California Paid Family Leave: Who Qualifies, How Much, How to File

California Paid Family Leave (PFL) pays about 70 to 90% of your weekly wages for up to 8 weeks in a 12-month period, from $50 to $1,765 a week in 2026. It covers time off to bond with a new child, care for a seriously ill family member or help with a family member's military deployment abroad. You qualify if you earned at least $300 with State Disability Insurance taken out of your pay (the CASDI line on your pay stub) in your base period. File in SDI Online through myEDD no earlier than your first day of leave and no later than 41 days after it starts.

EDD takes about two weeks to process a new claim and pay; in September 2026 the average PFL benefit was $1,189 a week. PFL replaces pay; job protection comes from the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) if you qualify, so send your employer a written leave request first.

Who qualifies for PFL

A covered reason: bonding with a child within 12 months of the birth, adoption or foster placement; caring for a seriously ill child, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse or registered domestic partner; or military assist when your spouse, partner, child or parent is deploying to a foreign country.
Lost wages because of the leave.
Working or job hunting on the day the leave began.
At least $300 in base period wages with SDI withheld.

Seriously ill means inpatient care or continuing treatment by a physician or practitioner, so a routine cold or flu is excluded. The family member can live in another state or country. Citizenship and immigration status play no part; without your own Social Security number or a California driver's license or ID, file on paper.

Find your base period

Your base period is 12 months of wages paid about 5 to 18 months before your leave starts. Your start date sets it, and EDD will not change either one once the claim is valid. Leave starting November 2, 2026, for example, uses a base period of July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026.

Leave starts in	Base period
January to March	12 months ending the September 30 before
April to June	12 months ending the December 31 before
July to September	12 months ending the March 31 before
October to December	12 months ending the June 30 before

Short on wages? Call 1-877-238-4373 before you file: a later start date, or a special base period after military service, workers' compensation or a labor dispute, can make the claim valid.

How much PFL pays in 2026

EDD takes your highest-paid quarter in the base period, divides it by 13 to get a weekly wage, and pays a share of it:

Highest quarter	Weekly benefit
Less than $300	Not eligible
$300 to $722.49	$50
$722.50 to $16,279.90	90% of weekly wages
$16,279.91 to $20,931.30	$1,127
$20,931.31 or more	70% of weekly wages, up to $1,765

A best quarter of $13,000 is a $1,000 weekly wage and pays $900 a week; a best quarter of $26,000 is a $2,000 weekly wage and pays $1,400. You can take the 8 weeks in one block or as separate days, each full day paid at one-seventh of the weekly amount.

Rates since 2025: the 70 to 90% rates apply to claims starting on or after January 1, 2025. Your claim start date sets the cap: $1,681 for 2025 starts, $1,765 for 2026 starts.
Vacation: since January 1, 2025, your employer can no longer make you use up to two weeks of vacation before PFL starts.
No waiting period: PFL pays from the first day of leave.
Employer pay: report any sick leave, PTO, vacation or part-time pay. Your employer can top PFL up to your regular pay; anything above it comes off the PFL.
Taxes: PFL counts as income on your federal return and is exempt on your California return.

Job protection: CFRA and pregnancy leave

PFL pays up to 8 weeks of partial wages and holds no job.
CFRA gives up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in 12 months to bond, care for a family member or designated person, or recover from your own serious health condition, if your employer has five or more employees and you have more than 12 months of service and 1,250 hours in the last 12 months.
Pregnancy disability leave: if your employer has five or more employees, it protects your job for up to four months while pregnancy or childbirth keeps you from working, with no service or hours minimum. CFRA bonding leave can follow.
Notice: give 30 days' notice for a foreseeable leave such as a due date, and tell your employer as soon as you know when it is sudden.

