Direct answer: the YouTube Partner Program has two tiers, not one. The expanded fan-funding tier opens at 500 subscribers with three public uploads in 90 days plus either 3,000 valid public watch hours in 12 months or 3 million valid public Shorts views in 90 days. The full ads tier opens at 1,000 subscribers with either 4,000 valid public watch hours in 12 months or 10 million valid public Shorts views in 90 days. From 1 February 2027 the requirement for new applicants rises to 8,000 qualified watch hours in 365 days or 20 million Shorts views, with the 1,000-subscriber requirement unchanged. Any article telling you the requirement "is now" 8,000 hours is describing a rule that does not take effect until 1 February 2027.
- Two tiers: 500 subscribers for fan funding, 1,000 for ads and Premium revenue.
- Qualified hours are public only: private, unlisted and deleted videos do not count.
- Watch time from the Shorts feed does not count towards watch hours.
- From 1 February 2027: 8,000 hours or 20 million Shorts views, for new applicants only.
- Existing partners keep their status but must accept the updated terms by 31 January 2027.
What the Partner Program is
What the Partner Program actually is
The official page defines it as the program that "gives creators greater access to YouTube resources and monetization features, and access to our Creator Support teams", and that allows revenue sharing from ads served on your content. The part most people miss: YouTube retains the right to serve ads on all content under its Terms of Service, and the difference outside the program is that you have no claim on that revenue. The page says so directly: if you do not meet the eligibility criteria "you may still see ads being served on your content. In this case, you are not yet eligible to receive a share of the revenue."
So it is more accurate to describe the program as a contract than as a button. You enter once, then build your income from the modules inside it. The entry numbers themselves, what counts as qualified, and country availability including Saudi Arabia are the subject of YouTube monetization requirements. If you want the map of every earning route rather than this program specifically, start from the YouTube monetization guide.
According to YouTube's official announcement on 10 August 2026, the program now has "over 3 million creators", and these are the first significant changes to it since 2018.
The current thresholds: both tiers in numbers (as of 19 August 2026)
The YouTube Partner Program has two entry points today. The first, the expanded tier, unlocks fan funding features such as channel memberships, Super Chat, Super Stickers and Super Thanks, plus selected Shopping features. The second unlocks the ad revenue share and YouTube Premium revenue. The table below is taken from YouTube's two official overview pages, read on 19 August 2026:
| Tier | Subscribers | Second requirement (either one) | What it unlocks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expanded (fan funding) | 500 subscribers + 3 valid public uploads in the last 90 days | 3,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months, or 3 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days | Channel memberships, Super Chat and Super Stickers, Super Thanks, and select Shopping features |
| Full (ads and Premium) | 1,000 subscribers | 4,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months, or 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days | All of the above plus the Watch Page ad share, the Shorts ad share and Premium revenue |
YouTube is explicit that hitting the number is not admission: "Every channel that meets the threshold will go through a standard review process," and the review looks at the channel as a whole against the monetization policies. What each tier actually pays, the revenue share percentages and how the review and appeal process runs belong to the YouTube Partner Program explainer. If your question is broader than eligibility, start from the YouTube monetization guide.
One thing worth settling before you read on: purchased subscribers do not count toward the program's thresholds and do not survive a whole-channel review. If you are weighing a paid YouTube subscribers service as a separate commercial option, treat it as exactly that, with the limits stated on that page. It is not a route into monetization and it does not replace real watch hours or qualified Shorts views.
What counts as a qualified hour
This is where hours quietly disappear: the counter does not count every view, and the gap between "watch time" in your analytics and "qualified watch hours" on the eligibility bar is real.
