Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave: Up to $1,647 a Week for Qualifying Leave

Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave is an active state benefit for workers who need time away from work for their own serious health condition, to care for a family member, to welcome a child, or to handle a qualifying military event. It is administered by the Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD). This is not a once-a-year scholarship or grant with one closing date. Eligible workers apply when a qualifying event occurs, so the listing uses a rolling deadline. The important timing rule is that an application should be submitted within 30 days after the qualifying event happens.

The program can replace up to 90% of a worker’s weekly pay, subject to the current maximum weekly benefit. For leave that starts in 2026, the official maximum is $1,647 per week. The amount is calculated from wage information reported by employers, so the maximum is not a promise that every applicant will receive that amount. A lower-paid worker may receive a higher percentage of wages, while a higher-paid worker may receive a smaller percentage up to the cap.

Paid Leave is separate from an employer’s vacation or sick leave and separate from unpaid federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave. It can be used all at once or intermittently, depending on the qualifying event and the documentation supporting the leave. The state benefit and the right to have a job restored are related but not identical questions; check the current job-protection rules before relying on a guaranteed return to work.

Key details

What leave qualifies

Medical leave is for your own serious health condition when it prevents you from working. Examples can include treatment or recovery for a serious illness or injury, inpatient care, prenatal care, complications of pregnancy, and recovery after giving birth. A routine cold, an ordinary appointment, or a minor condition that does not prevent work is not automatically enough. The health-care documentation must support the amount and type of leave requested.

Family leave covers care for a family member with a serious health condition, bonding with a new child, and qualifying military exigencies. Bonding can follow the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child. Military-related leave can cover time with a family member who is preparing for deployment or returning from an overseas deployment, along with qualifying arrangements connected to that deployment.

Washington’s family definition is broader than the federal FMLA definition. It includes a spouse or domestic partner; biological, adopted, foster, step, or legally placed children; parents and legal guardians, including a spouse’s parents; siblings; grandparents; grandchildren; sons-in-law and daughters-in-law; and someone who has an expectation to rely on you for care, whether or not you live together. ESD may request documentation of the relationship or the person’s medical need.

The number of weeks depends on the combination of events and the medical facts. In general, a worker can receive up to 12 weeks of Paid Leave. Someone who has more than one qualifying event in the claim year may be eligible for up to 16 weeks. Pregnancy complications that result in incapacity can add two weeks, allowing up to 18 weeks in the circumstances described by the state. A provider’s certification, rather than a guess by the applicant, determines medically necessary leave.

Who can qualify

The core work test is 820 hours in Washington during the qualifying period. Full-time, part-time, temporary, and seasonal work can count. Hours from multiple Washington employers can be added together, and changing employers does not erase hours already worked. ESD describes the qualifying period as a 12-month employment-history review that starts on the first day of a calendar quarter; its exact window is tied to the application or leave start date. You do not have to be currently employed when you take Paid Leave, but you still need the required Washington hours and a qualifying event.

The paid benefit is available to workers at businesses of all sizes when the worker meets the state requirements. That does not mean every worker has automatic job protection. Starting with the 2026 rules, Paid Leave job protection generally applies when the employer has at least 25 employees in Washington and the worker has been employed there for at least 180 days. There is no separate minimum-hours test for that 2026 job-protection rule, and other statutory conditions and exceptions can apply. ESD’s job-protection guidance should be checked for the facts of your employer and leave.

Self-employed people are not automatically enrolled. A self-employed Washingtonian can elect coverage, agree to pay the employee share of the premium, and report self-employment income quarterly. ESD says the initial elective-coverage period is three years, followed by annual renewal if coverage is not withdrawn. Self-employed applicants still need a qualifying event and at least 820 hours during the qualifying period; the state uses reported wages to determine hours for self-employment. Read the elective coverage guidance before assuming that an opt-in made recently provides immediate eligibility.

How the payment works

ESD determines the weekly benefit from wages reported by the worker’s employers. The official program can replace up to 90% of weekly pay, but the amount cannot exceed the maximum for the year in which the leave begins. The current official figure for 2026 is $1,647 per week. If a claim continues into another calendar year, the maximum weekly benefit amount does not change simply because the calendar changes.

The 2026 premium rate is 1.13% of covered gross wages, excluding tips and subject to the Social Security wage cap. ESD’s current update says employees generally pay 71.43% of that premium and employers pay 28.57%; employer obligations can differ for smaller businesses. The premium arrangement explains how the program is funded, but it does not mean a worker’s individual benefit equals the amount deducted from a paycheck. The benefit is calculated from the worker’s wage history and the statutory formula.

There is usually a waiting week for a worker’s own medical leave and for family leave used to care for a family member. The first approved week claimed is generally unpaid, although the worker still has to file the claim. ESD lists important exceptions: there is no waiting week for parental bonding, leave taken during the postnatal period, or military exigency leave. Paid time off may be used during a waiting week without reducing Paid Leave benefits, subject to the state’s rules about reporting paid time off.