What to do today

Find CASDI on a recent pay stub. If it is missing, ask HR whether your employer uses a voluntary plan.
Email your employer the leave request below and keep a dated copy.
Set up myEDD using your name and address exactly as the DMV or Social Security has them, with a photo ID and a second document such as a W-2 at hand.
File on your first day of leave or soon after. In SDI Online, enter your employer's name, phone and address from your W-2 or pay stub and your last day of normal hours. Day 41 is the deadline. Past day 41? File now and explain why you were late; EDD extends the deadline for good cause.
Upload proof the same day under New Claim, using your receipt number. EDD holds the claim until it arrives.
- Bonding: birth certificate, Declaration of Paternity (CS-909), or a foster or adoption placement document.
- Care: the care recipient signs Part C and their doctor completes the Part D medical certification.
- Military assist: active duty orders plus proof of the event, such as a briefing notice or a bill for legal services.
Check the Notice of Computation (DE 429DF) that arrives in about two weeks, and call 1-877-238-4373 right away if any wage, date or employer is wrong. Payments go to a Money Network debit card unless you pick direct deposit or checks in myEDD.

To file on paper, call 1-877-238-4373, say Claim Form, and request the DE 2501F.

Where it splits

If you gave birth: file for Disability Insurance first. For an uncomplicated delivery it pays four weeks before your due date and six weeks after (eight after a C-section), longer if your doctor certifies complications, after a seven-day waiting period. EDD then sends the New Mother bonding claim (DE 2501FP), which needs no extra documents.
If you care for an aunt, cousin or close friend: PFL pays for a designated person starting July 1, 2028. CFRA already protects your job during unpaid leave to care for one, if you meet its rules.
If your employer has a voluntary plan: file through its benefits office instead of SDI Online.
If you are self-employed: you are covered only if you bought Disability Insurance Elective Coverage (DIEC). Paid on a 1099 but think you were misclassified? File in SDI Online anyway; EDD decides your eligibility.

Care running past 8 weeks? See whether IHSS can pay you as a family caregiver. New baby? Check WIC in California. Working in another state? Our state paid family and medical leave guide shows where to file.

If EDD denies your claim

A denial comes as a Notice of Paid Family Leave Determination (DE 2514) with an Appeal Form (DE 1000A), and you have 30 days from the date on the notice to appeal.

Fill in the DE 1000A explaining why you qualify, attach the missing document or wage record, and mail it to the return address on the notice or file it electronically as the notice instructs.
EDD reviews it first and pays if the new information confirms you qualify.
Otherwise the appeal goes to the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board's Office of Appeals, where an administrative law judge holds a hearing. A no-show dismisses the appeal. See our guide to preparing for an Office of Appeals hearing.

Past 30 days? File anyway with your reasons; the judge decides whether you had good cause.

What you can get and your leverage

CFRA and pregnancy leave: your same job back, or in some cases a comparable one.
Civil Rights Department: if your employer refuses CFRA leave or punishes you for taking it, file an intake with CRD within three years of the last harm, online or at 800-884-1684.
Small employers: before suing an employer with 5 to 19 employees over CFRA leave, contact CRD's Dispute Resolution Division first; either side can request free mediation.

Call an employment lawyer if you are fired, demoted or lose hours after asking for leave, or if your employer refuses CFRA leave in writing.

Leave request to send your employer

Hi [name], I need family leave from [start date] to [expected end date] to [bond with my child, born or placed on (date) / care for my (relationship), who has a serious health condition / handle (event) related to my (relationship)'s military deployment]. Please treat this as my California Family Rights Act leave request and send any forms you need. I will file for Paid Family Leave for the same dates. Do you combine sick leave or PTO with PFL, and does the company use a voluntary plan instead of State Disability Insurance? Thank you, [your name, employee ID, phone]

Today

Email your employer the leave request and run the EDD benefit calculator with 18 months of pay stubs.
File in SDI Online on your first day of leave and upload your proof the same day.

The Notice of Computation with your weekly amount comes in about two weeks, and the first payment follows about two weeks after EDD has your complete claim. Track it in myEDD or on the PFL line at 1-877-238-4373.