YouTube announced on Monday that new creators will face significantly higher eligibility thresholds before they can begin earning revenue through advertising and other monetisation features on the platform. The updated requirements take effect on 1 February 2027, giving prospective creators more than two years to reach the current, lower benchmarks before the door narrows.

Under the revised rules, creators must still reach 1,000 subscribers, but will additionally need at least 8,000 "qualified watch hours" — a metric measuring total time viewers spend watching a channel's videos — over the preceding 12 months. Alternatively, creators can qualify with 20 million Shorts views within the last 90 days. Shorts are YouTube's short-form video format, comparable to TikTok clips or Instagram Reels.

The new thresholds effectively double 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 framework through which creators are compensated. YouTube confirmed that creators already accepted into YPP will not be affected by the change. This marks the first significant update to YPP's eligibility criteria since 2018, when YouTube replaced a 10,000-total-lifetime-views requirement with the current 4,000-watch-hours-plus-1,000-subscribers bar in response to advertiser brand-safety concerns. The programme currently comprises more than 3 million creators, and the tighter entry point arrives as YouTube competes with TikTok, Instagram Reels, and Twitch for creator loyalty across both long-form and short-form video.

Timeline and Shorts-Specific Rule

Any creator who starts a channel today will have until 31 January 2027 before the new requirements come into force. YouTube also introduced a separate rule specifically for creators earning from Shorts. To continue receiving payouts from the Shorts Creators Pool — a revenue-sharing pool that distributes earnings based on Shorts performance — creators must now 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 videos, with Shorts earnings resuming once the 10 million-view benchmark is reached again.

Unchanged Monetisation Routes

Not all monetisation pathways are affected. YouTube stated that thresholds for Fan Funding and Shopping tools remain unchanged: creators can still qualify 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.

These current entry requirements were themselves introduced in June 2023, when YouTube lowered the threshold 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.

Premium Lite Expansion

Alongside the announcement, YouTube confirmed that its more affordable Premium Lite subscription — an ad-free tier that also supports offline downloads and background play — will now be available in every country where standard YouTube Premium is offered. According to YouTube's official blog post, 60% of net Premium Lite subscription revenue is directed into the creator pool, compared with 30% for full Premium. Within that pool, 55% is allocated to long-form creators and 45% to Shorts creators.

YouTube reported that it has paid out $8 billion to creators in 2025.