Disability Insurance · Checklist · Reviewed July 12, 2026

Disability Insurance for your own health

A filing check when a non-work illness, injury, pregnancy, surgery, or recovery keeps you from regular work.

Why it matters

California Disability Insurance replaces part of lost wages for eligible workers. The first disabled day, CASDI wage record, medical certification, and filing window all matter.

Official first stop

Work

Pay, breaks, worker status, job benefits, and injury routes.

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First moves

1
Write down the first day the condition kept you from doing your regular work and the last day you worked your usual schedule.
2
Keep pay stubs and look for CASDI or another State Disability Insurance deduction. Save employer details and wage records from the base-period months.
3
Confirm that the condition was not caused by work. A job-caused injury or illness belongs in the workers' compensation route first.
4
EDD says to submit a DI claim no earlier than nine days and no later than 49 days after the disability begins. Put both dates on the calendar.
5
Apply through myEDD and SDI Online or use the original paper form. Save the claim receipt and claim ID.
6
Ask the physician or practitioner to complete the medical certification promptly. A claim is not complete without the required certification.
7
Read each Notice of Computation, eligibility request, payment notice, and medical-extension form. Answer by the date on the notice.
8
Check job protection separately through CFRA, FMLA, pregnancy disability leave, accommodation rules, employer policy, or a union agreement.

Watch for

1
DI is for the worker's own non-work health condition. Paid Family Leave is for family care, bonding, or military assist.
2
Basic eligibility includes being unable to do regular work for at least eight days, losing wages, and having the required SDI-covered wages and medical certification.
3
EDD lists at least $300 in base-period wages with SDI deductions as one basic requirement. The base period and full claim record control the decision.
4
DI can cover part-time, intermittent, or reduced work when wage loss and the other requirements are met.
5
Some employers use an EDD-approved Voluntary Plan instead of the state plan. The employer's benefit office should identify that route.
6
DI pays benefits but does not protect the job. Leave and accommodation rights need a separate check.
7
A late claim can lose benefits. EDD can consider a late reason, but do not plan around an exception.
8
A DI or PFL appeal is generally due within 30 days from the issue date on the notice. Use the notice and current EDD appeal instructions.

Directory paths

Keep moving through the directory.

Use the nearby shelf when this is the right lane, or jump back to the full directory if the task changed names.

ShelfWorkPay, breaks, worker status, job benefits, and injury routes.DirectoryPaperwork & MoneyReturn to the full tools shelf.Nearby toolWork benefits first-stop checkChoose the right path after job loss, your own illness, family leave, or a job-caused injury.Nearby toolPaid Family Leave for care or bondingA filing check for family care, bonding with a new child, or a qualifying military family event.A-ZFind another California pathUse the directory index when the task has a different name.

Disability Insurance for your own health

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