Qualified watch hours: what counts and what does not
The YouTube Partner Program overview page (read 19 August 2026) uses the phrase "qualified watch hours" and states plainly that any qualified watch hours from Shorts views in the Shorts feed will not count towards the 4,000 qualified watch hours threshold. The "Understand your YouTube content performance" page confirms that eligibility still runs on qualified Shorts views and qualified watch hours even after the 24 August 2026 change to how public views are counted. YouTube does not publish a line-by-line list of what qualifies, so the table below separates what the official pages say in words from our clearly labelled editorial reading.
| Case | Counts toward qualified watch hours? | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| A real viewer watching a public long-form video | Yes | Official: this is the core of "qualified public watch hours" |
| A Shorts view inside the Shorts feed | No | Official: excluded in writing from the 4,000-hour threshold |
| A public live stream or premiere | Yes in practice | Editorial reading: live is reported as a public format in watch time reports and the eligibility page does not exclude it |
| Private, unlisted or deleted videos | Not as public hours | Official: the requirement says public; deleted content takes its hours out of the window |
| Views from apps or services that "add watch hours" | No | Official: the engagement-counting page says metrics must come from actual humans and not computer programs, and YouTube may remove low-quality views |
| Hours older than 12 months | Fall out of the count | Official: the requirement is "in the last 12 months" (365 days in the 2027 wording) |
The takeaway that matters: the hours that count are genuine public watch hours on long-form videos and streams, inside a rolling window. Nothing else moves you toward the threshold, however healthy the public counter looks.
Where to see your numbers
Where to see your hours in YouTube Studio
- Open YouTube Studio and select Earn in the left menu. If you are not in the program yet, YouTube shows your progress against the requirements there, including qualified public watch hours over the last 365 days and your subscriber count.
- For total (unfiltered) watch time, go to Analytics, then Overview, and set the range to the last 365 days. That figure includes Shorts and non-public videos, so it is usually higher than the qualified number.
- For a format-by-format split, the Content tab in Analytics separates videos, Shorts, live and posts, which shows where your hours actually come from.
- For the source of those hours, the video-level Reach tab shows, per the official page, watch time from impressions and the "Impressions and how they led to watch time" report.
Editorial note: treat the Earn counter as the answer to "am I eligible?" and the Analytics numbers as the answer to "what should I change in the content?". They are not supposed to match.
These are the eligibility numbers rather than the general analytics numbers; reading the rest of the reports, and what each metric actually means, is the subject of the YouTube Analytics guide.
The 1 February 2027 change: what changes and for whom
YouTube announced program updates in August 2026 that take effect on 1 February 2027. The official "Changes to the YouTube Partner Program" page states that "YPP entry thresholds for new creators are changing to 8,000 qualified watch hours in the last 365 days, or 20M qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days, in addition to still needing 1k subscribers". What that means for you:
- If you are already in the program before February 2027: the page says your status is not impacted by the update, but you do need to review and accept the updated terms in YouTube Studio by 31 January 2027 to keep monetizing fully.
- If you will apply after 1 February 2027: the ads and Premium requirement becomes 8,000 qualified watch hours or 20 million qualified Shorts views, with 1,000 subscribers.
- The 500-subscriber tier does not change: the page states there are "no changes to the eligibility requirements for fan funding, YouTube Creator Partnerships, or YouTube Shopping", so 500 subscribers with 3,000 hours or 3 million Shorts views still applies.
Until then, the rule in force is 4,000 hours or 10 million Shorts views. Any article telling you the requirement "is now 8,000 hours" is describing a rule that does not take effect until 1 February 2027. The other 2027 changes, the activity rule, the Shorts pool requirement and the Premium pools, apply to creators already inside the program and are covered in the contract modules and activity rule sections below.
The non-numeric requirements that sink most applications
Alongside the numbers, YouTube's overview page lists conditions that all have to be true before you apply:
- Follow the YouTube channel monetization policies: a set of policies that includes the Community Guidelines, the Terms of Service, AdSense program policies and the advertiser-friendly content guidelines. The review looks at the whole channel, not one video. What counts as reused or inauthentic content, and what happens after acceptance, is covered in YouTube monetization policies and why monetization stops.
