How long after identity verification with California EDD unemployment will I get paid?

That's helpful, thank you. Do you know if I need to do anything on my end in UI Online after verifying, or do I just wait?

You should just wait - but keep filing your weekly certifications every week without fail. Missing a week can cause additional delays even if your identity issue gets resolved.

Oh wow, I didn't even think about that. I've been so focused on the identity thing that I almost forgot about weekly certs. Filing right now, thank you!

this is the part that got me, i verified identity and thought everything was done but turns out my employer had flagged something and i had TWO separate issues holding up my claim. had to deal with each one separately

How would I even know if there's a second issue? My UI Online just says pending and doesn't give details on why.

That's the frustrating reality of the California EDD system. Often the only way to get specifics is to actually speak with an EDD representative. The online portal is notoriously vague about the reasons for holds.

I've never heard of this before. Is it legitimate? I'm nervous about anything involving my EDD claim.

Completely understand the hesitation. I did a lot of googling before I used it. It just gets you connected to EDD on the phone - you're still talking directly to an actual EDD agent, Claimyr just handles the hold time nightmare.

I've seen this mentioned a few times on here. Multiple people seem to have had success with it for exactly this kind of situation where you need an agent to actually look at your claim.

3 weeks?! that seems insane when people are waiting on that money for rent and food

Agreed it's a hardship. Unfortunately that's the reality of how backed up EDD processing can get. The weekly certifications still need to be filed throughout that waiting period though, otherwise you'll have even longer gaps once payment does release.

has anyone had it go faster than 5 days recently? trying to stay hopeful here lol

Yes definitely some people get it in 3-4 business days. It really depends on your specific claim circumstances and how busy EDD is at that moment. No way to predict which bucket you'll fall into.

This gives me some hope. My claim should be clean as far as I know - I left my job due to a layoff and my employer shouldn't be contesting anything.

If it's a straightforward layoff with no complications you're probably looking at the shorter end of the timeline. Fingers crossed for you!

Yes that's almost certainly why your claim is stuck. The ID.me verification letters from EDD are legitimate, not a scam. You need to go to id.me and complete the verification process as soon as possible. Your payments are being held until you do.

oh my god I've been waiting for months thinking something else was wrong. doing this right now

This is actually really common - people don't complete the verification because they're worried about scams, which is a reasonable concern, but the ID.me process is the real one. Go through it at id.me and your claim should start moving again after EDD processes the confirmation.

This is exactly my fear - that I'm waiting for a status change that might never visibly update. How did you get through to an EDD agent?

Honestly I used Claimyr because I could not get through by calling directly. Spent like 4 hours one day trying to call EDD and kept getting the 'high call volume' message and getting disconnected. Claimyr at claimyr.com connected me to an actual agent within the same day. The video at https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10 explains how it works if you're curious.

The portal not updating is SO real. Mine showed pending for almost a week after my payment had already been deposited. I had to check my bank directly because UI Online was still showing nothing.

Not a dumb question at all. As long as you filed your weekly certifications for those weeks, they should all come through once your identity is verified and the hold is released. You'd typically get a lump sum covering all those backdated weeks. That's why it's critical not to miss filing weekly certs even when your claim is stuck.

oh thank god. I was filing every week even though nothing was processing. so I should get all of those at once?

Yes, that's how it typically works. All your approved weeks will release and pay out together. The amount can be significant depending on how many weeks you've been waiting.

ok this actually makes me feel so much better. was terrified those weeks were just gone

How would I even know if that happened? Is there a way to check?

There's no direct way to check in UI Online unfortunately. The only real way to confirm EDD received your ID.me verification is to speak with an agent. That's why after about 10 business days of no movement, calling becomes necessary.

This happened to a person in my family - the verification was complete but EDD never got the confirmation. Took weeks to figure out. Speaking to an agent solved it in one call.

That's actually a separate process - sounds like you might be in adjudication for your eligibility on top of the identity verification. These are two different holds and both have to be resolved before payment releases. Did the letter specify what kind of documentation they need?

it was asking about my last employer and why i left and whether i was laid off or quit. i was laid off but i guess they need to verify that

Send in everything they asked for as quickly as possible and keep copies of everything you submit. Adjudication for separation reason can take a few weeks on top of the identity timeline. Document everything.

While I understand the frustration, the backlog issues are real - it's not always intentional inaction. But you're right that proactively contacting EDD often speeds things along rather than just waiting passively.

oh yeah I get its not personal lol but from the claimants perspective it just feels like it moves when you shake the tree ya know

This is both reassuring and terrifying at the same time haha

I just checked and there's nothing new in my UI Online inbox other than the original claim stuff. Is that bad?

Not necessarily - not everyone gets that notice. The absence of it doesn't mean your verification wasn't received. Just means EDD's system didn't auto-generate that particular notice for your claim.

Ok I'll stop trying to read tea leaves in my UI Online account lol. Just going to file my weekly certs and wait.

Weekly certifications are the form you fill out every week through UI Online to confirm you're still unemployed, still looking for work, and answer a few questions about whether you earned any money that week. They're how EDD knows to pay you for each specific week. If you haven't been filing them, you may have weeks that aren't payable because you didn't certify for them.

how far back can I go to file them? I haven't filed any since my initial claim submission

You should file them immediately for any weeks that are still within the certification window. Log into UI Online and look for the certification option - it'll show you which weeks you can still certify for. Weeks that fall outside the filing window may be gone unfortunately. Call EDD if you're missing many weeks as they sometimes have provisions for late certifications with valid reasons.

I didn't even know that was an option. Just turned on text notifications - thank you!

Yeah it's buried in the account settings. Not the most obvious thing to find. But it's way better than refreshing UI Online every hour hoping for a status change.

That's really encouraging to hear. Mine is also a clean layoff so hopefully I fall in that faster category.

Hope it goes smoothly for you! The waiting is the worst part honestly. Once that first payment hits everything feels so much better.

must be nice lol. my employer is contesting and every step has been a fight

is this the same service a couple people mentioned upthread? seems like a lot of people here have used it

Yes same service. It comes up a lot in EDD discussions because getting through to EDD by phone on your own is genuinely difficult and this solves that specific problem.

I've been hesitant to try it but at this point if I don't hear anything by end of next week I'm going to give it a shot

Good point - I will definitely audit everything when it comes through. I've been keeping notes on which weeks I certified for so I can cross-reference.

Smart move keeping notes. The paper trail will be super helpful if any discrepancies come up.

It's a fair concern about privacy. The fraud that hit EDD during the pandemic years was massive though - billions of dollars. The identity verification requirements are a direct response to that. Whether the tradeoff is right is a valid debate, but the verification isn't going away anytime soon.

yeah i get it. just frustrating when youre the legitimate claimant and you have to jump through all these hoops. the scammers probably found ways around it anyway

EXACTLY. honest people dealing with the worst bureaucratic nightmare while the scammers move on to the next scheme. great system

Good luck! At 8 business days you're right to start pushing. Let us know what you hear from an agent - the specific reason for the delay will tell you a lot about what to expect next.

Rooting for you! When I was at that same point and used Claimyr to get an agent it turned out there was a small flag on my account that could be cleared with just one phone call. Hoping yours is similarly straightforward.

Keep us posted. Fingers crossed it's just a queue delay and an agent can push it through for you.