YouTube is set to introduce stricter eligibility requirements for new creators seeking advertising and Premium revenue, with the changes scheduled to take effect on February 1, 2027.
Under the revised criteria, creators applying to the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) will need to achieve either 8,000 qualified watch hours over the previous 12 months or 20 million qualified Shorts views within 90 days to qualify for ad and Premium revenue.
The higher thresholds will apply only to creators who seek to join the program after the new rules take effect, meaning existing YPP members will not have to requalify under the revised standards.
YouTube said the changes are intended to better recognise active creators as the platform continues to expand rapidly. The company says YouTube Shorts now generates more than 200 billion daily views, while viewers watch more than one billion hours of YouTube content on televisions each day.
The changes represent the first major revision to the Partner Program’s eligibility requirements since 2018.
YouTube is also introducing a separate ongoing requirement for creators earning money through the Shorts Creator Revenue Pool.
Creators will need to maintain at least 10 million qualified Shorts views during a 90-day period to continue receiving Shorts revenue.
Channels falling below that threshold will not be removed from the Partner Program and can continue monetising eligible long-form content. Their Shorts monetisation will resume once they again meet the required viewing threshold.