BenefitsCal
This BenefitsCal page is provided as a centralized location for all BenefitsCal related information. Scroll down for more information regarding BenefitsCal outages, Quick Reference Guides, and release notes. Some documents on this page are only available for two years. If you are inquiring about a document that appears unavailable and was published more than two years ago, please submit a Public Records Act (PRA) request.
Outages
If you have been routed to this page from BenefitsCal, the system is currently unavailable and details of a planned outage can be found to the right of this text. If no outage is listed, this is an unplanned outage and the issue is being investigated. Please consider using the resources below while the system is unavailable.
Maintenance – on Sunday, September 20, 2026, from 6:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
From 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM, the BenefitsCal application will be unavailable for customers and CBO users.
From 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM and 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, the BenefitsCal application will be available for customers and Community Based Organization (CBO) users for submitting applications, renewals, and SARs; however, transactions from BenefitsCal will be queued and released for processing upon completion of CalSAWS maintenance activities.
The following features will not be available: Message Center (notices, messaging, actions, 2-way messaging), Appointments, Verification of benefits (VOB), CBO account creation, Case-link, Communication preference updates, Support requests. E-applications submitted from BenefitsCal will be routed to the office selected by the participant instead of the default county office.During the BenefitsCal Maintenance period: The BenefitsCal application will be unavailable for users and CBOs.
Options to apply for benefits online when the above system is down:
Medi-Cal: Covered California
Alternative sites for information include:
EBT General Information: EBT Project
EBT Account Login: EBT CardHolder Portal
Quick Reference Guides
Please see below for the BenefitsCal Quick Reference Guides for Community Based Organizations (CBOs) who do not have access to the Learning Management Solution (LMS). The CalSAWS Project is working to add a new screen to BenefitsCal to host CBO materials.
Quick Guide: Apply for Benefits Quick Guide: CalFresh ABAWD Work Requirements Quick Guide: CBO Referral Campaign Quick Guide: Community Based Organization Request Access Quick Guide: Create an Account for New Users Quick Guide: Customer Dashboard Quick Guide: Disaster CalFresh Benefits Quick Guide: Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) Quick Guide: Find Your Caseworker Quick Guide: Link to Case Quick Guide: Messages and Actions Quick Guide: Opt into Electronic Notices Quick Guide: Periodic Reporting Quick Guide: Renewal Quick Guide: Report a Change Quick Guide: Request an Appointment Quick Guide: Reset Password Quick Guide: Student App Quick Guide: Support Requests Quick Guide: Truv Quick Guide: Two-Step Verification Quick Guide: Upload Documents Quick Guide: Upload Documents within an Application Reference Guide: BenefitsCal and CalSAWS Question Fact Sheet Reference Guide: Community Based Organizations (CBOs) Dashboard