YouTube Partner Program

0:32 To join the YouTube Partner Program for ad revenue, a channel needs 1,000 subscribers plus either 4,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months or 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days, then applies in YouTube Studio under Earn. A lower tier opens fan funding and Shopping sooner, at 500 subscribers, 3 public uploads in the last 90 days, and 3,000 watch hours in a year or 3 million Shorts views in 90 days. Both bars apply as of Nov 6, 2026; from Feb 1, 2027, new applicants for ads need 8,000 watch hours or 20 million Shorts views, covered on Partner Program Changes in 2027. Meeting the numbers only makes a channel eligible: YouTube reviews it against its monetization policies before it is accepted.

Quick facts

Sources: YPP overview and eligibility, expanded YPP, upcoming changes and partner earnings, YouTube Help, as of Nov 6, 2026.

What are the YouTube Partner Program requirements?

Besides the subscriber and watch numbers, every channel must meet the same conditions in both tiers (YouTube Help):

• Live in a country or region where YPP is available.
• Follow YouTube's channel monetization policies, which include the Community Guidelines, Terms of Service, AdSense program policies and the Advertiser-Friendly Guidelines.
• Turn on 2-Step Verification for the Google Account.
• Link one active AdSense account (AdSense for YouTube).
• Have no active Community Guidelines strikes.
• Have advanced features unlocked (Feature Access).

The two ways in are alternatives, not a sum: long-form watch hours and Shorts views are counted separately, and a channel qualifies through whichever it reaches first.

What counts as a qualified watch hour or Shorts view?

Watch hours count only from public long-form videos, including podcasts, and from archived live streams. Hours from private, unlisted or deleted videos, from videos shown as ads, from Shorts, and from live streams that were not archived do not count. A qualified Shorts view is an engaged view of a public Short: the viewer watched past the first few seconds, and loops and image posts in the Shorts feed are left out (YouTube Official Blog). Watch time from the Shorts feed never counts toward the 4,000 hours (YouTube Help).

How do I apply for the YouTube Partner Program?

1. Sign in to YouTube and open YouTube Studio from the profile image.
2. Click Earn in the left menu.
3. Click Apply Now and accept the Base terms.
4. Set up a new AdSense for YouTube account, or link one you already have that is active.
5. Wait for the review, which typically takes about 1 month.

2:33 Reviewers look at the channel as a whole: its main theme, most viewed and newest videos, the videos with the most watch time, and titles, thumbnails and descriptions (YouTube Help). The usual reason for a rejection is the reused or inauthentic content rule, explained on Inauthentic and Reused Content.

What happens after a rejection?

A first rejection can be appealed within 21 days, or the channel can keep uploading original work and reapply after 30 days. After any later rejection the wait is 90 days. The appeal is a short video: YPP Suspension Appeals has the requirements.

What does a YouTube partner earn?

The share is set by modules accepted in Studio (YouTube Help):

• Watch Page Monetization Module: 55% of net revenue from ads on public long-form videos, on YouTube and in embedded players.
• Shorts Monetization Module: 45% of the revenue allocated to the creator from the Shorts Creator Pool, by share of views (Shorts Monetization).
• Commerce Product Module: 70% of net revenue from Channel Memberships, Super Chat and Super Stickers and Super Thanks.

YouTube Premium subscription revenue is shared by watch time, and gifts bought with Jewels pay in Rubies (Gifts and Jewels). YouTube Shopping commissions and brand deals are paid outside the ad share. Help publishes no figure for what a view is worth, because it depends on the audience's country, the advertisers and the season. George Vanous, who runs the Freedom! network, found that joining does not make a channel more money by itself: it still has to upload good work regularly to grow.

Can a channel lose YPP?

0:00 Yes. YouTube may turn monetization off on a channel that has not uploaded a video or made a post for 6 months or more, and a policy violation can suspend a channel from the program whatever its numbers. George showed the warning such a channel gets, an email giving it 14 days to upload new content and meet the YPP eligibility threshold before monetization is turned off, and his advice is to upload a video or a post at least twice a year. Only a suspension is an enforcement against the channel; a single video can also earn limited or no ads without affecting the rest (Advertiser-Friendly Guidelines). From Feb 1, 2027, YouTube adds a formal definition of an active channel; see Partner Program Changes in 2027.