- Live in a country or region where the program is available (list in the next section).
- Have no active Community Guidelines strike on the channel. The page says you can apply once a strike expires, or after a successful appeal against it.
- Have 2-Step Verification turned on for the Google Account behind the channel.
- 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. The page warns that a new account should only be created from inside Studio. Linking, the payment threshold and the payment dates are covered in the AdSense for YouTube explainer.
Is it available in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf?
Yes, according to two official pages read on 19 August 2026:
- The "YouTube Partner Program availability" page lists Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, along with Egypt, Jordan and Algeria, among the countries where you can sign up.
- The expanded Partner Program overview (the 500-subscriber tier) also lists Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Egypt.
So in practice a creator in Saudi Arabia can enter at 500 subscribers for fan funding features and at 1,000 subscribers for ads. The one exception we found in the official lists is the Shopping affiliate program, where Saudi Arabia is not listed as of the reading date. Country lists change, so check the official list if you are elsewhere.
How to check your eligibility and apply from YouTube Studio
You do not need to do the arithmetic yourself. The steps as the official page describes them:
- Sign in to YouTube, click your profile picture and open YouTube Studio.
- In the left menu, select Earn. You will see your subscriber count and your watch hours or Shorts views against the threshold.
- If you are not there yet, select Get notified and YouTube will email you when you meet either threshold.
- When you are eligible, select Apply Now, then review and accept the base terms.
- Set up an AdSense for YouTube account, or link an existing active one.
- You will see In Progress on the Get Reviewed step, which means the application has landed. The decision comes "typically in about 1 month", and you can check the status in the same tab at any time.
If your subscriber or watch-hour count drops below the threshold after you apply, the page says the review still goes ahead. Changing video privacy settings or deleting videos after applying, however, may affect the status of the application.
Contract modules and revenue shares
Acceptance is not the end of the process: afterwards you choose which contract modules you want, and each opens a different income source at a different rate calculated on a different base.
The three contract modules
After acceptance you open the Earn tab in YouTube Studio and find optional modules whose terms you review and accept individually. YouTube's "Choose how you want to monetize" page names three:
1. Watch Page Monetization Module
Opens ads before, during, after and around long-form videos and live streams, and opens Premium revenue on that content. YouTube defines the Watch Page as the pages dedicated to the description and playback of your long-form or live content across YouTube, YouTube Music and YouTube Kids, and also when your videos are streamed inside the YouTube player embedded on other sites.
2. Shorts Monetization Module
Opens revenue sharing from ads viewed between videos in the Shorts feed. One practical detail matters here: revenue begins accruing on the date you accept the module, and views collected before that are not eligible. The pool mechanics are in the Shorts monetization explainer.
3. Commerce Product Module
Opens the fan funding features: channel memberships, Super Chat and Super Stickers, and Super Thanks. This page spells the module name out in full deliberately, because the abbreviation YouTube's own docs use for it collides with CPM meaning cost per mille, and the two have nothing to do with each other. Creators who switched on fan funding before 2023 may still be on the older Commerce Product Addendum, and YouTube is moving everyone onto the current module by 31 January 2027. Setup and levels are covered in the fan funding guide.
Beyond the modules, YouTube's "How to earn money on YouTube" page attaches its own minimums to each feature: memberships, Super Chat and Super Thanks need you to be at least 18, in an available country, with a channel not set as made for kids; Shopping with other brands' products needs 10,000 subscribers and residence in South Korea, Indonesia or the United States as of 19 August 2026.
