For maternity leave in California, EDD pays between 70% and 90% of your usual weekly wages, up to a maximum of $1,765 per week for claims that start in 2026.1Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave Weekly Benefit Amounts The money comes from two programs stacked back to back: Disability Insurance (DI) covers pregnancy and physical recovery, and Paid Family Leave (PFL) covers bonding time afterward. Together they pay most new mothers for roughly 18 to 20 weeks.
How Your Weekly Check Is Calculated
EDD looks at a 12-month “base period” that ends about 5 to 18 months before your claim starts, then zeroes in on the quarter within that period where you earned the most.2Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance Benefit Payment Amounts Your highest-quarter earnings drive the whole calculation. Wages from every employer in that window count, as long as SDI taxes were withheld.
For claims filed on or after January 1, 2025, Senate Bill 951 raised the replacement rates for both DI and PFL:3Employment Development Department. California Boosts Paid Family Leave and Disability Benefits to Record Levels for New Claims Filed in 2025
- If you earn below roughly $62,000 per year, you receive 90% of your weekly wages.
- If you earn above roughly $80,000, you receive 70%, up to the state maximum.
- Between those two income points, a flat weekly amount applies.
The exact income thresholds shift a little each January, and EDD publishes updated wage-range tables showing the corresponding weekly amounts for new claims that year. These rates replaced the older 60-to-70% brackets that applied before 2025.
The Maximum and the Minimum
No matter how much you earn, weekly payments are capped. For claims starting on or after January 1, 2026, the ceiling is $1,765 per week, and it applies to both DI and PFL.1Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave Weekly Benefit Amounts If your highest-quarter wages topped roughly $32,760, you’ll hit this cap instead of receiving a full 70% of what you actually made. The cap has been climbing: $1,620 in 2024, $1,765 in 2026.4Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave Maximum Weekly Benefit Amount
On the low end, you need at least $300 in base-period wages with SDI withheld to qualify for any benefit at all.5Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance – Eligibility FAQs
How Many Weeks You Get Paid
The 18-to-20-week total is split across the two programs.
Disability Insurance for Pregnancy and Recovery
DI covers the medical side. A standard, uncomplicated pregnancy pays up to four weeks before your expected delivery date, plus six weeks after a vaginal delivery or eight weeks after a Cesarean.6Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance – Pregnancy FAQs If your doctor certifies that complications require more time, DI can run longer.
One catch: DI has a seven-day unpaid waiting period at the start. Your first payable day is the eighth calendar day of your claim, so the first check will be smaller than a full week’s payment.7Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance Claim Process
Paid Family Leave for Bonding
Once your doctor clears you from disability, PFL takes over and pays up to eight more weeks so you can bond with your baby.8Employment Development Department. Paid Family Leave You don’t have to use those eight weeks in one stretch, but all bonding time must be used within 12 months of the birth.9Employment Development Department. Paid Family Leave Bonding Benefits There’s no second waiting period when you transition straight from a DI pregnancy claim into PFL.
Who Qualifies
You need at least $300 in base-period wages that had SDI taxes withheld.5Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance – Eligibility FAQs There’s no minimum tenure at your current job. Wages from a previous employer within the base period can qualify you, and if you worked multiple jobs, all of their wages count toward your benefit amount as long as each one withheld SDI. When you file, list every employer from the base period along with your last day at each.
If You’re Self-Employed
Independent contractors, sole proprietors, and some partners aren’t automatically covered. You can opt in through Disability Insurance Elective Coverage (DIEC) if your business nets at least $4,600 per year.10Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance Elective Coverage After enrolling, you have to wait at least six months before filing any DI or PFL claim, and you must stay in the program for at least two full calendar years.
Filing the Claim
Filing happens in two stages: DI first, then PFL.
The DI Claim
File online through SDI Online in your myEDD account, or mail paper form DE 2501. Wait at least nine days after your disability starts before filing, and submit within 49 days of the disability start date. Your doctor also has 49 days to send in the medical certification.11Employment Development Department. How to File a Disability Insurance Claim in SDI Online
Be precise about your last day of work and the first day pregnancy kept you from working. If those dates don’t match your medical records, processing gets delayed. Once your claim is approved, EDD sends a Notice of Computation showing your weekly benefit amount.12Employment Development Department. Step 4 – Review Benefit Documents Check it right away and contact EDD if something looks wrong.
Rolling Into PFL
When your DI pregnancy claim ends, EDD automatically sends you a Claim for Paid Family Leave Benefits — New Mother form (DE 2501FP), either through SDI Online or by mail depending on how you filed.13Employment Development Department. Paid Family Leave Claim Process Return it within 41 days of the date you want bonding leave to begin, or you may see a gap in payments.14Employment Development Department. Claim for Paid Family Leave Benefits – New Mother
How You Get Paid and What’s Taxed
EDD offers three payment methods: direct deposit, an EDD debit card, or a mailed check.15Employment Development Department. Your Benefit Payment Options Direct deposit is the fastest, usually within three days. You can change your method anytime through SDI Online.
PFL benefits are subject to federal income tax, and you’ll get a 1099-G the following January. They aren’t taxable for California state income tax.16Employment Development Department. Paid Family Leave Benefits and Payments FAQs DI pregnancy benefits are generally not federally taxable, but if your employer contributed to the plan, part of the payment may be. No taxes are automatically withheld from either program, so set some aside or request voluntary federal withholding if you’d rather not owe in April.
EDD Pays You, But It Doesn’t Protect Your Job
DI and PFL replace income. They don’t hold your job open. Job protection is a separate question governed by the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), which covers employers with five or more employees, and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which covers larger employers.17California Civil Rights Department. Leave for Pregnancy Disability and Child Bonding18U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #28 – The Family and Medical Leave Act Qualifying for EDD benefits doesn’t automatically mean you qualify for either job-protection law, so check your eligibility under CFRA and FMLA separately before you plan how much time to take.