The YouTube monetization requirements for ad revenue, as YouTube's Help Center states them on October 5, 2026, are 1,000 subscribers plus one of two things: 4,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months, or 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days. That is the entry bar for ad revenue sharing in the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), the program through which YouTube shares revenue with creators. From February 1, 2027, YouTube says new creators applying to the program will need 8,000 qualified watch hours or 20 million qualified Shorts views instead, still with 1,000 subscribers.
Three things complicate that. The 2027 increase applies to new creators, not to channels already in the program. A lower tier at 500 subscribers, which opens fan funding (money viewers pay directly, such as channel memberships and Super Chat) and Shopping but not ad revenue, keeps its requirements. And the same date brings new activity rules, plus updated terms that existing members need to accept to keep monetizing in full.
"Qualified" is YouTube's word for the hours and views it counts toward these thresholds: for hours, watch time on public long-form videos, not Shorts or ad campaigns (the full list is below).
What are the YouTube monetization requirements today?
As of October 5, 2026, a YouTube channel can apply for ad revenue sharing in the YouTube Partner Program once it has 1,000 subscribers and either 4,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months or 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days. The wording is on YouTube's Help page YouTube Partner Program overview & eligibility, under the heading "How you can become eligible":
- "Get 1,000 subscribers with 4,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months, or"
- "Get 1,000 subscribers with 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days."
Under "What you need to join", the same page sets six other conditions:
- "Follow the YouTube channel monetization policies."
- "Live in a country/region where the YouTube Partner Program is available." YouTube publishes the list of countries and regions.
- "Have no active Community Guidelines strikes on your channel."
- "Make sure 2-Step Verification is turned on for your Google Account."
- "Have advanced features access on YouTube." The feature access page says creators with "sufficient channel history" will "likely automatically qualify"; the alternative, verifying identity with an ID or video, "isn't available to all creators".
- Have one active AdSense for YouTube account linked to the channel, or be ready to set one up in YouTube Studio.
Ad revenue also has an age condition, on YouTube's How to earn money on YouTube page: "Be at least 18 years old, or have a legal guardian older than 18 years of age who can handle your payments via AdSense for YouTube".
YouTube Partner Program thresholds: today and from February 1, 2027
As of October 5, 2026, YouTube's Partner Program entry thresholds are 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 qualified watch hours in 12 months or 10 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days. For new creators, YouTube says the hours and views figures rise to 8,000 and 20 million on February 1, 2027, double today's, while the 500-subscriber tier keeps its requirements. Each Source cell links the YouTube Help page the figures come from.
| Rule | Today (read October 5, 2026) | From February 1, 2027 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subscribers (ad and YouTube Premium revenue sharing) | 1,000 | 1,000 (no change) | Eligibility page; Changes page |
| Long-form route | 4,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months | 8,000 qualified watch hours in the last 365 days, for new creators | Eligibility page; Changes page |
| Shorts route | 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days | 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days, for new creators | Eligibility page; Changes page |
| Fan funding and Shopping tier | 500 subscribers, 3 valid public uploads in the last 90 days, and 3,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months or 3 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days | No change to the eligibility requirements | Expanded YPP overview; Changes page |
| Earning from Shorts once in the program | Accept the Shorts Monetization Module | Accept the Shorts Monetization Module and keep 10 million qualified Shorts views over the last 90 days | Shorts policies; Changes page |
| Staying active | YouTube may turn off monetization after 6 months or more with no upload or post | Any one of: 1,000 qualified watch hours in 365 days; 1 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days; 2 long-form videos or 5 Shorts uploaded every 90 days | Eligibility page; Changes page |
What are the YouTube monetization requirements from February 1, 2027?
From February 1, 2027, YouTube says new creators will need 1,000 subscribers plus either 8,000 qualified watch hours in the last 365 days or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days to join the YouTube Partner Program for ad and YouTube Premium revenue sharing.
YouTube announced it on August 10, 2026 in a blog post titled New opportunities to earn and changes to the YouTube Partner Program, which calls the package "the first significant changes since 2018". The Help Center page Changes to the YouTube Partner Program puts the rule in one sentence: "Starting Feb. 1, 2027, YPP entry thresholds for new creators are changing to 8,000 qualified watch hours in the last 365 days, or 20M qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days, in addition to still needing 1k subscribers."
That page lists the thresholds as one of "three main updates" for the date, beside "Expanding Premium Lite" (a YouTube subscription) and "Evolving YouTube Shorts earnings and opportunities". It also updates the channel activity requirements.
Do the higher 2027 thresholds apply to channels that are already monetized?
