YouTube channel monetization policies

 

YouTube Monetization policies & How to earn money on YouTube

If you’re monetizing on YouTube, it’s important that your channel follows YouTube monetization policies. These include YouTube’s Community Guidelines, Terms of Service, Copyright, and Google AdSense program policies. They apply to anyone in, or looking to apply to, the YouTube Partner Program or anyone receiving Shorts bonuses from the YouTube Shorts Fund.  

If you want to monetize videos with ads, they must also meet our Advertiser-friendly content guidelines.

Here’s a quick overview of each major policy. Make sure you read each policy thoroughly, as these policies are used to check if a channel is suitable to monetize. Our reviewers regularly check to see whether monetizing channels follow these policies. Learn more about how we enforce our policies.

What we check when we review your channel

Our reviewers check content that best represents your channel against our policies. Since our reviewers can’t check every video, they may focus on your channel’s:

• Main theme
• Most viewed videos
• Newest videos
• Biggest proportion of watch time
• Video metadata (including titles, thumbnails, and descriptions)

The above are just examples of content our reviewers may assess. Note that our reviewers can, and may check other parts of your channel to see whether it fully meets our policies. 

How to get help with issues that affect you

If you're in the YouTube Partner Program, you can get access to our Creator Support team. 

Whether you're facing a specific problem or you want to find out how to get the most out of YouTube as a creator, we're here to help you:

• Optimize how you use YouTube
• Get tips on technical or service aspects of YouTube
• Find out how to navigate policy and copyright guidelines
• Get answers on account and channel management questions
• Resolve content ID and rights management issues
• Troubleshoot and fix bugs or issues with your account

How to earn money on YouTube

You can earn money on YouTube by applying for and being accepted to the YouTube Partner Program. You may also qualify to receive Shorts bonuses as part of the YouTube Shorts Fund without being in the YouTube Partner Program. 

A few notes

• We won’t tell you what you can create on YouTube, but we do have a responsibility to do right by our viewers, creators and advertisers. If you’re in the YouTube Partner Program, you can earn money through YouTube. When in the YouTube Partner Program, we hold you to a higher standard.
• To make sure we’re rewarding good creators, we review your channel before you’re accepted in the YouTube Partner Program. We also constantly review channels to make sure you’re meeting all our policies and guidelines.
• Channels do not need to be monetizing on YouTube to be eligible for the YouTube Shorts Fund. Creators in the YouTube Partner Program and channels that are a part of a Multi-Channel Network (MCN) are still eligible.
• You may be liable to pay taxes on your earnings from YouTube; find out more below.

Ways to make money in the YouTube Partner Program

You can make money on YouTube through the following features:

Advertising revenue: Get ad revenue from display, overlay, and video ads. Channel memberships: Your members make recurring monthly payments in exchange for special perks that you offer. Merch shelf: Your fans can browse and buy official branded merchandise that’s showcased on your watch pages.

Super Chat & Super Stickers: Your fans pay to get their messages highlighted in chat streams. YouTube Premium Revenue: Get part of a YouTube Premium subscriber’s subscription fee when they watch your content.

Each feature has its own set of eligibility requirements on top of subscriber and view count requirements. If our reviewers believe that your channel or video is not eligible, specific features may not be available. These extra thresholds exist for two main reasons. The most important one is that we have to meet legal requirements in every area where the feature is available. Then, because we want to reward good creators, we need to make sure we have enough context on your channel. Generally, this context means we need more content to look at.

Keep in mind that we constantly review channels to make sure your content is in line with our policies.

Minimum eligibility requirements to turn on monetization features

Keep in mind that each feature has its own requirements. Some features may not be available to you due to local legal requirements.

Once you've been accepted in the YouTube Partner Program, you may get access to these monetization features:

	Requirements
Ad revenue	Be at least 18 years old, or have a legal guardian older than 18 years of age who can handle your payments via AdSense. Create content that meets our advertiser-friendly content guidelines
Channel memberships	Be at least 18 years old Have more than 1,000 subscribers
Merch shelf	Be at least 18 years old Have more than 10,000 subscribers
Super Chat & Super Stickers	Be at least 18 years old Live in a country/region where Super Chat is available
YouTube Premium revenue	Create content watched by a viewer who is a YouTube Premium subscriber

YouTube Shorts Fund

The YouTube Shorts Fund is a $100M fund to reward creators for their dedication to making creative, original Shorts that delight the YouTube community. We’ll reach out to thousands of creators each month to tell them that they qualify for a Shorts bonus from the fund.

	Requirements
Shorts bonus	Be in one of these countries/regions: Brazil India Indonesia Japan Mexico Nigeria Russia South Africa United Kingdom United States Creators 13–18 years old must have a parent or guardian accept terms and set up an AdSense account for payment when one isn’t already linked to their channel. Have uploaded at least one eligible Short in the last 180 days.

Your YouTube earnings and tax liability

Earning money on YouTube or receiving Shorts bonuses are a great way to be rewarded for good, engaging content on the platform. Keep in mind that you may be liable to pay taxes to your country of residence on any income earned from your monetized videos on YouTube. Check with your local tax authorities for detailed guidance.