To file for unemployment in California, register a myEDD account on the Employment Development Department (EDD) website, open UI Online, and submit a new claim; you can also file by phone at 1-800-300-5616 or by mailing the paper DE 1101BT form. Weekly benefits run from $40 to $450 based on your prior earnings and last up to 26 weeks.1Employment Development Department. January 2026 Unemployment Insurance Fund Forecast File the same week you lose your job or have your hours cut, because your claim starts the Sunday of the week you apply.
Gather Your Information First
Have everything in front of you before you open the application. The online system does not reliably let you save a partial form and come back to it later.
- Your Social Security number and California driver’s license or state ID number.
- The legal name, mailing address, and phone number of every employer you worked for in the last 18 months.
- Your pay stubs, so you can report exact gross wages (what you earned before taxes).
- Your last day of work at each job and the reason you left.
Report wages exactly as they appear on your pay stubs or W-2s. If the numbers you enter don’t match what your employer reported, the EDD may hold the claim for review, and mismatches are a common cause of delay and later overpayment notices.2Employment Development Department. Step 1: Get Your Information in Order
Do You Qualify
Two tests decide eligibility. On the work-history side, you must have lost your job through no fault of your own. Layoffs, closures, and reductions in force qualify. If you were fired for misconduct or quit without good cause, the EDD will likely deny the claim.3Employment Development Department. Unemployment Benefits You also have to be physically able to work and available to accept a suitable job right away, and this stays a requirement for as long as you collect.4Employment Development Department. Able and Available AA 5
On the money side, the EDD looks at a “base period” made up of the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file. You need to have earned at least $1,300 in your highest-paid quarter, or at least $900 in your highest quarter with total base-period earnings of at least 1.25 times that high-quarter amount.5Employment Development Department. How Unemployment Insurance Benefits Are Computed If you fall short there, the EDD automatically checks an alternate base period covering the four most recently completed quarters, so you don’t have to request it.6Employment Development Department. Unemployment Insurance Alternate Base Period Program Fact Sheet
One point that trips up laid-off workers: severance pay does not delay or reduce your unemployment benefits. The EDD does not treat it as wages for this purpose, so file the same week you stop working regardless of any severance package.7Employment Development Department. Total and Partial Unemployment TPU 460.35
File Online, by Phone, or by Mail
The EDD strongly prefers online filing, and that is the fastest route for most people.
Online Through UI Online
Go to the EDD website and register for a myEDD account. Confirm your registration through the email the EDD sends, log back in, select UI Online, and click “File New Claim.” The system walks you through each section. If you worked for the federal government or served in the military in the last 18 months, you cannot file online and need to use the phone or mail option.8Employment Development Department. Register and Create an Account
By Phone
Call 1-800-300-5616. The line handles English and Spanish, and interpreter services for other languages are free. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time, Monday through Friday, excluding state holidays. Skip Monday and Tuesday mornings before 10 a.m., which are the busiest.9Employment Development Department. Contact EDD
By Mail or Fax
Complete Form DE 1101BT, which you can download from the EDD website or request by phone. Use black or blue ink so the EDD’s scanners can read it. Mail or fax the completed form to the office listed on the application. If you mail it, certified mail gives you delivery confirmation in case the EDD later questions when you filed.
Verify Your Identity Through ID.me
Online filers get routed to ID.me before the EDD will process the application. You take a selfie, enter your Social Security number, and upload a photo of your government-issued ID.10Employment Development Department. Identity Verification for Unemployment
If the automated check can’t verify you, ID.me will schedule a video call with an agent. Bring either two primary documents (such as a driver’s license and a passport) or one primary document plus two secondary documents (a driver’s license plus a Social Security card and a birth certificate, for example). Once verified, you’re sent back to UI Online to finish the application.10Employment Development Department. Identity Verification for Unemployment
What Arrives in the Mail
About two weeks after the EDD receives your application, several documents show up at your home address.11Employment Development Department. Step 4: Review Benefit Documents Two matter most:
- The Notice of Unemployment Insurance Claim Filed (DE 1101CLMT) summarizes what you submitted. Read it and report any errors right away, because mistakes here delay payment.
- The Notice of Unemployment Insurance Award (DE 429Z) shows your weekly benefit amount and the total you can collect during your benefit year.
Your weekly amount lands between $40 and $450, calculated as roughly half of what you earned per week during your highest-paid quarter.1Employment Development Department. January 2026 Unemployment Insurance Fund Forecast You can receive benefits for up to 26 weeks within a one-year benefit period.
Expect a one-week unpaid waiting period at the start of every new claim. You still have to certify for that week, but no money is paid for it. Payments begin with the second week.
Certify Every Two Weeks and Search for Work
The initial filing only opens your claim. To actually get paid, you certify every two weeks by answering questions about whether you looked for work, earned any money, or turned down any job offers during that period. Certify through UI Online or by calling the automated Tele-Cert line at 1-866-333-4606.12Employment Development Department. Contact Information for Unemployment Insurance
Miss a certification deadline and your payments stop. You then have to reopen the claim to start them again. Set a recurring calendar reminder the day you file.
You also need to register on CalJOBS, post your resume there, and actively look for work throughout the claim.13California Legislative Information. California Code UIC 1253.1 The EDD expects reasonable weekly effort, meaning multiple job-search activities such as sending applications, interviewing, or networking with potential employers. Keep a written log with the date, company name, and what you did for each contact. The EDD can audit your work-search records at any time, and no documentation can mean disqualification.4Employment Development Department. Able and Available AA 5
Choose Tax Withholding When You File
Unemployment benefits are taxable federal income. California does not tax them at the state level. When you file the claim, you can elect to have 10 percent of each payment withheld for federal taxes; if you skip that, set the money aside yourself. The EDD makes your Form 1099-G available by January 31 of the following year through your UI Online account or by mail. To opt into paperless delivery, sign up by December 27 of the benefit year.14Employment Development Department. Tax Information (Form 1099G)
If Your Claim Is Denied
A denial or disqualification arrives as a Notice of Determination (DE 1080CZ). You have 30 days from the mailing date on that notice to file a written appeal, and the clock runs from when the EDD mailed it, not when it landed in your box.15Employment Development Department. Unemployment Insurance Appeals
Your appeal goes to the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, where an Administrative Law Judge sets a hearing. A written hearing notice arrives at least 10 days in advance. The judge places you under oath, reviews the case file, and asks about why you left the job and the circumstances of the claim. If your former employer takes part, both sides can question each other. The written decision is mailed after the hearing.16California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. Filing an Appeal Late appeals are possible if you can show good cause for missing the 30 days.