How to Get Monetized on YouTube: Requirements, Steps, and the Review
To get monetized on YouTube, your channel has to join the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). That means reaching one of two thresholds, applying in YouTube Studio, and passing a review of the whole channel. As of October 2026 the thresholds are 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 qualified public watch hours in the last 12 months, or 1,000 subscribers plus 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days. Meeting one does not get you in automatically. YouTube then checks whether your content follows its monetization policies, and that check is where most faceless and AI-assisted channels get stuck.
We make Nichecast, a tool that produces finished videos for faceless channels. It gets one short section near the end. Everything above it is YouTube’s own process, and it applies however you make your videos.
What you need before you can apply
The thresholds are only part of the list. YouTube’s Partner Program page asks for all of these:
- Follow the YouTube channel monetization policies.
- Live in a country or region where the program is available.
- Have no active Community Guidelines strikes on the channel.
- Turn on 2-Step Verification for the Google Account.
- Have advanced features access on YouTube.
- Have one active AdSense for YouTube account linked to the channel, or be ready to set one up in YouTube Studio.
Two of these catch people by surprise. A strike blocks the application until it expires or you win an appeal, and the AdSense link is a signup step: YouTube says a channel needs to complete all the signup steps, including signing the contract and linking AdSense, before it is reviewed.
The two ways to become eligible
You pick the route that matches what your channel mostly makes.
| Long-form route | Shorts route | |
|---|---|---|
| Subscribers | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| Viewing requirement | 4,000 qualified watch hours | 10 million qualified Shorts views |
| Window | Last 12 months | Last 90 days |
| What counts | Public long-form videos | Public Shorts in the Shorts Feed |
The details matter more than the headline numbers:
- Shorts do not count towards the 4,000 hours. YouTube says watch hours from Shorts views in the Shorts Feed are excluded from that threshold. A channel posting only Shorts cannot add them up to reach it.
- Private and unlisted videos do not count towards either route. Neither do deleted videos or views from ad campaigns.
- Watch time from a livestream counts only if it is public and converted to a video on demand.
If you want a person’s view of the Shorts side in more depth, our guide to making money on YouTube Shorts covers the Shorts Monetization Module and how the payouts work.
How to apply, step by step
Once your channel is eligible, YouTube describes the application as a short sequence in YouTube Studio:
- Sign in to YouTube and open YouTube Studio from your profile picture.
- In the left menu, click Earn.
- Select Apply Now.
- Click Start to review and accept the base terms.
- Click Start again to set up an AdSense for YouTube account, or link an existing active one.
When you see In Progress next to the Get Reviewed step, YouTube has your application. If you would rather not watch the numbers yourself, the Earn area has a Get notified option that emails you once you meet either threshold.
What the review checks
Passing the thresholds only gets you into the queue. Automated systems and human reviewers look at the channel as a whole. YouTube says reviewers cannot check every video, so they may focus on:
- the channel’s main theme
- its most viewed videos
- its newest videos
- the biggest share of its watch time
- video titles, thumbnails and descriptions
- the channel’s About section
YouTube says a decision typically takes about one month, and that delays are possible when application volumes are high. Applications are handled in the order they arrive.
If the answer is no, you have choices. You can appeal within 21 days, or keep uploading original content and re-apply after 30 days. A channel whose first application failed, or that has already re-applied, waits 90 days before trying again. YouTube’s own note on a rejection is that reviewers likely found a significant part of the channel does not follow the policies, so reading the policies against your content before the next attempt is worth more than waiting.
Why faceless and AI-assisted channels get rejected
You do not need to show your face. YouTube’s policy asks for content that is original and “authentic”: your own creation, and not “mass-produced, generic, repetitive, or manipulative”. In July 2025 YouTube renamed its “repetitious content” policy to “inauthentic content” to make that clear, and said content of that kind was never eligible.
