How to file a new claim for unemployment in California EDD — step by step?

So I should list all employers from the past 18 months, not just my last one? I had a part-time gig for about four months last year at a different place. Does that affect my benefit amount?

Yes, list all of them — EDD looks at your earnings across the whole base period to figure out what you can receive each week. That part-time job's wages could actually help your amount or at least confirm your claim is valid.

Agreed on starting the week you apply being huge. My cousin waited almost a month after getting laid off before filing and he lost all those weeks. Apply as fast as you can.

I didn't know about the ID.me part at all. So that's separate from the actual application — you do the application first and then ID.me comes after?

Exactly. You fill out the application in UI Online first, submit it, and then you'll be directed to ID.me to verify your identity. Have your physical ID or driver license nearby because you'll take a photo of it.

The ID.me thing tripped me up too. Got an error partway through and thought my whole application was rejected. Turns out it was just the verification step having a glitch, and I had to go back to ID.me directly to finish it.

Worth knowing that if someone applied by phone or mail instead of online, they sometimes get a letter called the DE 1326C asking them to verify identity. Same ID.me process, just triggered differently.

I had no idea CalJOBS was part of this. Is that something everyone has to do or does it depend on your situation?

Most claimants get the requirement, but EDD will tell you on that notice if you're exempt. The DE 8405 spells it out. Don't assume you're off the hook until you see it in writing.

CalJOBS also has job listings and resume help workshops through America's Job Center of California locations. Not just an EDD requirement — it can actually be useful for the job search part too.

$40 to $450 is a huge range. Is there any way to estimate what I'd get before I apply?

EDD has an Unemployment Benefit Calculator on their site that gives you a rough estimate. You'd plug in your quarterly earnings and it'll show you a ballpark. The real number is on the DE 429Z after you apply.

Mine was closer to the lower end because I'd only worked part of last year. The calculator was pretty close to what I actually got, give or take twenty bucks.

So I certify for two weeks the first time but only get paid for one of them? That's frustrating but good to know in advance.

Right. The first certification covers the waiting week and then the first actual paid week. After that you just certify every two weeks and both weeks get paid, assuming you're still eligible.

I wish someone had told me about the waiting week before I applied. I kept checking my account wondering why my first week still showed pending even after the payment for the second week came through.

The waiting week thing is on the DE 429Z when it arrives but it's easy to miss if you're scanning for the dollar amount. It's in the fine print section.

Good tip about not being able to save mid-application. I'll definitely gather everything first. For the employers, do I need their exact address or is a general city and company name enough?

Try to get the full address if you can. The application has a field for it and it's better to fill it out completely. You can usually find it on an old pay stub or just look up the business.

The last employer's address especially — EDD sends them a notice about your claim and uses that address. Worth getting right.

Can I set up direct deposit before my first payment or do I have to wait until after the claim is approved?

You can update your payment preference in myEDD at any point, but whether the first payment catches it depends on timing. I set mine up after the card arrived and it had no issues going forward.

The Money Network card does work fine, I've used it at regular ATMs. But if you have a bank account just set up direct deposit and save yourself the step.

I asked about work search requirements when I filed and the rep I spoke to just said to be genuinely looking each week. No magic number of applications or specific activities was given to me.

So there's no specific number of jobs I have to apply to each week? I'd heard it was like three per week but wasn't sure.

EDD's site doesn't give a set number. The certification just asks if you looked for work, and you have to be honest. What counts as looking is kept pretty broad.

What if I do some freelance work while I'm looking for a full-time job? Do I have to report that even if it's just small amounts?

Yes, report it. EDD has a formula where the first $25 or 25% of what you earned that week (whichever is bigger) doesn't count against you, and the rest is deducted from your weekly amount. So earning a little doesn't disqualify you, it just adjusts the payment. But you have to report it.

Seriously report everything. The penalty for not reporting income is way worse than just getting a slightly smaller check. EDD can and does audit this.

Is there a notification when it's time to certify or do I just have to keep checking UI Online?

EDD says to check UI Online regularly. Some people report getting mail reminders but I wouldn't count on that. I just checked every few days after the two-week mark.

EDD Tele-Cert at 1-866-333-4606 also works 24 hours a day for checking payment info and certifying by phone. Good backup if you can't get into UI Online.

I did get a small payout when I was let go — they called it in-lieu-of-notice pay, like two extra weeks of wages. Same situation as severance?

