What Is WA PFML? Eligibility, Leave Types, and Weekly Benefit

Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave (WA PFML) is a state insurance program that replaces part of your paycheck when you need time off for your own serious health condition, to bond with a new child, or to care for a family member. Benefits have been available since January 2020.¹ In 2026, approved workers can receive up to $1,647 per week.²

Who Qualifies

You need at least 820 hours of work in Washington during your qualifying period, which is generally the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file your claim.³ Those hours do not have to come from one employer. If you held two or three jobs during that window, add all your Washington hours together.

Self-Employed Workers

Self-employment and work for a federally recognized tribe are not automatically covered. You can opt in, but doing so locks you in for an initial three-year period during which you cannot withdraw. After three years, coverage renews annually unless you cancel.⁴ While covered, you report your self-employment income and pay premiums quarterly.⁵

Remote and Out-of-State Workers

WA PFML uses the same localization rules as federal unemployment insurance. If you live out of state but perform all your work in Washington, you are covered. If you live in Washington but work entirely in another state, you are not. When your work spans multiple states and cannot be localized to one, the location of your base of operations is the tiebreaker.⁶

What You Can Take Leave For

The program covers two categories of leave. Medical leave applies when your own serious health condition prevents you from doing your job, such as a major surgery, a chronic illness, or a pregnancy complication. Your healthcare provider determines how much time is medically necessary.

Family leave covers bonding with a new child by birth, adoption, or foster placement; caring for a family member with a serious health condition; and certain needs that arise when a family member is called to active military duty.

The definition of family member is broad. It includes a spouse or state-registered domestic partner, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, and grandchild. It also extends to anyone who regularly lives in your home and depends on you for care.³

How Much Leave You Can Take

Your claim year is a rolling 52-week period that starts on your first day of approved leave. Within that year:

Up to 12 weeks for a single qualifying event, medical or family.
Up to 16 weeks if you have more than one qualifying event in the same claim year, for example recovering from giving birth and then bonding with the baby, or caring for a sick family member and later needing medical leave yourself.
Up to 18 weeks if you have a pregnancy or childbirth complication that leaves you incapacitated, such as a C-section or prescribed bed rest.

For medical leave and caregiving leave, the actual amount is whatever your healthcare provider determines is medically necessary, up to those caps.⁷

How Your Weekly Benefit Is Calculated

Your weekly benefit comes from your average weekly wage during the qualifying period, through a tiered formula that replaces a higher share of pay for lower earners.

If your average weekly wage is at or below 50 percent of the state average weekly wage, your benefit equals 90 percent of your average weekly wage. If your average weekly wage is above that halfway point, your benefit equals 90 percent of half the state average weekly wage, plus 50 percent of the amount by which your wages exceed that halfway point.¹

No matter what the formula produces, the 2026 weekly maximum is $1,647. The state adjusts this cap each year based on the statewide average weekly wage.²

Supplementing With Employer-Paid Leave

Your employer may offer to supplement your state benefit with paid time off, vacation, or sick leave so your combined income is closer to your usual pay. Accepting supplemental benefits is your choice; your employer cannot require you to use PTO while you are receiving state benefits. Washington places no cap on supplemental payments, so an employer could pay you more than your regular wage during leave.⁸

Whether Your Job Is Protected

Starting January 1, 2026, employers with 25 or more employees must restore you to your same position, or an equivalent one with the same pay and benefits, when you return from approved leave.⁹ That threshold drops to 15 employees on January 1, 2027. Taking leave also cannot cost you employment benefits you accrued before the leave started.

Washington’s job protection is separate from the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which covers employers with 50 or more employees and provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave.¹⁰ If you qualify for both, your WA PFML and FMLA leave run at the same time.⁹

If you work for an employer with fewer than 25 employees in 2026, the state program does not guarantee that your specific job will be held. You may still have protection under FMLA if your employer meets its 50-employee threshold, or under other anti-discrimination laws.

How to Apply

Notify Your Employer

If your leave is foreseeable, such as a planned surgery, an expected due date, or a scheduled foster placement, give your employer written notice at least 30 days before leave starts. If the need is unexpected, notify them as soon as possible. You do not have to share the specific medical details.¹¹

Gather Your Documents

For medical leave or caregiving leave, you need a certification form completed by the relevant healthcare provider. The state publishes certification packets for each leave type on the Paid Leave website. An FMLA form or a doctor’s note works as long as it includes the onset date of the condition, expected duration, and whether the leave will be continuous or intermittent.¹²

For bonding leave, you need documentation confirming the birth, adoption, or foster placement. Have proof of identity ready too, such as a driver’s license or passport.

Submit Online

Applications go through the Paid Leave portal. Create a SecureAccess Washington (SAW) account, add Paid Family and Medical Leave as a service, then upload your certification and supporting documents and complete the required fields.¹³ Files must be in a legible digital format.

After You’re Approved

For most leave types, the first approved week is a waiting week with no benefits paid. There is no waiting week for parental bonding leave, medical leave during the postnatal period, family leave for the loss of a child, or family leave for military exigency.¹⁴

You then file a weekly claim through the portal for each week you are on leave, reporting any hours worked or other income you received that week. Missing a weekly filing can delay or interrupt your payments.

You choose how to receive your money when you apply: direct deposit to a checking or savings account, or a U.S. Bank ReliaCard prepaid debit card. You can switch methods through the portal at any time during your claim.¹⁵

Taxes on Your Benefits

The state issues a Form 1099-G for any benefits paid to you during the tax year.¹⁶ The IRS has not issued specific guidance on the taxability of Washington’s Paid Leave benefits, but based on how similar state programs are treated, you will likely need to report family leave benefits as income on your federal return.¹⁷ You can request federal withholding from your benefit payments. Because treatment can depend on the type of leave and your overall tax situation, a tax professional is worth consulting.

If Your Claim Is Denied

If the Employment Security Department denies your claim or issues a decision you disagree with, you have 30 days from the notification date to appeal. Mail or fax a signed letter that includes your name, claim ID or Social Security number, the decision you are appealing, and why you disagree.¹⁸ The appeal goes to the Office of Administrative Hearings, which will schedule a hearing and send you the date and time. New evidence submitted with your appeal can lead to a new determination.

1
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 50A.15.020 – Benefit Amount and Duration
2
Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. How Paid Leave Works
3
Washington State Legislature. Title 50A RCW – Family and Medical Leave
4
Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Elective Coverage Toolkit
5
Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Self-Employed – Electing Coverage
6
Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Localization and Out-of-State Employees
7
Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Find Out How Paid Leave Works
8
Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Employer’s Paid Leave Benefits Toolkit
9
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 50A.35.010 – Employment Protection
10
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #28 – The Family and Medical Leave Act
11
Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Notifying Your Employer About Taking Leave
12
Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Get Ready to Apply
13
Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Apply Now
14
Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. File Your Weekly Claim
15
Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. User Guide for Benefit Customers
16
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1099-G
17
Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. What to Know About Your 1099-G
18
Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Disputes and Appeals