How California Disability (SDI) Works: Eligibility, Pay, and Filing

California State Disability Insurance, known as SDI, replaces 70% to 90% of your wages when a non-work illness, injury, or pregnancy keeps you off the job for at least eight days. In 2026, the weekly benefit tops out at $1,765, and you can collect for up to 52 weeks.¹ The program is funded entirely by the “CASDI” line on your paycheck (1.3% of every dollar you earn in 2026, with no wage cap) and is run by the Employment Development Department (EDD).²

Who Qualifies

Eligibility has two sides, medical and financial, and you need both.

Medically, your condition must prevent you from doing your regular work for at least eight consecutive days. It doesn’t need to be catastrophic. Surgery recovery, a difficult pregnancy, a broken bone, or a mental health condition can all qualify, so long as the condition isn’t work-related. Job-related injuries go through Workers’ Compensation, not SDI.³

Financially, you need at least $300 in wages that had SDI withheld during your base period, and you must have been employed or actively looking for work when the disability began.³

What the Base Period Is

The base period is the 12-month window the EDD uses to check your earnings and calculate your benefit. It does not include your most recent months. Under the regular base period, the EDD skips the calendar quarter you file in and the quarter before it, then looks at the four quarters before those. If your recent earnings don’t qualify you that way, the EDD may use an alternative base period that pulls in more recent quarters, or in some cases a special base period that reaches further back. A gap in employment doesn’t automatically knock you out.

How Much You’ll Get and For How Long

Your weekly benefit is based on the highest-earning quarter in your base period. The EDD converts that quarter into an approximate weekly wage and replaces 70% to 90% of it. Lower earners land closer to 90%; higher earners closer to 70%.¹

For 2026:

Minimum weekly benefit is $50, which requires at least $300 in highest-quarter earnings.
Maximum weekly benefit is $1,765, which requires roughly $20,931 or more in highest-quarter earnings.

Payments arrive every two weeks by direct deposit, debit card, or check.⁴ The maximum length of a claim is 52 weeks, but your total payout can’t exceed what you earned during your whole base period. Most claims end sooner because the person recovers and goes back to work.⁵

The Seven-Day Waiting Period

Every new claim has a seven-day, non-payable waiting period. Benefits start on day eight of your disability. You won’t be paid for those first seven days, so plan for the gap if you don’t have sick leave or savings to cover it.³

How to File a Claim

You file with the EDD, and the timing matters. You can file no earlier than nine days after your disability starts and no later than 49 days after it starts. Miss the 49-day window and you can lose benefits entirely.⁴

SDI Online is faster than paper and lets you track the claim afterward. The steps:

Create a myEDD account and enroll in SDI Online.
Fill in your claim with your Social Security number, California driver’s license or ID number, and your employer’s information.
Have your medical provider submit their certification separately; it links to your claim.
Choose direct deposit, debit card, or paper check for payment.

Paper filing is also available using Form DE 2501 from the EDD website, your employer, or your healthcare provider. Either way, most claims are processed and paid within about two weeks of the EDD receiving a complete file.⁶

The Medical Certification

Every SDI claim needs a certification from a licensed health professional. The list of providers who can certify includes physicians, osteopathic physicians, chiropractors, podiatrists, optometrists, dentists, psychologists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. For pregnancy claims, a licensed midwife or nurse-midwife can certify too.⁷

Your provider fills in your diagnosis, the date your disability began, an estimated return-to-work date, and supporting medical detail. They can submit through SDI Online or on paper. The certification has to reach the EDD within 49 days of the date your disability starts.⁸ Some providers charge a fee for completing the paperwork, and California doesn’t cap what they can charge, so ask before your appointment.

Keeping Benefits Coming

Filing is just the start. The EDD needs ongoing confirmation that you’re still disabled and haven’t returned to work.

If your claim is on automatic payment, the EDD sends a Disability Claim Continuing Eligibility Certification (DE 2593) after about 10 weeks. Return it or payments stop. If your claim isn’t on automatic payment, you’ll get a Claim for Continued Disability Benefits (DE 2500A) every two weeks. Sign it, confirm your disability is ongoing, and return it through SDI Online or by mail within 20 days of the ending date on the form. Late or missing forms end your benefits.⁹

If your recovery takes longer than your doctor first estimated, you’ll need an extension. When the EDD notifies you of your final payment, have your provider complete a Physician/Practitioner’s Supplementary Certificate (DE 2525XX) and submit it. If your doctor won’t sign the extension, the EDD can’t force them to. You can get a second medical opinion, and if that provider agrees you’re still disabled, they can certify the extension instead.⁹

Are SDI Benefits Taxable?

