our end. We'll try your calling strategy tomorrow morning at 7:59 exactly. I'm wondering if it might be the quarterly income review since he had a job change back in October? Would that automatically trigger a review?

I went through this same frustrating situation in December. What finally worked for me was using Claimyr to get through to an EDD representative. I was skeptical at first, but after two weeks of failed calling attempts, I tried it and got connected to an agent in about 45 minutes.\n\nTurns out my claim had a simple flag that needed to be removed manually by a rep. Once I talked to someone, they fixed it on the spot and my pending payments switched to paid within 24 hours. My Money Network card arrived about 7 days later.\n\nYou can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km and their website is claimyr.com if you want to check it out. It saved me from missing rent in January.

Thank you for suggesting this! I hadn't heard of Claimyr before but honestly at this point I'll try anything. Did they explain what the flag on your account was? I'm wondering if we have something similar happening. Also, once they fixed it, did you get all your pending payments at once when the card arrived?

Yes, they told me it was something called a \

has he checked his spam folder for emails from edd?? sometimes they send important emails that go to spam and then ur claim stays pending cuz u didn't respond to something. happened to my brother in law last month

Good point! Just checked his spam folder and there's nothing from EDD in there, but I appreciate the suggestion - we wouldn't have thought to look there.

The current wait time for Money Network cards is 7-10 business days AFTER your first payment processes. Since you're still in pending status, the card hasn't even been ordered yet. \n\nThis is almost certainly a verification issue. When EDD implemented their new fraud prevention measures in 2024, they started flagging more claims for manual review, especially if there were any wages reported by multiple employers in the base period.\n\nYou might also want to check if your husband needs to complete the ID.me verification - even though they're supposed to notify you about this requirement, sometimes the notification itself gets delayed. Go to UI Online and check under \

Thank you for all this information! My husband did complete the ID.me verification when he first applied, and got the confirmation email that it was successful. I didn't know about the technical support line though - we'll try that tomorrow if we can't get through on the main line. He did work for two different employers last year, so maybe that's triggering the additional review you mentioned.

my cousins wife works for edd she says pending usually means theyre doing a review and youll probly need an eligibilty interview but the wait for interviews is like 4-6 weeks right now cause theyre so backlogged

Oh no, 4-6 weeks?? We can't wait that long financially. Is there any way to expedite the interview? I thought they were supposed to start paying benefits while waiting for the interview under some circumstances?

That's partially correct. If the eligibility issue doesn't relate to separation from employment (quitting/firing), they're supposed to pay benefits while waiting for the interview. However, if there's a question about why he left his previous job, they can hold payments until after the interview. You should absolutely try to reach a representative to ask if conditional payments are possible in your case.

I went through the EXACT same thing in January. Mine was pending for 3 weeks and I kept getting bounced around from department to department when I finally got through to anyone. Here's what fixed it for me:\n\n1. I contacted my state assembly member's office through their website (Google \

This is incredibly helpful! I didn't even think about contacting our assembly member. I just looked ours up and they have an EDD assistance form right on their website. I'm going to fill it out tonight. Thank you so much for this suggestion!

Just wanted to follow up on your situation - if your husband had a job change in October as you mentioned, that could definitely be triggering a quarterly review. Since the quarter ended in December, EDD might be cross-checking his reported wages with employer records. \n\nOne more suggestion: check if his previous employer has responded to the EDD's request for separation information. Employers have 10 days to respond, and claims often stay pending until they do. If the employer hasn't responded, that might be what's holding things up. \n\nWhen you do reach someone at EDD, specifically ask: \

Thank you for these specific questions to ask! That's really helpful. His previous employer wasn't the most organized, so it wouldn't surprise me if they haven't responded to EDD yet. I'll definitely use these exact phrases when we get through to someone.

did he answer NO to \

I just checked with him and he's sure he answered YES to that question on both certifications. He's been really careful with the certification questions because he knew they could delay things. Thanks for the suggestion though!

UPDATE: We got through! Using both the 7:59am calling trick AND contacting our assembly member worked. The EDD rep said there was a quarterly wage review flag on the account that needed to be manually cleared. All pending payments were released today and should be paid within 24-48 hours. The Money Network card is being sent out today as well. \n\nThank you all SO MUCH for your help and suggestions. For anyone else going through this, the assembly member assistance was incredibly effective - they contacted us first thing this morning saying they'd reached out to their EDD liaison. I think that's what got things moving quickly.

So glad to hear this worked out! The assembly member route is seriously underrated for EDD issues. Glad you got the payments released!

Great news! And thanks for confirming it was indeed a quarterly wage review flag. That's becoming more common with EDD's enhanced fraud detection system. Make sure to keep certifying on time every two weeks, and once you receive the Money Network card, activate it immediately even if the funds haven't loaded yet.