No. YouTube says the higher entry thresholds it has announced for February 1, 2027 apply to new creators, and that channels already in the YouTube Partner Program keep their status. Its Help page says: "If you are already in YPP, your status is not impacted by this update." Three other parts of the update do apply to members: the updated terms, the 10 million Shorts earning threshold and the activity test, each covered below.
The pages read for this article give no cut-off for applications. None says that an application filed before February 1, 2027 will be judged on 4,000 hours, or what happens to a channel still in the review queue on that date; the only group YouTube's wording protects is channels "already in YPP". Its eligibility page says a decision comes "typically in about 1 month", so a channel applying in late January 2027 has no published assurance about which rule it will face. January 31, 2027 appears on these pages only as the date by which existing members must accept updated terms.
The eligibility page's line that "it doesn’t matter if your subscriber or watch hour counts drop below the threshold while waiting for review" covers your numbers falling after you apply, not the threshold rising.
The 500-subscriber tier keeps its requirements
The eligibility requirements for YouTube's lower tier stay where they are in 2027: 500 subscribers, 3 valid public uploads in the last 90 days, and either 3,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months or 3 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days. It opens fan funding and Shopping features, not ad revenue. The Changes page says: "There are no changes to the eligibility requirements for fan funding, YouTube Creator Partnerships, or YouTube Shopping."
The thresholds are on the Help page Overview of the expanded YouTube Partner Program, which offers the tier to "eligible creators" in the countries and regions it lists. It names what the tier can turn on, subject to each feature's own requirements: channel memberships, Super Chat and Super Stickers, Super Thanks, Jewels and gifts, and Shopping.
What counts as a qualified watch hour?
A qualified watch hour, in YouTube's definition, is watch time "gained from long-form videos you’ve set public". The eligibility page then lists the watch hours that "don’t count towards YPP thresholds":
- "Private videos"
- "Unlisted videos"
- "Deleted videos"
- "Ad campaigns"
- "YouTube Shorts"
- "Livestreams that are unlisted, deleted, or not converted to VOD (video on demand)"
Watch time from Shorts does not build toward the hours route: "any qualified watch hours from Shorts views in the Shorts Feed won’t count towards the 4,000 qualified public watch hours threshold." "Ad campaigns" appears in both of YouTube's exclusion lists, for watch hours and for Shorts views. For the Shorts route, YouTube counts views "from Shorts you’ve set public that appear in the Shorts Feed".
Our article on what counts as a view on YouTube separates the public view count, qualified views and the eligible "Engaged views" that Shorts payments use.
Shorts: two different numbers from 2027
For Shorts, YouTube has announced two separate thresholds from February 1, 2027: 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days to join the program through Shorts, and 10 million over the last 90 days to earn from Shorts once you are in.
The second number is new, and it applies to members, not applicants. The Changes page says: "To earn each month from the Shorts Creator Pool, creators will now need to maintain 10M qualified Shorts views over the last 90 days. If you miss this threshold, you will not be removed from YPP and this will not impact other YPP earnings, including long-form video." YouTube's Shorts monetization policies page carries the same rule: dated "Starting February 1, 2027" where it first appears, then repeated lower down without a date. Our YouTube Shorts monetization requirements article covers how it works and what happens below the line.
Activity rules: how a monetized channel stays active
As of October 5, 2026, YouTube's eligibility page says "we may turn off monetization on channels that haven’t uploaded a video or posted to the Posts tab for 6 months or more." From February 1, 2027, YouTube says a channel in the Partner Program counts as active if it has 1,000 qualified watch hours in the past 365 days, 1 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days, or 2 long-form videos or 5 Shorts uploaded every 90 days.
The 2027 test is on the Changes page under the heading "Updated channel activity requirements". Channels that fall below get time to recover: YouTube says they "will now have an extended 90-day window" to reach either 1,000 qualified watch hours in the past 365 days or 1 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days "to stay in the program". The upload test does not appear in that recovery list as the page is worded today.
Falling below the entry thresholds is a separate matter. YouTube's FAQ page for approved channels says: "YouTube will not automatically remove your channel's access to monetization if it drops below the threshold."
What existing members must do by January 31, 2027
Channels already in the YouTube Partner Program have to "review and accept the updated terms in YouTube Studio by January 31, 2027", in the words of YouTube's Changes to the YouTube Partner Program page. A channel that has not is not removed from the program, but YouTube says "you’ll stop earning from the associated monetization features beginning February 1, 2027" until the terms are accepted.
