Apply for FAMLI benefits!
My FAMLI+ is the online portal Colorado workers will use to manage their claims for paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI). My FAMLI+ allows Coloradans to apply for benefits, submit required serious health condition forms, review the status of their claims and manage their benefit payment options.
Are you considering filing a FAMLI claim on behalf of a loved one? Find out more about filing as a Designated Representative before you set up a My FAMLI+ account!
User Guides
Please refer to the My FAMLI+ User Guide for Claimants and our How-To Videos to familiarize yourself with My FAMLI+.
Application Checklist
Have these items handy when applying for FAMLI benefits:
- Your contact information. The person applying for benefits in My FAMLI+, or their designated representative, will be the primary account administrator and will need to set up multi-factor authentication in order to log in.
- Your mailing address information.
- Your Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer ID Number.
- Your employer’s information. This includes your employer's Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN), which you can find on your tax documents, like a W-2.
- Your employer's human resources (HR) contact email address. This is the email address FAMLI will use to communicate with your employer about your claim. You won't need this unless you have to manually add your employer in the portal, otherwise it will be automatically filled.
- If applying for FAMLI benefits to care for yourself or a loved one, a Serious Health Condition form completed by a licensed health care provider. The health care provider you designate in your claim must match the health care provider who signs off on the Serious Health Condition form. Be sure to have all of that health care provider's contact information.
- If applying for parental bonding leave, a birth certificate or other documentation of birth or adoption for foster-care or kinship-care placement.
- The start and end dates of your leave.
- Your bank's account and routing information. Make sure you are getting this information from your bank, rather than from checks, as this information can change from time to time.
- Know how you’d like to use your leave (continuously, intermittently, or on a reduced schedule.) Learn about the different leave schedule types here.
- If you have filed for leave in advance and you are eligible for benefits, you won’t get paid until you confirm that your leave has started. You can do this by completing the task on your My FAMLI+ Dashboard or by calling the contact center. After you have confirmed your leave has started, your claim will change to ‘active’ status and you will receive benefits. If you have a continuous leave, nothing else needs to be done for the life of that claim. If you have filed for an intermittent or reduced leave schedule, you will need to report your time missed from work weekly by logging into My FAMLI+ or by calling the contact center.
For more details on what’s needed for specific situations like Military Family Members (Exigency) Leave and Safe Leave, please visit our Individuals & Families page.
If you’re applying for leave in advance:
REMEMBER: The final step before the FAMLI Division can approve your benefit payments is to let us know that your leave has officially begun. This will show up as a task in your Claims Dashboard in your My FAMLI+ account. Even if you successfully submitted all required documentation up to 30 days in advance of your leave start date, you must log into your account or call the contact center to let us know when your leave has officially started.
How to apply for benefits if your employer has an approved private plan or has opted out of FAMLI
FAMLI requires most Colorado employers to provide paid family and medical leave insurance coverage, but coverage can look different for some workers depending on their employer’s participation. Only local government employers have the option to opt out of FAMLI entirely. Private employers have the option to use a private plan, or employer-administered private plan, that offers the same or greater benefits as the FAMLI program but must get approval from the FAMLI Division to do so. Once they get approval, employers are required to tell their employees that they are covered by a private plan.
Private plans provide benefits to employees through either a private insurance company or an employer-administered plan instead of through the FAMLI Division.
If you work for an employer with an approved private plan, or for a local government that has opted out of FAMLI, this will impact how you apply for benefits. The table below demonstrates where you will apply for FAMLI benefits depending on your situation:
How do I apply for benefits?
| What Type of Plan Do I Have? | Apply with My FAMLI+ | Apply as directed by your employer’s private plan | Do I need to register with My FAMLI+ Employer before applying for benefits in My FAMLI+? |
|---|---|---|---|
| My employer is participating in FAMLI | yes | n/a | no |
| My employer has an approved private plan or an approved employer-administered plan | no | yes | no |
| I am self employed and voluntarily want to participate in FAMLI | yes | n/a | yes |
| My employer is a Local Government that has opted out of FAMLI | yes | n/a | yes |
| My employer is a Local Government that has opted out of FAMLI but is reporting wages and paying premiums on my behalf | yes | n/a | yes |
Life Cycle of a Claim
Worker tells employer about their FAMLI leave. For anticipated FAMLI leave, workers must make reasonable effort to schedule leave with their employer.
Worker submits claim with the FAMLI Division in My FAMLI+.
FAMLI Division sends employer a Notice of Claim Submission: This includes the worker’s reported work schedule and leave start and end dates.
For medical leave claims: the worker’s health care provider must certify the patient’s Serious Health Condition form.
FAMLI Division makes their decision.
FAMLI Division sends employer a Notice of Benefits Determination: This includes the worker’s leave start date, anticipated length of leave, type of leave (continuous, intermittent, or reduced schedule), and whether or not the leave is approved.
Worker notifies the FAMLI Division in My FAMLI+ when their leave has officially started.
FAMLI Division sends employer a Notice of Properly Filed Claim once the leave starts.
Worker begins leave.
FAMLI Division pays worker weekly benefit payments throughout the length of the claim.
If the worker updates their regular work schedule, employment information, cancels the claim, shortens the length of the leave for any reason, or reports weekly leave hours for intermittent or reduced schedule leave, FAMLI will notify the employer.