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What You Need to Know about SDI Online

SDI Online is the fast, convenient, and secure way for claimants, physicians/practitioners, employers, and voluntary plan administrators to file Disability Insurance (DI) and Paid Family Leave (PFL) claims and forms online. To learn more, find answers to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) we receive about SDI Online.

myEDD is a secure portal that connects you to disability, paid family leave, unemployment,  and benefit overpayment services.

You must create a myEDD account and then complete a secondary registration process to access the UI Online, SDI Online, and Benefit Overpayment Services systems.

If you're an individual with a disability, you may request reasonable accommodations.

SDI Online is the fast, convenient, and secure way for claimants, physicians/practitioners, employers, and voluntary plan administrators to file Disability Insurance (DI) and Paid Family Leave (PFL) claims and forms online.

SDI Online offers:

  • Improved access to services.
  • Reduced claim processing time.
  • Access to DI claim status and payment history online.
  • Secure transmission of personal information.
  • Improved detection and management of fraud and abuse.
  • Immediate confirmation of claim filed.

SDI Online follows the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations and guidelines.

SDI Online offers online options that are simple to use and available when you need them.

All SDI Online users must create an account with myEDD to connect to disability and paid family leave services. After you have created and logged in to myEDD, select SDI Online to continue your SDI Online registration process. You will always use your myEDD account to access SDI Online.

Additional Resources

Your EDD customer account number (EDDCAN or ECN) is a unique identification number that is assigned when you complete your SDI Online registration. It will initially appear in a message on the Successful Account Creation Notification section of the Account Setup Confirmation page. This number will act as an identification number for you.

Once you submit your portion of the Disability Insurance or Paid Family Leave claim, you will receive a receipt number to provide to the physician/practitioner that will match the medical certification to your claim in SDI Online. If you do not have your receipt number, the physician/practitioner can use the following information to match to your claim:

  • Last four digits of your Social Security number.
  • Your last name.
  • Your date of birth.

Yes. SDI Online uses Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant communications. Your data is encrypted in transit and while stored to ensure confidentiality.

If you are having trouble accessing SDI Online, contact us.

Yes. We offer SDI Online self-service tools that are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

SDI Online Tutorials and Videos are available to guide you through registration, filing a claim, submitting completed forms, and recovering your username and password.

Tip sheets are also available to help you create an SDI Online account and file a claim:

You can also contact us by phone:

Disability Insurance

Call 1-800-480-3287 and select your language option, and then option 2 for the SDI Online Services Help Desk.

  • California State Government employees only: 1-866-352-7675.
  • TTY users: Dial the California Relay Service at 711.

Paid Family Leave

Call 1-877-238-4373 and select your language option, and then option 2 for the SDI Online Services Help Desk.

  • California State Government Employees only: 1-877-945-4747.
  • TTY users: Dial the California Relay Service at 711.

You can also obtain information by using Ask EDD.

The receipt number means you have successfully submitted your Disability Insurance (DI) or Paid Family Leave (PFL) claim form online. Provide your receipt number to your physician/practitioner for DI claims or the care recipient’s treating physician/practitioner for PFL care claims for them to submit the medical certification. You should make a note of your receipt number for future reference.

PFL bonding claims and military assist claims do not require a medical certification, so you do not need to provide the receipt number to your physician/practitioner.

Most claims are processed within 14 days of receipt of a completed claim. You can log in to your account to check the status of your DI claim at any time.

Note: For the status of your PFL claim, you must call 1-877-238-4373.

If the physician/practitioner is not using SDI Online, you must provide them with your receipt number. The physician/practitioner can then submit a paper certification form with your receipt number to the EDD. The paper form is designed to match your SDI Online claim.

Most benefits are issued within two weeks after a completed claim is received.

There is a seven-day, non-payable waiting period for Disability Insurance (DI) benefits. Benefits start on the eighth day.

If you are eligible, the EDD processes and issues payments within a few weeks of receiving a claim.

Paid Family Leave does not have a waiting period.

Yes. If your claim is not in an automatic payment cycle, you will need to complete a Claim for Continued Disability Benefits (DE 2500A) form approximately every two weeks in order to receive continued claim payments.