In-lieu-of-notice pay is on EDD's list of things to report. How it affects your specific claim is EDD's call, not something anyone here can answer for certain. Report it accurately and let EDD determine it.

The certification has a Report Wages section in UI Online where you can enter wages for a week before certifying. If you're unsure whether something counts, contacting EDD directly is the safest move.

Has anyone had luck with the live chat? I keep hearing the phone is impossible to get through on.

Live chat has shorter waits in my experience, but it cuts off at 2 p.m. and sometimes shows unavailable even during the window. For anything complicated about your actual claim file, the phone is more useful because the agent can actually look at your record.

For getting on the phone with an actual EDD agent when I couldn't figure out my pending weeks situation, I went through Claimyr (claimyr.com) — ended up speaking to someone who could see exactly what step my claim was stuck at. Live chat had told me to wait, but the phone agent gave me a specific answer about which weeks were pending and why.

Mine already shows Pending for the first two weeks since I applied. So that's expected right now?

Totally expected this early. You haven't even hit your first certification window yet. Pending just means it's in the queue.

There's also a difference between Pending because it's still processing versus Pending because there's an eligibility question EDD needs to decide. The second type usually comes with a notice in the mail or a scheduled phone interview.

If my employer did somehow contest it, what would happen to my payments while EDD is figuring it out?

EDD would typically schedule a phone interview, the notice for it is a DE 4800. Until that interview happens and EDD decides, the affected weeks stay Pending. That's why getting the interview done quickly matters.

If you ever do get a DE 4800 with an interview date and time, that's when the interviewer will phone you. Keep your phone on you at that exact time. If you miss it, phone EDD that same day — otherwise EDD makes a decision based only on what it already has.

I only had two employers — my main job and that part-time one — so I think mine will be simpler. But good to know staffing situations aren't a dealbreaker.

Yeah two employers is easy. Just have dates and approximate earnings for both. EDD cross-references wages from your employer records anyway but it's faster when your application is complete from the start.

AJCC locations offer job fairs, resume workshops, and referrals — they're definitely tied into the job search ecosystem. EDD's site doesn't give a specific list of what counts as a work search activity, though. The certification question is about whether you looked for work, and attending a job search workshop seems like a reasonable yes.

The important thing is that you were able and available for work that week. A workshop that doesn't take you off the job market wouldn't seem to be a problem but EDD makes the final call on individual situations.

That's roughly what I figured. I kept looking for jobs that same week too, so I wasn't worried. Just wondered about it.

Useful to know. I'll probably set up direct deposit right when I apply and hope it catches the first payment, but at least I know the worst case is just the first one on the card.

Setting it up early is the right call. I just didn't know about the card at all when I applied so it was a bit of a scramble when the card arrived before I realized it.

How long did it take before you saw anything at all in your account?

About 12 days before I saw the pending status show up for the weeks I'd filed for. Then another week after that before the first payment hit. So roughly three weeks total from application to first money.

My timeline was similar. The DE 429Z with my weekly benefit amount came in the mail around day 10, which was actually the first real confirmation I had that anything was happening.

Oh I was actually wondering about going in person. So there's no benefit to doing that over applying online?

No benefit I could find. The staff at the location I visited were helpful with job search questions but kept pointing everyone toward online filing. Save yourself the trip.

The phone option at 1-800-300-5616 exists too if you really can't do it online. EDD also accepts the DE 1101I application by fax or mail. But online is the fastest by a lot.

Really appreciate all the info in this thread. I'm going to apply tonight. Quick question — when it asks for the reason I left my last job, do I just say 'layoff' or do I need to explain the whole position elimination situation?

Be straightforward — something like 'position was eliminated' or 'laid off due to position elimination' is clear and accurate. The application has a text box where you can add a brief explanation. Don't overthink it, just describe what actually happened.

Layoffs where the position was cut are about as simple as it gets for EDD eligibility purposes. You didn't quit, there's no misconduct question, so you're just establishing that you're out of work through no fault of your own. That's what EDD is there for.

Claimyr (claimyr.com) ended up being how I got through to EDD when I had a question about my CalJOBS registration status — specifically whether EDD had received confirmation that I'd posted my resume on CalJOBS within the 21-day window. The agent looked at my record and confirmed it was noted, and that my next certification would go through fine. Good to have when you need a real answer about your specific file.