In most cases, no. SDI disability benefits are not taxable on your state or federal return, and you won’t receive a tax form.¹⁰

The one exception is if you were collecting unemployment and then became disabled. In that situation, your SDI payments substitute for unemployment compensation and are taxable on your federal return, though still exempt from California state income tax. The EDD sends a Form 1099-G if any portion of your benefits falls into that category.¹⁰

SDI Does Not Protect Your Job

This is where people get caught out. SDI replaces wages. It does not stop your employer from eliminating your position or replacing you while you’re out.¹¹

Job protection comes from separate laws:

The California Family Rights Act (CFRA) applies if your employer has five or more employees, you’ve worked there at least a year, and you’ve logged at least 1,250 hours in the past 12 months. It provides up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave.¹²
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) offers similar protection but only if your employer has 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius. The same one-year and 1,250-hour thresholds apply.¹²

Employers can require you to run CFRA or FMLA leave at the same time as your SDI claim, which means the job-protection clock starts the day your disability does. If your leave runs past the protected period, your employer’s obligation to hold your position may end. Talk to HR at the start of your claim to make sure your leave rights are documented in writing.

If Your Claim Is Denied

If the EDD denies your claim, you’ll get a Notice of Determination explaining why. You have 30 calendar days from the mailing date on that notice to file a written appeal.¹³

The appeal doesn’t have to be formal. Use the EDD’s DE 1000M or write a letter with your name, address, Social Security number, the date of the notice, and why you disagree. Send it to the EDD office address on your denial notice. The EDD forwards it to the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, which schedules a hearing before an administrative law judge and notifies you at least 10 days ahead.¹³

The 30-day deadline is strict. A late filing needs an explanation, and there’s no guarantee it will be accepted. Don’t sit on a denial notice.

If You’re Self-Employed or Under a Voluntary Plan

Standard SDI doesn’t automatically cover self-employed workers, independent contractors, or small business owners, because no one is withholding CASDI from their pay. You can opt in through Disability Insurance Elective Coverage (DIEC). For 2026, the premium is 8.84% of your net profit from your 2024 Schedule SE or Schedule C, paid quarterly. Once enrolled, you’re eligible for the same $50 to $1,765 weekly benefit range.¹⁴

Some employers use a Voluntary Plan (VP) instead of state SDI. A VP has to provide every benefit the state plan offers plus at least one improvement, such as a higher weekly benefit or a shorter waiting period, and it can’t cost you more than the standard SDI deduction. If you’re covered under a VP, you file through your employer’s plan administrator, not the EDD, and you keep the same right to appeal a denial before an administrative law judge.¹⁵ Check your paystub or ask HR if you’re not sure which one covers you.

One last boundary worth knowing: the same CASDI deduction also funds Paid Family Leave, a separate benefit for bonding with a new child or caring for a seriously ill family member. If you need time off for someone else rather than for your own condition, that’s a PFL claim, not an SDI claim.¹⁶

1
Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance Benefit Payment Amounts
2
Employment Development Department. Contribution Rates, Withholding Schedules, and Meals and Lodging Values
3
Employment Development Department. Am I Eligible for Disability Insurance Benefits
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Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance Claim Process
5
Employment Development Department. Contribution Rates and Benefit Amounts
6
Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance Benefits and Payments FAQs
7
Employment Development Department. Certify or Extend Claims – Basics for Physicians and Practitioners
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Employment Development Department. Roles of Physician/Practitioners in State Disability Insurance
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Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance Certifications and Continued Medical FAQs
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Employment Development Department. Form 1099G FAQs
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Employment Development Department. Family and Medical Leave Act and California Family Rights Act FAQs
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California Civil Rights Department. Family Care and Medical Leave Quick Reference Guide
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California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. Appeal Process
14
Employment Development Department. Disability Elective Coverage Benefits and Premium Amounts
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Employment Development Department. Voluntary Plan FAQs
16
Employment Development Department. Paid Family Leave