The published shares: 55%, 45% and 70%
YouTube publishes the revenue share rates on its "YouTube partner earnings overview" page. This is what it said when we read it on 19 August 2026:
| Contract module | What it opens | Creator share | Calculated on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watch Page | Long-form and live ads plus Premium revenue on that content | 55% | Net revenue from ads displayed on your public videos |
| Shorts | Shorts feed ads plus Premium revenue on Shorts | 45% | The revenue allocated to you from the Creator Pool, based on your share of engaged views |
| Commerce Product Module | Memberships, Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks | 70% | Net revenue from those features |
The difference between the first two rows is not cosmetic. On long-form, the percentage applies to ad revenue from ads served on your content. On Shorts, ad revenue from between the clips is pooled monthly, the music licensing portion is taken out, the remainder is distributed to creators according to each one's share of engaged views in each country, and only then is the 45% applied to your allocation. So "45% on Shorts" is not 45% of an ad shown next to your Short.
Note too that YouTube states on the same page that there are "no guarantees under the YouTube partner agreement about how much or whether you'll be paid", and that transaction taxes are not part of the revenue share calculation. Interpreting the per-thousand number you see is the job of the RPM and CPM explainer, and actually receiving the money runs through AdSense for YouTube.
YouTube Premium revenue and its pools
When a Premium member watches your content, your revenue comes from their subscription fee rather than an ad. YouTube's Premium page for creators says subscription revenue "is distributed to video creators based on how much members watch your content", and publishes no percentage there. The published percentages are the 2027 pools: from 1 February 2027 creators share a pool representing 30% of net Premium subscription revenue and a pool representing 60% of net Premium Lite revenue. Per the official blog announcement, the pool is distributed by member watch time and views, and then your 55% (long-form) or 45% (Shorts) share is applied to what is allocated to you.
To receive Premium revenue you need the matching module: the Watch Page module with ads on for long-form, and the Shorts module for Shorts. In practice, a creator who accepts only one module leaves part of their Premium revenue on the table.
Applying and the review
Applying, and what happens next
The steps as the official page describes them, from desktop or mobile:
- Sign in to YouTube, click your profile picture and open YouTube Studio.
- In the left menu select Earn, then Apply Now.
- Review and accept the base terms.
- Set up an AdSense for YouTube account or link an existing active one. The application does not enter review until this step is complete.
- You will see In Progress on the Get Reviewed step, which means YouTube has your application.
From there, "automated systems and human reviewers will review your channel as a whole" against the policies and guidelines. The decision arrives "typically in about 1 month", and YouTube warns of delays when application volumes are high, and that some channels need multiple reviews "especially when several reviewers disagree on your channel's suitability for YPP". You can check the status in the same tab at any time.
A note on counters: the page states that a drop in subscribers or watch hours after applying does not stop the review, but changing video privacy settings or deleting videos after applying "might impact the status of your application".
Rejection and re-application
Why channels get rejected, and what comes next
Rejections are usually about policy, not numbers. YouTube's "My channel was rejected" page says the rejection email names the specific policies the channel violated, and advises reviewing your videos, titles, descriptions, thumbnails and tags against the channel monetization policies and Community Guidelines, then editing or deleting whatever breaches them. YouTube states plainly: "We can't promise that you can monetize after fixing your channel."
The official windows after a rejection: appeal within 21 days if you believe the decision was wrong, or re-apply 30 days after the rejection email the first time, and 90 days if it is not your first rejection or you have re-applied before. What modules, revenue shares and the activity rule mean once you are in are covered in the sections below.
Staying monetized has its own conditions. The official page notes that YouTube may turn off monetization on channels that have not uploaded a video or posted to the Posts tab for six months or more, and that a channel loses monetization when it violates the channel monetization policies, "regardless of their watch hours and subscriber count".
The activity rule
The activity rule and staying in
Acceptance is not permanent. The official page says YouTube "continuously check[s] channels in YPP" for ongoing compliance, that it may turn off monetization on channels that "haven't uploaded a video or posted to the Posts tab for 6 months or more", and that channels lose monetization when they violate the channel monetization policies "regardless of their watch hours and subscriber count".
That rule becomes a numbered standard on 1 February 2027. The "Changes to the YouTube Partner Program" page says a channel counts as active if it meets any of the following:
- 1,000 qualified watch hours in the past 365 days, or
- 1 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days, or
- 2 long-form videos or 5 Shorts uploaded every 90 days.
