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Unemployment Determinations and Eligibility

We’re here to help you understand eligibility requirements.

Claim Status: Pending Payment

If you have a Pending status for any weeks in your UI Online Claim History, we may need to determine your eligibility or verify your identity. If we need to verify your identity, we will send you a notice asking for additional documents. See Respond to Your Request for Identity Verification.

Eligibility Requirements

You must meet the eligibility requirements when applying for unemployment and when certifying for benefits.

Eligibility Issues

If there is an issue with your claim and we need more information from you, we will contact you in one of three ways:

  1. We will email you instructions on how to complete an Eligibility Questionnaire online.
  2. We will mail you a Request for Eligibility Information (DE 4365FF).
  3. We will schedule a phone interview.

Check your UI Online homepage for updates.

Note: If you give us incorrect information or fail to report information, you may be disqualified from benefits, required to repay benefits that you previously received, and assessed a 30 percent penalty.

How We Gather Eligibility Information

To speed up the determination process, we might email you instructions on how to make an Eligibility Questionnaire account. You will have three days to set up your account and seven more days to fill out the online questionnaire.

If you do not respond to this questionnaire, we will mail you a Request for Eligibility Information (DE 4365FF) or set up a phone interview with you.

If you get this form in the mail, answer the questions and send it back as soon as you can.

We will send you this form only if:

  • Your claim is still pending.
  • You don’t have a phone interview scheduled.
  • There is a question about why you stopped working for your employer.

If you do not respond to the Request for Eligibility Information (DE 4365FF), we will make a decision based on the information we have. This may result in your unemployment payments being delayed or denied.

Phone Interview

We may schedule a phone interview with you. You will receive a Notification of Unemployment Insurance Benefits Eligibility Interview (DE 4800) with the date and time of the interview. It will also list questions you will likely be asked during your phone interview. The date and time will also be on your UI Online homepage.

If you need to reschedule your interview, use UI Online or contact us. You must contact us at least one day before your interview date and time. We can only change your interview time if there is an open time slot.

Important: If you missed your scheduled interview, you can call back on the same day and a customer service representative will be able to assist you. We're here to help!

If you miss your phone interview, we will decide your eligibility based on the information we have. This may result in your unemployment payments being delayed or denied.

  • The Notification of Unemployment Insurance Benefits Eligibility Interview (DE 4800) includes the questions you will likely be asked. Take some time to prepare your answers to feel more confident during the call.
  • An EDD representative will call you at the scheduled time. Your caller ID may show "St of CA EDD" or the UI Customer Service number: 1-800-300-5616.
  • During your interview, you may be asked to provide more information. The interviewer will give you instructions on how to submit any required information.

If you qualify for benefits, and haven't already received a conditional payment, we will process your payments. If you don't qualify, you will receive a Notice of Determination (DE 1080CZ) and an Appeal Form (DE 1000M). Please remember you have the right to appeal any decision that you don't agree with. See Unemployment Insurance Appeals.

An overpayment is when you receive benefits that you were not eligible for. If this happens, we will mail you a Notice of Potential Overpayment (DE 1447) or a Notice of Overpayment (DE 1444), or both. You have the right to appeal the eligibility determination and the overpayment notice. See Overpayments and Penalties.

Conditional Payments

If you received at least one payment on your claim, but your payments have been pending for more than two weeks because of an eligibility issue, we may process a conditional payment as we continue reviewing the issue. A conditional payment is a payment of unemployment benefits made to you while your eligibility is being investigated. We will mail a Notice of Conditional Payment Pending Eligibility Review (DE 5400) if a conditional payment is made. If you continue to certify for benefits while we review, you may have to pay back any conditional payments if we later find you ineligible.

If you receive a conditional payment, two things can happen:

  • We determine you are eligible for benefits. You should keep certifying to collect unemployment benefits.
  • We determine you are not eligible. You will receive a Notice of Determination (DE 1080CZ) explaining why you were disqualified, which you can appeal. You may also receive a Notice of Overpayment (DE 1444CT), which you can also appeal, and you may have to pay back conditional payments.