Does DoorDash Accept Doctor's Notes? Dasher Sick Days and Time Off

Dashers are independent contractors, not DoorDash employees, and that one fact changes almost everything about how sickness, documentation, and time off work compared with a traditional job. There’s no employee handbook, no sick-day accrual through DoorDash, and no manager to hand a note to. Here’s what actually applies.

Dashers are contractors, not employees

DoorDash classifies everyone who delivers through its platform as an independent contractor under an Independent Contractor Agreement, not an employee. That distinction matters here because employee protections like company-provided sick leave, attendance points, and progressive discipline generally don’t apply to independent contractors the way they would at a traditional retail or warehouse job. A Dasher who feels sick simply doesn’t accept deliveries; there’s no call-out process, no doctor’s-note requirement, and no employer sick-leave balance to draw from.

What can actually affect your account: ratings and completion rate

DoorDash’s published Deactivation Policy explains that Dashers must maintain a minimum customer rating and a minimum completion rate to keep using the platform, and that falling below either threshold can lead to deactivation. The policy does allow a Dasher to decline a delivery before accepting it, and to not complete a delivery after accepting it as long as that happens before the items are picked up, acknowledging that unforeseen circumstances can arise. DoorDash doesn’t publish a medical exception tied to ratings or completion rate; the policy’s stated basis for deactivation is the metrics themselves, not the reason behind a missed or declined delivery.

Separately, the same policy describes deactivations for violating the Independent Contractor Agreement, safety rules, or platform-abuse rules, such as fraud or discrimination, and it says Dashers will be given instructions to appeal a deactivation based on those specific violations. A rating or completion-rate deactivation and a conduct-based deactivation are treated as different categories in DoorDash’s own document, so it’s worth knowing which one you’re actually facing before assuming there’s nothing you can do.

Where paid sick time actually comes from: city and state law, not DoorDash

Because Dashers aren’t employees, they generally fall outside laws written for employees, including most paid-sick-leave statutes. A small number of cities have written laws specifically for app-based gig workers to close that gap:

• Seattle’s App-Based Worker Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinance requires network companies, including food delivery platforms with more than 250 workers, to provide paid sick and safe time to app-based workers regardless of contractor status. The rule took effect for food delivery workers on May 1, 2023, and was extended to all other app-based workers on January 13, 2024. Workers accrue one day for every 30 days with at least one work-related stop in Seattle, and can use it in 24-hour increments once they’ve worked in the city at least once in the past 90 days. The ordinance also requires the company to notify workers, at least monthly, of their average daily compensation and how much sick time they’ve accrued, used, and have available, so a Dasher covered by it shouldn’t have to guess at the balance.
• New York City’s Protected Time Off Law (formerly the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act) generally does not apply to independent contractors; the city’s own FAQ states plainly that the law applies to employees only. Dashers correctly classified as contractors in NYC aren’t covered by that specific law, though the city separately sets a minimum hourly pay rate for food-delivery workers, which is a rule about pay, not sick time.
• California’s Proposition 22 gives qualifying app-based drivers and couriers a quarterly healthcare subsidy and a minimum earnings guarantee, but the ballot measure’s text doesn’t include a paid sick leave requirement; healthcare and earnings are the benefits it actually created.

If you Dash in a city or state with a specific gig-worker law, that law, not DoorDash, is where any paid sick time comes from. See Washington doctor’s-note laws and New York doctor’s-note laws for the general state picture.

When a doctor’s note matters for a Dasher

Since there’s no employer relationship requiring documentation, a doctor’s note isn’t something you’d typically submit to DoorDash for a sick day. Where it can matter is if you’re claiming paid sick time under a law like Seattle’s, which allows the covered entity to request reasonable verification for uses of more than three consecutive days, or if you need documentation for something unrelated, like an insurance claim. In those cases, a basic note showing the dates you were unable to work and a clinician’s signature is generally what’s asked for, not a diagnosis.

Practical steps if you’re sick and can’t Dash

Just don’t go online in the Dasher app; there’s no one to notify and no attendance record to protect. If you’re in a city with a gig-worker sick-time law and want to use accrued time, check that city’s process, since it runs through the network company’s own sick-time system rather than a general HR office. Keep a copy of any documentation you gather in case you need to show reasonable verification for an extended claim.

What CuroNote does and doesn’t do here

CuroNote is a place to get a legitimate, signed note from a licensed clinician for an ordinary short-term absence, not a workers’ compensation claim, a disability determination, or FMLA paperwork, which doesn’t apply to independent contractors the same way regardless. CuroNote is launching soon and has no relationship with DoorDash; nothing about a CuroNote note implies DoorDash has agreed to accept it for any particular purpose. CuroNote is not affiliated with DoorDash.