Paid Leave cannot be received for the same week as unemployment benefits or workers’ compensation time-loss or wage-replacement benefits. Other wages, vacation, sick time, or holiday pay can also affect the weekly payment and must be reported accurately. Private short-term-disability plans have their own coordination rules, so a worker should ask the plan administrator how it treats Washington Paid Leave.

Application steps

1. Tell your employer when possible

If the need for leave is foreseeable, give each employer written notice at least 30 days before the planned leave. An email, text message, or handwritten note can count as written notice, and keeping a copy is sensible. For an unexpected illness, injury, birth, placement, or family emergency, notify the employer as soon as reasonably possible. The notice should state the expected duration of the absence. You do not have to give the employer your medical diagnosis; ESD communicates limited claim information while the state reviews the application.

2. Gather proof of identity and the right supporting document

The online application requires identity and eligibility documentation. Acceptable identity proof can include a driver’s license, passport, utility bill, or other documents listed by ESD. For your own medical leave or family leave to care for a seriously ill family member, upload one of the documents ESD accepts: a certification completed by you and the health-care provider, an FMLA form, or a doctor’s note containing the same required information. The provider has seven calendar days after the request to complete and return the documentation to you. Military leave needs appropriate military documentation. For parental bonding, ESD generally does not require proof of birth, foster placement, or adoption for approval, though it may ask questions or request documents.

3. Create or use the online account

Start at the official Apply now page and create or log in to the SecureAccess Washington account used for Paid Leave. The application asks for basic identifying information, employer information, expected leave dates, and the reason for leave. Verify the employment history carefully, especially if you changed employers or worked more than one job. If you do not have a Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, ESD says to contact the department about a paper application.

4. Apply after the qualifying event

Submit the application within 30 days after the qualifying event happens. Do not treat the rolling deadline as permission to wait indefinitely. A foreseeable event still calls for advance employer notice, and an application is easier to review when the leave dates and supporting document agree. If pregnancy or birth involves medical leave followed by bonding leave, ESD says the worker submits a medical-leave application and a separate family-leave application for bonding.

5. Watch the claim status and decision letter

After submission, check the claim status in the benefit account. ESD may mark the application as submitted, in review, approved, or denied. Incomplete applications and missing identity or medical documents take longer to process. The determination letter is mailed and can also be viewed in the account. If ESD asks for more information, respond through the available account or contact channel and keep copies of anything submitted.

6. File every weekly claim

Approval is not the same as payment. Weekly claims are how the state pays approved leave. A claim week starts on Sunday and ends on the following Saturday, and the claim is filed after the week ends. File for every week in the approved leave period, even if you take intermittent leave or do not want payment for one particular week. The weekly claim records whether you took full or partial leave, used paid time off, worked hours, or received another benefit. ESD currently says that approved payments generally arrive in three to five business days because of bank processing. If you applied on paper, weekly claims are handled by phone rather than through the online account.

Using leave intermittently

Paid Leave does not have to be one uninterrupted block. A worker recovering from surgery might take full weeks, while a worker accompanying a family member to recurring treatment might take individual days. The weekly-claim rules still matter. ESD says a worker using leave intermittently must claim four consecutive hours of leave in a week, or claim zero hours when taking intermittent leave without benefits that week. Report actual hours and paid time off rather than estimating. The provider’s certification should support the expected schedule, and the worker should update ESD if the pattern or end date changes.

Mistakes to avoid

Do not use the old 2025 maximum of $1,542 or the earlier $1,544 figure when planning a 2026 claim; the current official maximum is $1,647. Do not assume every approved leave week is paid because a waiting week usually applies to own medical leave and family care. Do not confuse the initial application with the weekly claims that release payment. Do not let a doctor’s office hold an incomplete certification without following up, and do not omit a former employer when completing the work-history section.

Also avoid treating job protection as automatic for every applicant. The 2026 rule is generally tied to an employer with at least 25 employees and 180 days of employment, and ESD lists additional conditions and exceptions. A worker at a smaller employer may still qualify for the wage-replacement benefit even when restoration rights are different. Finally, do not claim Paid Leave for a week that overlaps with unemployment or workers’ compensation wage-replacement benefits. Ask ESD or the other program before submitting conflicting claims.

Where to get help

Use the official Paid Leave website for the current benefit guide, application checklist, certification forms, weekly-claim guide, benefit calculator, and account links. The department’s customer-care number is 833-717-2273. The site also provides resources in multiple languages. If the facts of your leave are unusual, use the official guidance or contact ESD before choosing dates, because the state—not this page—decides whether the event, documentation, work history, and weekly claim meet the program rules.

This page is a current reference to an ongoing Washington benefit. It does not represent a closed cycle, and it does not create a deadline beyond the official requirement to apply within 30 days after a qualifying event. Confirm the amount, qualifying-period calculation, job-protection status, and documentation requirements on paidleave.wa.gov immediately before applying.