The DE 2500A forms are provided only when necessary on individual claims, and we will send them to you. The DE 2500A form is not available to print online. If you have an account, you can submit your DE 2500A form online by logging in to myEDD, then select SDI Online to access your account. Select the Inbox to go to your Message Center where you can view messages about your claim or links to forms that need to be submitted.

Any messages from us regarding your claim will be sent to your SDI Online account or by mail, whichever method you chose during registration. If email was chosen, some information may still be sent by mail if a form is not available online.

Log in to myEDD, then select SDI Online to access your account. Select the Inbox to go to your Message Center where you can view messages about your claim or links to forms that need to be submitted.

Not all forms are available online. There may be some documents we will need to send to you by mail.

To reset or update your account information:

  1. Log in to myEDD.
  2. Select My Profile.
  3. Select Change next to the item you wish to update and follow the instructions given to update your profile information. 
  4. Follow the directions to make the changes.
  5. Review your change and select Submit.

A message confirming the change will be displayed and a notification will be sent to your email confirming the change. For more information, visit FAQs – myEDD.

The fastest and easiest way to update your address or phone number is through SDI Online.

  1. Log in to myEDD.
  2. Select SDI Online.
  3. Select Profile.
  4. Follow the instructions given to update your profile information. You can update your mailing address, residence address, communication method, language, or phone number.
  5. Select Save to submit the update.

Any updates you make through SDI Online take effect immediately. You can update your contact information using SDI Online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If you received an E311, E313, or E318 error message while registering for SDI Online, check your California Driver’s License (CDL) or Identification (ID) card to make sure you are using your full legal name, correct date of birth, and correct CDL or ID number as it appears on these cards; and complete all required fields marked with a red asterisk.

If you continue to receive an error message, or receive a different error message than the ones listed,  you may request assistance by calling the EDD:

Disability Insurance

  • Call 1-800-480-3287 and select your language option and then option 2 and then option 4 for Online Help.

Paid Family Leave

  • Call 1-877-238-4373 and select your language option and then option 2 and then option 4 for Online Help.

You may also request assistance through Ask EDD:

  • Select the category: Disability Insurance Benefits or Paid Family Leave.
  • Select the sub-category SDI Online.
  • Select the topic I Received an Error Message and select Continue.
  • Complete the information requested.
  • In the Additional Information section, indicate that you received the error message E311, E313, or E318 while registering an SDI Online account, then select Submit.

You can also file your claim by mail. Order paper claim forms to be mailed to you by:

  • Ordering the Claim for Disability Insurance (DI) Benefits (DE 2501) or Claim for Paid Family Leave (PFL) Benefits (DE 2501F) form using our Online Forms and Publications.
  • Calling DI at 1-800-480-3287 and selecting your language option and then option 3, option 2, and option 1 for claim form requests.
  • Calling PFL at 1-877-238-4373 and selecting your language option and then option 3, option 2, and then option 1 for claim form requests.

Yes. The option to file a paper form is available. The paper Claim for Disability Insurance (DI) Benefits (DE 2501) or Claim for Paid Family Leave (PFL) Benefits (DE 2501F) form can be ordered through Online Forms and Publications. Forms can also be requested by calling the DI Automated Phone Service or the PFL Automated Phone Service.

All forms are available at no cost.

Orders of 25 forms or fewer can take one week for delivery and orders of 25 forms or more can take two to four weeks for delivery. You can also obtain a claim form from a physician/practitioner or employer, or by visiting an SDI office.

Note: These claim forms use special ink, which allows data to be scanned, captured, and uploaded into SDI Online for processing. They cannot be copied or reproduced; only the original versions of the current claim forms are accepted. If you submit a copy of the claim form, we will return the form and include a current original version with a letter telling you to complete and return the correct version of the form or to file a claim using SDI Online.

For more information, visit How to File a DI Claim by Mail and How to File a PFL Claim by Mail.

Register for myEDD

Creating an account is an important step in this process. With myEDD, you can apply for Disability Insurance and manage your claim in SDI Online.

Additional Resources

Can’t find what you are looking for? View these DI and PFL resources for more information.