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Disability Insurance Certifications and Continued Medical FAQs

Medical Certifications

Yes, a physician/practitioner’s office can charge you. There is no law that stops them from charging a fee to complete a State Disability Insurance form.

Yes, a nurse practitioner or physician assistant can certify you for all medical conditions within their scope of practice. However, to certify to a disability other than normal pregnancy and childbirth, the nurse practitioner or physician assistant must perform a physical examination and collaborate with a physician and/or surgeon.

A licensed midwife, nurse-midwife, or nurse-practitioner may certify for pregnancy, childbirth, or postpartum conditions consistent with the scope of their professional licensing.

We need an updated medical certificate to continue payments. If you believe you are unable to return to your regular job duties, your options are:

  1. Talk to your physician/practitioner about why you feel you’re not recovered.
  2. If your primary physician/practitioner still won’t certify an extension, you can get a second opinion. If they determine you’re still disabled, they can certify to extend your disability claim. But, if there is a gap in your medical coverage, we may need to review further. The gap days may not be eligible for payment.

The physician/practitioner can complete the DE 2525XX form using SDI Online or the paper form.

If you lost or misplaced the form, contact us to request a replacement.

No, we have no legal way to force a physician/practitioner to sign a medical certificate or extension.

Continued Claims

The DE 2593 form allows you to certify that you are still eligible for disability payments. You will receive this form after you get 5 automatic payments (10 weeks).

You will not receive a new payment until we process this form. Complete and return this form to us within 20 days to avoid losing benefits. Some people may see a change in their payment cycle during this process.

For more information, visit Disability Insurance – Stop or Continue Your Benefits.

If your claim is not on automatic payment, you will receive a Claim for Continued Disability Benefits (DE 2500A), also called a “continued claim certification,” every two weeks. By signing and dating the form, you certify that during the dates shown on the DE 2500A your disability continues and you have not recovered and/or returned to work. This is your request to continue your disability benefits.

If you do not return the DE 2500A to the EDD using your SDI Online account or by mail within 20 days after receiving the form, your benefits will stop. If this form is submitted late, you may lose benefits.

For more information, visit Disability Insurance – Stop or Continue Your Benefits.

To continue receiving your benefits, or if you have recovered or returned to work part-time or full-time:

Section 1:

  • Mark the appropriate boxes.
  • Provide the correct date.

Section 2:

  • Report any wages or workers’ compensation payments.

Section 3 (if needed):

  • Update your address or phone number.

Section 4:

  • Sign and date the form.

Return the DE 2500A to us using your SDI Online account or by mail. Return it within 20 days of the ending date on the form or 20 days after you receive the form if the ending date has passed. If you don't return the form or it is late, you may lose benefits. Do not return the form before the ending date or you may not receive the correct benefit payment amount.

No. You can’t certify or receive payment for days that have not happened. Return the DE 2500A on or after the date listed on the form in Section 1. Unless you have recovered or returned to work, you must wait until after the end date to tell us your status. We can only pay from the day you mailed the form or the day before you signed the form, whichever is earlier.

Remember, if you have recovered, returned to work, or are receiving money from any source, you must tell us by filling in the appropriate areas on the continued claim certification form.

After we get your completed continued claim certification, we usually issue your benefit payment within 10 days.
We can give benefits only up to the date your physician/practitioner confirms your disability. With your final notices you will receive two forms, either online or by mail:
  • Electronic Benefit Payment (EBP) Notification (DE 2500E).
  • Physician/Practitioner’s Supplementary Certificate (DE 2525XX).

If you need more time to recover, have your physician/practitioner complete and submit the DE 2525XX.

Online

If your physician/practitioner has an SDI Online account, they can search for this form to submit online using your:

  • Last name and Claim ID number.
  • Last four digits of your Social Security number, date of birth, and last name.

By Mail

Your physician/practitioner can complete and submit the DE 2525XX to the address shown on the form.

If you did not receive the DE 2525XX, contact us at 1-800-480-3287.

Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave Benefits

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Register for myEDD

Creating an account is an important step in this process. With myEDD, you can apply for Disability Insurance and manage your claim in SDI Online.

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