The policy page lists what it does not allow to monetize, and a faceless channel should read the list closely:
Image slideshows, templated storylines, or scrolling text with minimal or no narrative, commentary, or educational value
AI-generated content made with generic or unoriginal templates giving the impression of mass production without adding the creator’s original, authentic insights or perspective
It also says what is fine: the same intro and outro on every video, as long as the bulk of each video is different, and a series where each video has “a distinct storyline, focus, or concept”. The test YouTube states is whether the content of each video is “materially varied”.
For a faceless channel, that comes down to a few practical checks:
- Each video should carry its own point: a distinct fact, argument, story or lesson, not the same template with the nouns swapped.
- The narration should add something. Reading out text that is already on screen is the “scrolling text” case.
- Reused clips need real commentary or change on top, and copyright still applies separately.
- Titles, thumbnails and descriptions should describe the video that exists.
Our guide to the faceless channel walks through picking a niche that gives each video something distinct to say.
What to do while you build toward the threshold
Reaching 1,000 subscribers and a big viewing number is a matter of steady, varied uploads, and the program has its own pressure to stay active: YouTube says it may turn off monetization on channels that have not uploaded a video or posted to the Posts tab for 6 months or more.
A plan that holds up under the review:
- Pick one niche a viewer could describe in a sentence, so the channel’s theme is obvious to a reviewer.
- Choose the route that suits your format. Long-form builds toward watch hours. Shorts build toward views.
- Post on a rhythm you can keep. Our guide to scheduling Shorts shows how to fill a week at a time.
- Make every video different in substance, which is also what the inauthentic-content policy rewards.
- Keep everything public. Videos set to private or unlisted add nothing to the totals.
- Check Earn in YouTube Studio now and then, and apply when you are eligible.
Where Nichecast fits
The slow part of this plan is making enough distinct videos. Nichecast takes that part: you describe your channel’s niche once, and it writes the script, records the voiceover, adds timed captions, renders a vertical video and uploads it to your own YouTube channel. Every video lands as unlisted. Nichecast never publishes. You watch each one in YouTube Studio and press publish yourself, or schedule it. That review is where you supply the judgement the inauthentic-content policy asks for, so the review step is built in rather than offered as an autopilot.
Nichecast makes vertical videos. If your plan is the long-form route, it covers the Shorts side of your channel and the rest is yours to produce.
As of October 2026, the Free plan includes 5 videos once, with no card required, and Pro is $29 a month for 30 videos, with a failed video refunded automatically. See pricing for the current plans, or try a free script generator for your niche first. Nothing about using a tool changes YouTube’s review, and no tool can promise you will be accepted.
When the manual way is enough
If you already film something (a craft, a kitchen, a workshop, a gym), your own footage and your own voice are the strongest evidence of originality there is, and your phone is all you need. The same goes for a channel with a handful of videos where you want to learn what works before scaling. A production tool starts to pay off when volume in a faceless niche is the bottleneck. Our automated channel guide lays out which steps are worth handing over and which to keep.
Common questions
Do I get monetized automatically when I reach 1,000 subscribers? No. YouTube says every channel that meets the threshold goes through a standard review, and the channel must have no active Community Guidelines strikes.
What if my numbers drop after I apply? YouTube says it reviews the channel once you have met the threshold, so a later dip does not matter while you wait. Changes to video privacy settings or deleted videos might affect the application, though.
Can I be monetized with only Shorts? Yes, through the Shorts route: 1,000 subscribers and 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days.
Is an AI-made channel eligible? YouTube’s rules are about originality, not the tool. Content that looks mass-produced or built from generic templates is ineligible however it was made.
What if I am turned down? Appeal within 21 days, or fix the channel and re-apply after 30 days. Repeat applicants wait 90 days.
Requirements, timings and policy wording above were read off YouTube Help’s Partner Program and channel monetization policy pages in October 2026. YouTube has announced updated Partner Program terms taking effect on February 1, 2027, so check both pages before you apply.