In order to submit your disability (EDD State Disability Insurance or SDI) claim, you will need to make sure that your qualified medical provider is willing to certify your dates of disability with the state and that they are in agreement with your start date if you’re taking pre-birth disability.

Pre-birth disability will often be approved in California for the symptom of “pregnancy” without further complications, but you'll want to make sure that your medical provider is aware of the start date so that they can certify your claim correctly.

You can submit your disability on the first day of your leave. The EDD will not allow you to complete a claim with a future start date. However, the EDD requests that you submit your claim 9 days after your disability begins.

The EDD claim deadline is 49 days after your first day of leave. A claim is not considered fully submitted until the medical certification is submitted, which means that if the medical certification is late, the claim may be denied or partially denied. Whenever a claim is denied, you will receive a formal notice in the mail, as well as an appeal form.

See here for more information on denied claims and the appeals process.

If you are knowingly submitting your claim late, you can mail a letter with your name, SSN, and claim receipt number to the EDD explaining the late submission.

This should be mailed to:

State of California

Employment Development Department

PO Box 989777

West Sacramento, CA 95798-9777

After you submit your claim, the EDD will provide a receipt number. If your medical provider is based in California and has an online account with the EDD, they can complete the medical certification online using your receipt number. Send them your receipt number with confirmation of your claim start date, and follow up regularly to make sure it’s submitted in a timely manner.

*If your medical provider is in another state/country or refuses to certify online, you will need to order a paper claim for them to complete. To have a new paper claim form mailed to you, it can be ordered directly from the EDD at the link and following these steps:

When you receive the paper claim, fill out the first page with your SSN, name, medical provider’s name, signature, and date. In addition, put the claim receipt number in Part B, Box B3. The rest of part B needs to be completed by your medical provider and then mailed to:

State of California

Employment Development Department

PO Box 989777

West Sacramento, CA 95798-9777

The EDD requires that you submit the original paper copy of any paper claim forms submitted, rather than a scan or copy.

Please note that the EDD will take approximately 2 weeks to process an online medical certification and 3-8 weeks to process a paper medical certification. During this processing period, it is unlikely that the EDD will proactively provide any insight or status updates for your claim.As such, we always recommend trying to create an online account and filing online if you are able to.

If your medical provider is certifying the claim online, you can ask them to certify it at the start of your pre-birth disability to start receiving payments sooner. However, they may need your receipt number again (or the Claim ID) after the birth, to certify the claim when the dates and delivery method are finalized.

If you are planning a short pre-birth disability, you can simplify the work for yourself and medical provider by only having your provider certify the claim once, after your baby has been born.

If your medical provider will only certify your claim by paper, we recommend waiting until your baby is born so that all of the dates are finalized and you only have to complete the process once. In addition, due to the extended processing of paper submissions, this will mean you are less likely to experience additional delays.

Ideally, you can submit your disability claim through the EDD portal. Start by clicking “Benefits Login” at the top right:

There may be reasons that you’re not able to login to the portal and will then need to file by paper.

1. After you login to the EDD portal, you’ll go to “SDI Online”

2. Start a “New Claim”

3. And apply for “Disability Insurance”

4. After submitting your claim, you will need to copy and save your Receipt Number (begins with “R” followed by a series of numbers) to send to your medical provider so that they can complete their portion of your claim, the “Physician Statement.”
​
If you have Kaiser insurance, they have a specific process to upload the claim receipt number on your Kaiser portal. You can use this link for support around the Kaiser process.
​
You will also submit your receipt number to Cocoon to confirm your claim has been submitted.

Keep an eye out for any notices in the mail or any calls from the EDD. If you miss their call, it can be hard to reach them when trying to return their call. If you filed your claim online, the EDD should send the determination for approval or denial 2-3 weeks after it’s submitted. This will be sent in the mail, along with payment, if the claim is approved.

It’s important to note that the EDD will often request that a Claim for Continued Benefits is completed to confirm you have not returned to work before they’ll issue further payments. This is not to extend your disability- it is to confirm you still need the benefits that you’ve already applied for. The Claim for Continued Benefits will be sent to you in your EDD inbox and cannot be completed until the Due Date.

For other notices you might receive, see our What happens after my CA EDD claim is filed? article!

In order to submit your disability (EDD State Disability Insurance or SDI) claim, you will need to have your leave dates confirmed and make sure that a qualified medical provider is in agreement with your leave dates and willing to certify these dates with the state.

You can submit your disability claim as early as your first day of leave. The EDD will not allow you to complete a claim with a future start date. However, the EDD requests that you submit your claim 9 days after your disability begins.

The EDD claim deadline is 49 days after your claim begins. A claim is not considered fully submitted until the medical certification is submitted, which means that if the medical certification is late, the claim may be denied or partially denied. Whenever a claim is denied, you will receive a formal notice in the mail, as well as an appeal form.

See here for more information on denied claims and the appeals process.

If you are knowingly submitting your claim late, you can mail a letter with your name, SSN, and claim receipt number to the EDD explaining the late submission.

This should be mailed to:

State of California

Employment Development Department

PO Box 989777

West Sacramento, CA 95798-9777

After you submit your claim, you will receive a receipt number. If your medical provider is based in California, they can complete the medical certification online with your receipt number. Send them your receipt number with confirmation of your claim start date, and follow up regularly to make sure it’s submitted in a timely manner.

*If your medical provider is in another state/country or refuses to certify online, you will need to order a paper claim for them to complete. To have a new paper claim form mailed to you, it can be ordered directly from the EDD at the link and following these steps:

When you receive the paper claim, fill out the first page with your SSN, name, medical provider’s name, signature, and date. In addition, put the claim receipt number in Part B, Box B3. The rest of part B needs to be completed by your medical provider and then mailed to:

State of California

Employment Development Department

PO Box 989777

West Sacramento, CA 95798-9777

Please note that the EDD will take approximately 2-3 weeks to process an online medical certification and 3-8 weeks to process a paper medical certification. In this processing period, the EDD will not provide any updates about your claim.

Ideally, you can submit your disability claim through the EDD portal. Start by clicking “Benefits Login” at the top right:

There may be reasons that you’re not able to login to the portal and will then need to file by paper.

1. After you login to the EDD portal, you’ll go to “SDI Online”

2. Start a “New Claim”

3. And apply for “Disability Insurance”

4. After submitting your claim, you will need to copy and save your Receipt Number (begins with “R” followed by a series of numbers) to send to your medical provider so that they can complete their portion of your claim, the “Physician Statement.”
​
If you have Kaiser insurance, they have a specific process to upload the claim receipt number on your Kaiser portal. You can use this link for support around the Kaiser process.
​
You will also submit your receipt number to Cocoon to confirm your claim has been submitted.

Keep an eye out for any notices in the mail or any calls from the EDD. If you miss their call, it can be hard to reach them when trying to return their call. If you filed your claim online, the EDD should send the determination for approval or denial 2-3 weeks after it’s submitted. This will be sent in the mail, along with payment, if the claim is approved.

It’s important to note that the EDD will often request that a Claim for Continued Benefits is completed to confirm you have not returned to work before they’ll issue further payments. This is not to extend your disability- it is to confirm you still need the benefits that you’ve already applied for. The Claim for Continued Benefits will be sent to you in your EDD inbox and cannot be completed until the Due Date.

For other notices you might receive, see our What happens after my CA EDD claim is filed? article!

This might seem intimidating, but Cocoon will guide you through this claim submission directly in your Cocoon dashboard!