The terms come as modules (Watch Page Monetization, Shorts Monetization and, where it applies, Commerce Product), and YouTube says you "can accept some or all" of them. Creators who turned on fan funding before 2023 "may still be on an older version of the terms" and need to accept the Commerce Product Module by the same date.
To accept, find the terms notification on the YouTube Studio dashboard or in the Earn tab, select Review for each updated module, check the box to accept and select Next, then select Submit once you have reviewed all updated modules.
How to get monetized on YouTube once you meet the thresholds
To get monetized on YouTube, a channel that meets the thresholds has to apply in YouTube Studio and pass YouTube's review; reaching the numbers does not approve it. Under "Where to apply", YouTube's eligibility page gives the steps: open YouTube Studio, click Earn, select Apply Now, accept the Base terms, and set up or link an AdSense for YouTube account.
The same page asks "If I meet the threshold, do I automatically get into YPP?" and answers: "No. Every channel that meets the threshold will go through a standard review process." YouTube says its "automated systems and human reviewers will review your channel as a whole to make sure your channel follows all of our policies and guidelines", and that its team checks whether the channel meets the YouTube channel monetization policies, which ask for content that is original and not mass-produced.
If YouTube rejects the application, its rejection FAQ allows a new application 30 days after a first rejection or 90 days after a later one, and an appeal "within 21 days".
What this means if you are growing a channel toward monetization
If you cannot reach today's thresholds and clear YouTube's review well before February 1, 2027, plan for 1,000 subscribers plus 8,000 qualified watch hours or 20 million qualified Shorts views. YouTube's wording protects only channels "already in YPP", and it names no date by which a channel must have joined.
The hours also have to be the kind YouTube counts. Watch hours from "Ad campaigns" are excluded from the thresholds, and YouTube's Fake engagement policy goes further: "YouTube doesn’t allow anything that artificially increases the number of views, likes, comments, or other metrics either by using automatic systems or serving up videos to unsuspecting viewers." It adds: "Page traffic found to be artificial will not be counted on YouTube and can lead to strikes on your account."
The monetization policies repeat the point for program members: "creators should not artificially inflate a channel’s engagement, such as views, subs, likes, watch time, and ad impressions", and doing so "may result in removal from the YouTube Partner Program or termination of your channels". Paying someone else does not move the responsibility: the Fake engagement policy covers a violation "whether it's an action taken by you or someone you've hired".
So buying watch hours or subscribers to artificially inflate a channel's numbers breaks the YouTube rules quoted above. We will not tell you a purchase satisfies a requirement, and we hold no measurement of our own on whether purchased watch hours count or last.
Our comparison of sites that sell YouTube watch hours reads each vendor's own published terms, and records that one ranked vendor says its hours do not count toward the Partner Program requirement. Read it for what each vendor publishes; the YouTube rules quoted above decide whether an hour counts, and no seller can change that.
Before spending anything, read whether it is safe to buy YouTube subscribers and whether you can get banned for it; the second answers each question from YouTube's own policies. What counts is watch time from real viewers, and our guide on how to get more YouTube subscribers covers packaging, watch time and how YouTube recommends videos.
The short version
- As of October 5, 2026: 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 qualified watch hours in 12 months, or 10 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days, for ad revenue sharing.
- From February 1, 2027, YouTube says new creators applying will need 8,000 qualified watch hours in 365 days or 20 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days, plus 1,000 subscribers.
- Channels already in the program keep their status. The pages cited here give no rule for applications still in review on February 1, 2027.
- The 500-subscriber tier's eligibility requirements are unchanged. It opens fan funding and Shopping, not ads.
- Existing members accept the updated terms in YouTube Studio by January 31, 2027, or stop earning from those features until they do. From February 1, 2027, earning from Shorts also takes 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days.
- From February 1, 2027, staying active takes 1,000 qualified watch hours in 365 days, 1 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days, or 2 long-form videos or 5 Shorts every 90 days.
- Hours from ad campaigns, Shorts, private, unlisted and deleted videos do not count, and YouTube says page traffic "found to be artificial will not be counted".
Once you are in, the next questions are about money. Our page on how much YouTubers make covers YouTube's revenue shares and RPM (what a creator keeps per 1,000 views) by niche; its threshold table shows today's numbers. For the Shorts route, continue with YouTube Shorts monetization requirements.
Every YouTube rule quoted here was read on October 5, 2026 from the YouTube Help Center pages linked above and the YouTube Official Blog post dated August 10, 2026. None of those Help Center pages shows a last-updated date. The 2027 rules are announcements that have not taken effect, so check YouTube's pages before acting on a date or a number.