Channels that drop below get "an extended 90-day window" to meet either of the first two and stay in the program. In practice: a channel that publishes regularly will never notice this rule, and a dormant one is the target.
Frequently asked questions
Is the requirement now 8,000 hours?
No. As of 19 August 2026 it is 4,000 hours with 1,000 subscribers. The 8,000 figure applies to new applicants from 1 February 2027, and any article presenting it as current is describing a rule that does not take effect until 1 February 2027.
Do Shorts views count towards watch hours?
No. Watch time inside the Shorts feed is a separate path with a views threshold rather than an hours threshold, and it has its own number.
Can I reach the thresholds by buying subscribers or hours?
No. YouTube counts qualified metrics only, the fake engagement policy prohibits it explicitly, and a violation puts the channel at risk rather than speeding acceptance.
How long does the review take?
YouTube states an approximate period on its application page, and it can run longer if the channel needs additional review. The status appears in the monetization tab in Studio.
Are existing partners affected by the 2027 change?
Their status is not affected, but they must accept the updated terms before 31 January 2027.
Practical summary
Know which tier you are aiming at before you plan: 500 subscribers opens fan funding, 1,000 opens ads. Track both numbers in the monetization tab in Studio rather than in general analytics, because the qualified figures differ. If you will apply after February 2027, plan around 8,000 hours rather than 4,000. And in every case the numeric thresholds are only half the story: the non-numeric ones, the policies, two-step verification and having no active strikes, are behind most rejections.
Official sources
- YouTube Partner Program overview and eligibility: both current thresholds, what counts and what does not, the application steps, review time, appeal and re-apply windows, and the six-month rule (read 19 August 2026).
- Overview of the expanded YouTube Partner Program: the 500-subscriber tier and the country list including Saudi Arabia (read 19 August 2026).
- Changes to the YouTube Partner Program: the 1 February 2027 thresholds for new applicants and confirmation that the 500-subscriber tier is unchanged (read 19 August 2026).
- YouTube's official announcement of the 2027 updates: 8,000 hours or 20 million Shorts views for new applicants (read 19 August 2026).
- YouTube Partner Program availability: the country list including Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states (read 19 August 2026).
- My channel was rejected for monetization FAQs: appeal and re-apply windows and how to strengthen an application (read 19 August 2026).
- YouTube channel monetization policies: the policies the channel is reviewed against (read 19 August 2026).
- Choose how you want to monetize: the three contract modules and what each one opens, plus the per-tier feature table (read 19 August 2026).
- YouTube partner earnings overview: the 55%, 45% and 70% rates verbatim, and the statement that the partner agreement gives no assurance of how much or whether you will be paid (read 19 August 2026).
- How to earn money on YouTube: the earning features inside the program and the minimum requirements for each (read 19 August 2026).
- Your content and YouTube Premium: how subscription revenue is distributed and which modules are needed for it (read 19 August 2026).
- YouTube Commerce Products monetization policies: what the Commerce Product Module opens and the minimum requirements for fan funding (read 19 August 2026).
- Understand your YouTube content performance: the 24 August 2026 view-count change with eligibility still on qualified watch hours, playlist and traffic-source reports (read 19 August 2026).
- Check your YouTube impressions and watch time: the watch time (hours) definition and watch time from impressions (read 19 August 2026).
- Understand your YouTube engagement: average view duration calculated from engaged views (read 19 August 2026).
- YouTube performance FAQ and troubleshooting: appropriate video length, relative vs absolute watch time, seasonality and competition (read 19 August 2026).
- How engagement metrics are counted: metrics from actual humans, not computer programs, and removal of low-quality views (from the source register, 18 August 2026).
- Impressions and click-through-rate FAQs: clickbait titles and thumbnails tend to produce low average view duration (from the source register, 18 August 2026).