2026-10-31

YouTube Partner Program Requirements: The Numbers and the 2027 Change

Our earlier post, can a faceless YouTube channel make money?, explains the rules in general terms. This one gives the numbers, because beginners rightly want to know what the bar actually is. It also covers a change YouTube announced in August 2026 that raises the bar for new applicants from 1 February 2027.

Numbers like these change. Everything below is taken from, or linked to, YouTube's own pages as we read them (checked 31 October 2026). Before you plan around any figure, open the official page yourself. This is not legal or financial advice, and joining the program does not mean a channel will earn any particular amount.

Faceless channels: same rules as everyone

There is no requirement to show your face. A faceless channel joins the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) on the same terms as any other channel. What matters is meeting the thresholds and following the program's policies, especially the rules on reused and mass-produced content (see YouTube's inauthentic content policy, explained).

The thresholds today

YouTube's help page YouTube Partner Program overview & eligibility lists two levels.

Level 1: the expanded YPP (fan funding and shopping)

Available in countries where the expanded program has launched. YouTube's page Overview of the expanded YouTube Partner Program lists these thresholds:

• 500 subscribers, and
• 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.

This level opens fan-funding features such as channel memberships, Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks, Jewels and gifts, and YouTube Shopping (after you accept the Commerce Products Module). It does not include a share of ad revenue.

Level 2: ad revenue sharing

To earn a share of ad revenue, the current thresholds are:

• 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.

A few details from YouTube's pages that beginners often miss:

• Only public long-form videos count towards watch hours. Private, unlisted and deleted videos don't, views from ad campaigns don't, and watch hours from Shorts in the Shorts feed don't either.
• The two paths don't combine. Shorts views and long-form watch hours are separate routes; you meet one of them in full.
• It's a rolling window. Watch hours older than 12 months drop off.

Other requirements

The eligibility page also lists conditions beyond the numbers. In short:

• Follow YouTube's monetization policies and Community Guidelines.
• Live in a country or region where YPP is available.
• Have no active Community Guidelines strikes.
• Turn on 2-Step Verification for your Google account.
• Have access to advanced features on YouTube.
• Have one active AdSense for YouTube account linked to the channel (or set one up in YouTube Studio).

Check the page for the exact current list, since YouTube updates it.

The change from 1 February 2027

On 10 August 2026, YouTube announced updates to the Partner Program on its official blog: New opportunities to earn and changes to the YouTube Partner Program. The help page Changes to the YouTube Partner Program covers the updated terms (both checked 31 October 2026).

As announced:

• New applicants will need 1,000 subscribers plus 8,000 qualified watch hours in the last 365 days, or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days, to join for ad revenue sharing. That is double today's 4,000 hours and 10 million Shorts views. The subscriber number stays at 1,000.
• The fan-funding and Shopping level does not change: 500 subscribers plus 3,000 qualified watch hours in the last year or 3 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days.
• Channels already in YPP keep their status. Existing partners are asked to review and accept the updated terms in YouTube Studio by 31 January 2027; the help page says partners who don't will stop earning from the related monetization features from 1 February 2027.
• Shorts revenue gets its own condition: to earn monthly from the Shorts Creator Pool, a channel will need to keep 10 million qualified Shorts views over the last 90 days. A channel below that stays in YPP and keeps earning on long-form videos.
• Staying "active": from 1 February 2027 a partner channel counts as active if it has 1,000 qualified watch hours in the past 365 days, or 1 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days, or uploads 2 long-form videos or 5 Shorts every 90 days. Channels that drop below get a 90-day window to meet one of these.

Treat YouTube's help pages as the final word, and read them again closer to February 2027, because details are often clarified after an announcement.

What this means for a new faceless channel

If you are starting now

The ad-revenue bar for applications after 1 February 2027 will be higher. Realistically, most new channels will not reach 4,000 hours, let alone 8,000, within a few months. That isn't a reason to rush or to cut corners. It is a reason to:

• Build a channel you'd keep making even without ad revenue for a year or more.
• Focus on long-form videos that people actually finish, because watch hours come from people watching, not from uploads. See how to improve audience retention.
• Consider other income routes that don't depend on YPP thresholds: your own products, affiliate links (disclosed), sponsorships later on. Our monetization rules post covers these.

Don't try to "beat the deadline" with shortcuts

Buying views, subscribers or watch hours breaks YouTube's fake engagement policy and can get a channel removed. Mass-uploading low-effort videos to pile up hours is the pattern the monetization policies refuse to pay for. Both waste the time you could spend on videos that build a real audience.

Reaching the threshold is not the same as being accepted

When you apply, YouTube reviews the channel against its policies. Reviewers look at things like the channel's main theme, most-viewed and newest videos, and its titles, thumbnails and descriptions. A channel can meet every number and still be rejected for reused or inauthentic content. If that happens, the eligibility page explains the appeal and reapply rules (as of 31 October 2026: appeal within 21 days, or reapply after 30 days; 90 days after a repeat rejection).

A realistic plan

1. Pick a niche you can sustain (see how to choose a faceless YouTube niche and is faceless YouTube saturated?).
2. Publish at a pace you can keep with good quality. One well-made video a week is a common target for solo creators; fewer is fine.
3. Review your analytics monthly, not daily (see YouTube analytics for small channels).
4. Keep everything clean: original scripts, a licence log for every asset, honest titles and thumbnails, AI disclosure where it applies.
5. Re-read the YPP pages every few months. Requirements change, and you want to know before you apply, not after.

Quick reference

Sources: YPP overview & eligibility, expanded YPP, Changes to YPP, YouTube Blog announcement. Checked 31 October 2026.

Build the habits that hold up under any threshold

Thresholds go up and down; viewers who finish your videos are what count towards all of them. Our free script-length calculator helps you plan each video at a length you can actually fill with good material.