How to delete unemployment account on California EDD - is it even possible?

Okay so it's not just me missing something obvious, there really isn't a delete button anywhere. I'll try Ask EDD and see what they say. Did you ever actually go through with the request yourself or just look into it?

Looked into it but ended up deciding to leave mine alone since my info is already in government systems anyway. But if you feel strongly about it, Ask EDD is probably the right move.

EDD keeps records for a certain period regardless, so even if the account gets closed the underlying claim data doesn't just disappear from their side. Worth knowing before you go through the trouble.

That's a fair point, I guess I hadn't thought of it that way. The data exists on their end regardless. I think I'm mostly just anxious about having an account I don't use sitting there.

Two factor or strong password is good advice, but I'd still try to get it closed if that's what you want. Having unused accounts floating around with your Social Security number attached just feels wrong to me.

agreed with the person above, the edd account has your ssn, your bank info if you set up direct deposit, all of it. i'd at least want to know if closing it was possible

That's really helpful to hear from an actual agent. Ask EDD in writing seems like the confirmed path then. Sorry to hear about the pending weeks situation, that sounds stressful.

The ID.me reverification thing happened to me too, completely out of nowhere. Definitely worth getting it sorted by phone rather than waiting for things to resolve on their own.

Good to know the agent confirmed the Ask EDD route. I've been wanting to ask EDD something specific about my own claim balance and I'll look into getting through by phone that way.

My benefit year is fully ended so I'm past that point, but that's genuinely useful context for other people reading this. Good catch.

wait how do you know if the benefit year is ended? is it 52 weeks from when you first applied?

Exactly right, the benefit year runs 52 weeks from the Sunday of the week you first applied. After that it's done regardless of whether you used all your weeks or not. You can see the dates in your Claim History in UI Online.

and after the year ends you can file a whole new claim if you're out of work again, right? you don't need the old account for anything at that point

That tracks with what others have said. I think I had a mental model of this like a typical website account, but it makes sense that it's more tied to official state records.

The portal wrapper description is pretty accurate. Same reason you can't delete a DMV record or a tax return. The underlying stuff exists whether the account does or not.

still doesn't hurt to ask though. worst they can say is no and at least you'd know you tried

The absence of any official guidance on this is genuinely strange. Even a help article saying accounts are permanent or explaining the data retention policy would be something. Total silence is worse.

Exactly! Like just TELL me what happens to the account. Don't make me post on a forum to find out the answer isn't even on your website.

California has data privacy laws that technically give you rights over your personal information held by state agencies. Whether unemployment accounts fall under those in a practical way is a separate question, but it might be worth looking into if this matters to you a lot.

Honestly that's probably a good idea regardless. I went back in to check and realized my password was something I set up years ago before I had good password habits.

Went and checked. Account is there, password updated, nothing weird on it. Dormant but secure. Probably the best outcome if deletion isn't actually possible.

Oh I hadn't thought about the 1099G. That's actually a good reason to keep the account accessible. I'll at least download a copy of my most recent one before I do anything else.

genuinely good point, hadn't thought about needing that for taxes later. saved my own 1099G earlier this year and it was much easier than trying to get tax documents from EDD any other way

This is probably the most practical argument for leaving the account open. The 1099G being there for five years is actually useful even after your claim ends.

wait does california tax unemployment benefits? i always thought they were taxable

oh interesting didn't realize CA didn't tax them, good to know. so the 1099G is still important for federal though

i got confused about this last year and almost didn't report mine federally, glad someone clarified

If you file again and your benefit year is over, you'd just log into your existing myEDD account and file a new claim from there. The old account actually makes it easier since your info is already there. No complications from having an older account.

okay that's reassuring, so it's actually an argument for keeping it open rather than deleting it

That's another reason I'm reconsidering whether deletion is even worth pursuing. Between the 1099G access and the easier refiling, there are actual practical reasons to keep it.

A month of pending weeks sounds absolutely maddening. I'd have been checking UI Online every hour.

Pretty much did exactly that. The worst part is UI Online just says Pending with nothing explaining why or when it'll change.

Keeping up with certifications during pending status is so important and people don't always know to do it. If you stop certifying you lose those weeks entirely even if the issue gets resolved later.

Good practical tip. I'll screenshot the submission confirmation when I send it.

Also worth checking your Ask EDD inbox periodically since EDD's replies can come days later and don't always trigger an email notification depending on your settings.

I hadn't even thought about CalJOBS. I did register there when I filed, so now I need to check whether that's a separate account to manage too. Good catch.

genuinely didn't know they were separate systems, i assumed they were connected or shared a login somehow

Totally different systems. EDD handles your UI claim and CalJOBS is the job search registry. You can log into CalJOBS independently at caljobs.ca.gov and update or manage that profile separately from anything EDD related.

The phone line being the fallback when chat doesn't work is such a painful reality. That line is basically impossible to get through on some days.

My claim had an overpayment question I needed to clear up and I ended up getting through to a live EDD agent by phone using Claimyr. The agent confirmed the overpayment amount on my account and walked me through the waiver process, including where to find the DE 1446UI form. I'd been going back and forth on Ask EDD for two weeks before that and getting nowhere.

Two weeks of Ask EDD replies going nowhere sounds frustrating. Getting to an actual agent definitely cuts through a lot of back and forth.

That's a fair warning, the Ask EDD replies can be pretty generic. I'll try it first and have the phone option ready as a backup.

The generic reply problem with Ask EDD is real. For anything that isn't a totally standard question, the written responses tend to be templated. Phone is usually where you get an actual answer.

i definitely mixed those up when i first filed. i kept going to the public site looking for a login button that wasn't there

Good clarification, yes, the myEDD account at that link is what I'm referring to. The portal where you certify and see your Claim History.

Solid summary. I still think EDD should give people an actual option instead of forcing a manual request, but practically speaking that is probably the realistic outcome.

Yeah after reading everything in this thread I think I'm going to leave the account open, download my 1099G, update my password, and just let it sit. The Ask EDD route is still there if I change my mind but there's less urgency now.

This whole thread ended up being more useful than I expected. Started as a simple account deletion question and covered a lot of ground.

That's good to know, especially since my email at the time I signed up was an older one. I'll update the contact info before I leave the account sitting.

The periodic check-in advice is practical. Set a reminder once a year to log in and confirm everything is current so you're not locked out if you suddenly need it.

found out the hard way my old email was deactivated and had to go through the whole password recovery process which was annoying. update your email on the account before you forget