YouTube said on Monday that new creators will need to clear a much higher bar before they can start earning money from advertising and other monetisation features on the platform, effective from 1 February 2027.
Under the new rules, a creator must still reach 1,000 subscribers, but will also need at least 8,000 “qualified watch hours” (a measure of how much time viewers spend watching a channel’s videos) over the past year. Alternatively, they can qualify with 20 million Shorts views in the last 90 days. Shorts are YouTube’s short-form videos, similar to TikTok clips or Instagram Reels.
That doubles the current watch-hour requirement. At present, a new creator needs 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 watch hours over a year, or 1,000 subscribers plus 10 million Shorts views over 90 days, to join the YouTube Partner Programme (YPP), the scheme through which creators are paid. The platform said creators already accepted into YPP will not be affected by the change, and this is the first significant update to YPP’s eligibility rules since 2018. The programme now has more than 3 million creators.
What YouTube is changing and when
Anyone starting a channel today has until 31 January 2027 before the new requirements take effect. YouTube also introduced a separate rule for creators earning specifically from Shorts. To keep receiving money from the Shorts Creators Pool, a revenue-sharing pool that pays creators based on Shorts performance, creators will now need to maintain 10 million Shorts views over every rolling 90-day period. Channels that fall below this threshold will remain in YPP and can still earn from their long-form (regular-length) videos, with Shorts earnings resuming once the 10 million-view mark is crossed again.
Not every monetisation route is affected. YouTube said thresholds for Fan Funding and Shopping tools remain unchanged: creators can still qualify for those with 500 subscribers, at least three qualified uploads in the previous 90 days, and either 3,000 watch hours or 3 million Shorts views over 90 days.
The current entry requirements were themselves introduced in June 2023, when YouTube lowered the bar to 500 subscribers, three public uploads in 90 days, and either 3,000 watch hours or 3 million Shorts views for a separate entry tier.
Alongside the announcement, YouTube said its cheaper Premium Lite subscription, an ad-free tier that also allows offline downloads and background play, will now be available in every country where standard YouTube Premium is offered. YouTube said 60% of net Premium Lite subscription revenue goes into the creator pool, compared with 30% for full Premium, with 55% of that pool going to long-form creators and 45% to Shorts creators.
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