What is an EAN number for unemployment and how do I find mine in California EDD?

Oh wow okay that makes way more sense. So the EAN is my employer's number not mine? I definitely must have misunderstood the phone prompt then. What does my own claim number look like - where do I find that?

yeah the edd phone system is confusing as heck, i thought the same thing when i first called lol

Correct - your UI claim number appears on any correspondence California EDD has mailed you, and you can also find it by logging into UI Online and viewing your claim details. It typically starts with a letter followed by several digits. Keep that number handy whenever you contact EDD.

This is really helpful thank you. So if I'm trying to check my adjudication status I just need my SSN and claim number?

pretty much yeah, thats all i ever use when i call them

Wait this is actually really relevant because I've been trying to get through to EDD on the phone for days and just can't. I'll look into this, thank you!

Never heard of this before. Does it actually work? I've been trying to reach EDD for like two weeks about my adjudication issue.

Yeah it worked for me. I was skeptical too but I was desperate at that point. Got connected to an actual agent who walked me through everything including explaining what information they needed from me.

gonna check this out too bc the edd phone system is literally impossible to get through

This is exactly what I needed, a clear breakdown. Thank you so much. I've bookmarked this.

wait what is the customer account number vs the claim number? are those different things? i've been using them interchangeably and now I'm worried i've been doing something wrong this whole time

They are different but both can be used depending on what EDD is asking for. The Customer Account Number is tied to your EDD profile overall and stays the same across multiple claims. The claim number is specific to each individual unemployment claim you file. For most phone interactions the automated system accepts either one.

oh thank goodness. ok i feel better now lol

Seriously, I felt the same way. The lack of plain English explanations on the EDD website is maddening.

fr the edd website reads like it was written in 1998 and never updated

The EDD does have a glossary of terms on their website but it's buried pretty deep in the site and most people never find it. Searching 'EDD glossary unemployment terms' should pull it up if anyone wants the official definitions.

Ha, good instinct on your part! It is the employer's number.

Yeah it's a pretty common mix-up. The terminology EDD uses assumes you already know what all these acronyms mean which is definitely not the case for first-time filers.

Great question. During adjudication, EDD handles the employer verification on their end using the employer's EAN from their own records. You as the claimant don't need to look up or provide your former employer's EAN. What EDD might ask YOU for is documentation like pay stubs, offer letters, or separation notices - but those are for you to submit, not the EAN itself.

okay that's a relief. I've been stressing about whether i needed to call my old employer to get their number and that would have been super awkward

SAME I was convinced I needed to track down my ex-employer's EAN during my adjudication last year and spent like an hour trying to find it. Turns out EDD never needed it from me at all.

I tried this based on the earlier recommendation in this thread and it actually worked! Got through to someone at EDD within the same day after trying on my own for a week straight.

So glad to hear this actually delivers results. I'm going to try it for my adjudication question that I still haven't gotten answered.

adding this to my list of things to try lol i've basically accepted i'll never reach a human at edd

Yes, actually - the Employer Account Number can sometimes appear on California-specific tax forms or employment records, and some employers include it on their internal documentation. However for federal W-2 purposes what shows up is typically the federal EIN (Employer Identification Number) which is different from California's state EAN. Don't confuse the two - the EAN is specific to California EDD's payroll tax system.

ohhhh okay so theres ANOTHER number, the EIN. got it. this is why i just gave up trying to understand any of this lol

The federal EIN and California EAN serve similar purposes but are issued by different agencies - IRS vs California EDD respectively. For California unemployment claim purposes you'd almost never need to personally reference either one as a claimant.

This is super helpful context from the employer side, thank you. Nice to have confirmation that I really don't need to worry about it for my own claim.

What are DE 9 and DE 9C forms? Just curious now that I know a tiny bit more about the employer side of all this.

DE 9 is the Quarterly Contribution Return and Wage Report - it's how California employers report wages and pay UI taxes to EDD each quarter. DE 9C is the Reconciliation of Wages portion. As a claimant these forms are what create the wage record that EDD uses to calculate your benefit amount, but you never see or interact with them directly.

Agreed! I spent way too long confused about this before posting here.

seriously the amount of basic terminology that edd just assumes you know is wild

20 minutes with an actual EDD agent sounds like a dream right now honestly. I've filed three callback requests and heard nothing.

The callback system is broken I swear. I've requested callbacks that never came and then when I try to call in they say there are no available agents. It's like EDD actively wants you to give up.

Yeah the callback system is incredibly unreliable. That's exactly why I stopped relying on it and looked for alternatives.

Yes, on EDD's internal systems your claim is linked to your employer's EAN through the wage records they've already received from quarterly employer filings. When an agent looks at your claim they can see your employment history as reported by each employer under their respective EANs. This is how EDD verifies your base period wages and calculates your weekly benefit amount.

That's actually really interesting. So theoretically if an employer misreported wages it would show up under the wrong EAN or something?

Potentially yes - wage discrepancies can sometimes be traced back to employer reporting errors. If you believe your base period wages are wrong, you can request your full wage records from EDD and dispute any inaccuracies, which would trigger EDD to go back to the employer for verification.

Fellow confused first-timer solidarity! Hope your claim goes smoothly.

Oh that's actually a useful edge case to know about. I only had one employer so I think I'm fine but good to know for the future.

This is actually my exact situation - I had two jobs in my base period and one isn't showing up. I've been trying to figure out how to dispute it. So I'd need that employer's EAN?

Potentially yes - call EDD and report the discrepancy. They may be able to find it on their end first using just the employer name and your employment dates. If they can't locate it that's when having the EAN would speed things up.

Thank you!! This is exactly the information I needed. Going to try to get through to EDD today.

PREACH. It's like they want you to fail.

To be fair most of these identifiers exist for legitimate administrative reasons, it's just that the claimant-facing communication about them is poor. Better onboarding documentation from EDD would prevent so much confusion.

yeah 'legitimate administrative reasons' doesn't help when you're sitting there trying to figure out if your claim is gonna get denied bc you entered the wrong number somewhere

Still in adjudication which is stressful but at least I now understand the terminology a lot better thanks to this thread. Tried Claimyr based on the recommendations here and finally got a live EDD agent on the phone yesterday. They confirmed my claim is under review and estimated 2-3 more weeks. Not ideal but at least I know it's moving.

Oh good! At least you have some actual information now. 2-3 weeks is rough but knowing is so much better than just staring at a pending status.

Glad it worked out! The not knowing is the worst part of adjudication.

Good tip. California EDD's employer search tools aren't always public-facing but some employer information does end up in public filings especially for registered corporations.

This is really handy to know, thank you for adding it!