Paid Family Leave (PFL) for bonding with your baby

Anyone who pays into SDI and is bonding with a new child, including both parents — each can claim their own 8 weeks. No more than 8 weeks are paid in any 12 months, so PFL you used recently for something else, like caring for a parent, comes off the total.

• When your final disability payment goes out, EDD sends form DE 2501FP: a link in your SDI Online inbox, or a paper form by mail.
• Answer yes to starting the day after your disability ends, so there’s no gap.
• Submit it within 41 days of the day you want bonding pay to start. It can’t be filed earlier than that day.
• You don’t need a medical certification or proof of relationship when you’re moving over from a pregnancy claim.

You don’t have to take all 8 weeks at once. You can split them up or start later, as long as they’re used within a year of the birth. Since 2025, your employer can’t make you use vacation first.

PFL replaces lost wages, so it only pays the part of your usual pay your employer doesn’t. If your company pays your full salary without coordinating with EDD, PFL pays nothing those weeks — and you can save your 8 weeks for after company leave ends. Just know that weeks past your job-protected leave pay you without holding your job.

PFL is federally taxable — you’ll get a 1099-G in January — but it’s exempt from California income tax.