File Form DE 2504RE, the Request to Re-establish a Bonding Claim for Paid Family Leave, when you have unused weeks left on an existing California PFL bonding claim and need to resume benefits after a break in certification. The form is one page, requires no medical certification, and can be submitted through SDI Online or by mail to the Employment Development Department.
When This Is the Right Form
The EDD offers three ways to continue PFL bonding benefits, and only one of them uses this form. DE 2504RE fits a specific fact pattern: you have not used your full eight weeks, your certification from the current bonding period has lapsed or you have not returned to work, and you want to reopen the same claim for the same child.
If you already returned to work full-time and later want to take more bonding time, you file a new claim on Form DE 2501F instead. If you have not returned to work and there has been no break in your certification, you don’t need paperwork at all — call the EDD at 1-877-238-4373 to extend the current claim.
Before You Start
Confirm you still qualify. PFL provides up to eight weeks of bonding benefits within a twelve-month period, and every week you claim must fall within one year of the child’s birth, adoption, or foster placement. You also need to have earned at least $300 in wages subject to State Disability Insurance withholding during your base period (look for “CASDI” on your pay stubs) and to have been employed or looking for work when your leave began.
Pull your original claim start date before you begin. It links this request to your existing file, and the form will not process cleanly without it. You can find it on your earlier claim confirmation or inside your SDI Online account.
How To Complete Form DE 2504RE
The form is a single page with no provider section. You fill in everything yourself.
At the top, enter your full name, current mailing address, Social Security number, and the original claim start date from your first PFL bonding claim. Then work through the numbered questions:
- Question 1 asks you to certify you’re bonding with the same child named on the original claim.
- Question 2 asks the child’s date of birth, adoption, or foster placement.
- Question 3 asks the start and end dates of the bonding period you’re now requesting. These dates must fall within one year of the child’s birth or placement, and within the weeks you have left.
- Question 4 asks your last day of work and the date you expect to return or already returned.
- Question 5 asks whether you’ll work part-time during the period you’re claiming.
- Question 6 asks whether you’ll receive any wages from your employer during the benefit period, including vacation, sick leave, or other paid time off, and asks you to check the type.
- Question 7 asks whether you’ve claimed or plan to claim workers’ compensation for any overlapping period.
- Question 8 asks whether you have more than one employer.
- Question 9 asks whether you’ll be in law enforcement custody during any part of the benefit period due to a conviction.
Below the questions, fill in your most recent employer’s name, address, and phone number, then sign and date. The signature is a declaration under penalty of perjury and authorizes the EDD to verify your employment.
Submitting the Form
Online is faster. Log into your myEDD account, open SDI Online, and submit the DE 2504RE through the portal. You’ll get an immediate confirmation.
To file by mail, send the signed form to:
State of California
Employment Development Department
P.O. Box 989315
West Sacramento, CA 95798-9315
Paper takes longer because the form has to be received, opened, and scanned before a claims analyst sees it.
The 41-Day Deadline
The form itself instructs you to return it to the PFL Office no later than 41 days from the date you’re asking to re-establish benefits, or you risk losing benefits for the missed period. A late filing doesn’t automatically disqualify you, but it can produce a gap in payments or a partial denial covering the days you missed.
There is also a hard outer limit that the 41-day rule sits inside: all PFL bonding benefits for a given child must be used within twelve months of that child’s birth, adoption, or foster placement. Filing a DE 2504RE after the one-year window has closed will not produce additional payments, regardless of how many unused weeks are left on your claim.
Processing and Payment
The EDD typically takes up to 14 days to process a completed PFL claim once all required information is in. Missing signatures or a mismatched original claim start date will stretch that out. You can watch your claim’s progress in SDI Online, which displays real-time status messages.
Approved weekly benefits run roughly 70 to 90 percent of the wages you earned during the highest-paid quarter of your base period, with lower earners receiving a higher replacement rate. The current maximum weekly benefit is $1,765, and the minimum is $50 for claimants whose highest quarterly earnings were below $722.50. Payment reaches you by direct deposit, debit card, or mailed check, and you can change the method in the Profile section of SDI Online. Direct deposit is the fastest, typically arriving about three business days after approval.
If Your Request Is Denied
A denial comes as a Notice of Determination that explains the reason. You have 30 days from the date on that notice to appeal using Form DE 1000M. Complete it in black ink, explain why you disagree, sign it, and send it to the EDD office address printed on your notice.
You can still file after 30 days, but you’ll need to include a written explanation for the delay. An Administrative Law Judge decides whether that reason is good cause before reaching the merits; if not, the appeal is dismissed without a hearing.
Keep certifying for every week you’re claiming while the appeal is pending. Even a successful appeal only pays for periods you actually certified, so a gap in certifications during the appeal forfeits those weeks.