How the requirements changed

• April 2017: a channel needed 10,000 lifetime views to earn from ads.
• Feb 20, 2018: the bar became 4,000 hours of watch time in 12 months and 1,000 subscribers, announced on Jan 16, 2018, applied to existing partners after a 30-day grace period. George's "New 4k-1k YouTube rule" explained it to his network's creators at the time.
• Early 2023: Shorts revenue sharing began, with a second way in of 1,000 subscribers and 10 million Shorts views in 90 days, announced on Sep 20, 2022.
• Jun 13, 2023: the lower fan funding tier opened at 500 subscribers, first in the US, UK, Canada, Taiwan and South Korea, later in every YPP country.
• Feb 1, 2027: new applicants need 8,000 watch hours or 20 million Shorts views, which YouTube calls the first significant YPP change since 2018. George covered it in "Double YPP! - 8,000 watch hours needed now".

What creators say

0:00 In a Jul 15, 2025 video, George Vanous of Freedom! showed the step new partners often skip: turning ads on for every existing video at once instead of one by one. In YouTube Studio's Content list he ticked the box, chose Select all, then Edit, Monetization and the ad settings, and Update videos; he said even thousands of videos are monetized within minutes. A channel in a network sees Upload policy where others see Monetization.

0:23 On the 2027 bar, in an Aug 15, 2026 video George showed the watch hour counter on the Earn page, said channels accepted before Feb 1, 2027 are grandfathered in, and admitted he had expected YouTube to lower the requirements, not double them (Partner Program Changes in 2027).

0:15 Network channels meet YPP from another side. In "New YouTube Partner Program - Should I join?", George answered creators in his network who found a prompt in their dashboard to review and accept the Partner Program terms, which YouTube had arranged with their network: accept it, he said, because it was required and nothing changed in their network partnership or how they were paid, while it opened new revenue streams such as cover song licensing.

0:00 The inactivity rule is enforced. In "Demonetized by inactivity on YouTube!", George reported 10 of his network's channels suspended from YPP in one week for inactivity, one of them last active two years earlier, and showed a channel that had uploaded again a week before and expected to be reinstated as active. His fix is a video or a community post at least once every six months.

Frequently asked questions

How many subscribers do you need to get monetized on YouTube? YouTube needs 1,000 subscribers for ad revenue, together with 4,000 watch hours in 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in 90 days. Fan funding features and Shopping open at 500 subscribers with lower watch or view targets.

How long does the YouTube Partner Program review take? YouTube Help says a YPP review typically takes about 1 month after you apply.

Do Shorts views count toward the 4,000 watch hours? No. Watch time from the Shorts feed does not count toward YouTube's 4,000 hours; Shorts have their own route of 10 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days.

Do live streams count toward YouTube monetization? Yes, if the live stream is public and archived. YouTube counts watch time from archived live streams, but not from streams that were not kept.

Can I reapply to YPP after being rejected? Yes. YouTube lets a channel reapply 30 days after a first rejection and 90 days after any later one, or appeal within 21 days.

Will I lose monetization if I drop below 1,000 subscribers? YouTube's eligibility page names inactivity (6 months with no uploads or posts) and policy violations as reasons monetization ends; it does not list falling below the threshold as one.

What changes in YPP in 2027? From Feb 1, 2027, new YouTube applicants need 8,000 watch hours in a year or 20 million Shorts views in 90 days for ad revenue, and partners must accept new terms by Jan 31, 2027. Channels already in YPP keep their place.

Sources

• YouTube Partner Program overview & eligibility, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
• Overview of the expanded YouTube Partner Program, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
• Upcoming changes to the YouTube Partner Program, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
• YouTube partner earnings overview, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
• YouTube channel monetization policies, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
• Additional Changes to the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) to Better Protect Creators, YouTube Official Blog, Jan 16, 2018
• Made on YouTube: Rewarding Creative Entrepreneurs, YouTube Official Blog, Sep 20, 2022
• From Fan Funding to Shopping: More ways for creators to earn on YouTube, YouTube Official Blog, Jun 13, 2023
• What are qualified watch hours and Shorts views for the YouTube Partner Program?, YouTube Official Blog
• YouTube Partner Program updates for 2027, YouTube Official Blog, Aug 10, 2026
• New YouTube Partner Program - Should I join?, Freedom!, Jan 17, 2016 (video)
• New 4k-1k YouTube rule: 4,000 watch hours in last 12 months!, Freedom!, Jan 18, 2018 (video)
• Demonetized by inactivity on YouTube!, Freedom!, Oct 11, 2020 (video)
• Losing YPP in 14 days - How to stay monetized, Freedom!, Mar 2, 2021 (video)
• Double YPP! - 8,000 watch hours needed now, Freedom!, Aug 15, 2026 (video)
• Are you Eligible to be a YouTube Partner?, YouTube Creators, Feb 28, 2025 (video)
• YouTube Reused Content Policy, Explained!, Creator Insider, Apr 25, 2024 (video)
• Monetize all your YouTube videos quickly in YouTube Studio, Freedom!, Jul 15, 2025 (video)