Entry requirements for new creators roughly double on 1 February 2027 — 4,000 watch hours becomes 8,000, and 10 million Shorts views becomes 20 million. If you're already in the Partner Program, that specific number doesn't apply to you. What does apply to everyone is a new recurring activity requirement just to stay monetised, and a Shorts earnings threshold that has to be cleared every 90 days, not once.
None of this is speculation. It's pulled directly from YouTube's official announcement and its Partner Program help documentation, plus the AI-content and disclosure policies that landed earlier in 2026 and now sit alongside the 2027 changes. Here is every number, where it comes from, and what to actually do about it before the cutover.
Entry requirements: doubling from 1 February 2027#
1,000 subscribers stays the same. Watch hours and Shorts views both double for anyone applying to join YPP after the cutover — existing members are unaffected by this specific number.
Since 2018, joining the YouTube Partner Program has meant clearing 1,000 subscribers and either 4,000 watch hours in a year or 10 million Shorts views in 90 days. From 1 February 2027, per YouTube's own Partner Program changes page, new applicants need 1,000 subscribers plus either 8,000 qualified watch hours in the last 365 days or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days. YouTube has confirmed this applies to channels applying to join after the cutover — not to channels already monetised.
Staying in YPP now has its own recurring bar#
This is the part that touches existing creators, not just new applicants: from 1 February 2027, every YPP member has to keep clearing one of three activity thresholds, on a rolling basis, or risk losing monetisation.
From that date, YPP members need to meet at least one 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
Fall below all three and YouTube gives a 90-day grace period to recover before monetisation is affected — the full detail is on the same Partner Program changes page. Practically, channels that monetised years ago and now post rarely can no longer coast indefinitely: some minimum, ongoing activity is now a condition of staying monetised, not just of joining.
Not sure where your channel stands against the new thresholds? Send us your channel and what you're hoping to earn from, and we'll check it against every requirement in this article, not just the headline one.
Check my channelShorts monetisation: a rolling threshold, not a milestone#
To earn from the Shorts Creator Pool each month from 1 February 2027, a channel needs 10 million qualified Shorts views over the trailing 90 days — every month, not once.
This restructures Shorts earnings into a tiered system rather than a flat share. Drop below the 10-million-views bar and Shorts revenue sharing pauses until the channel crosses it again; the channel itself stays in YPP throughout. To offset this, YouTube is introducing monetisation paths that don't depend purely on ad views — bonuses tied to YouTube Shopping, incentives for brand deals arranged through the platform, and rewards for creators who start or grow a trend. Full detail is in YouTube's own post on the update.
YouTube Premium Lite is going global#
Alongside the Partner Program changes, YouTube is expanding Premium Lite — its cheaper, ad-light subscription tier — to every country where full YouTube Premium is currently offered. For creators, this matters because Premium Lite viewership pays out differently than standard ad revenue, split by watch time between long-form and Shorts.
The exact split isn't a number worth memorising yet. It has moved as Premium Lite has rolled out region by region, so treat YouTube's own Premium Lite help page as the source of truth rather than any single recap, including this one.
What counts as monetisable content at all#
Separately from the 2027 thresholds, YouTube clarified on 16 July 2026 that three specific categories of content can no longer earn through YPP — and AI-assisted content in general is not one of them.
This is the one worth reading closely if your workflow leans on AI tools:
- Generic or repetitive content — template-based or AI-generated videos with minimal variation, including tutorials that simply reproduce content already common on the platform rather than adding anything original.
- Manipulative "distressing" content — videos engineered to provoke an emotional reaction through a formula, such as showing an animal in distress followed by a staged rescue.
- AI personas on sensitive topics — synthetic or AI-generated people discussing healthcare, finance, legal or medical matters cannot be monetised.
AI itself isn't the target. YouTube has been clear that mass-produced, low-originality "content farming" is what the policy excludes, not the use of AI tools on their own. See How YouTube Works: AI for the platform's own framing of where it draws that line.
Disclosure: labelling AI and synthetic content#
Running alongside the monetisation rules is a separate disclosure requirement: creators must flag when a video uses altered or synthetic media that could be mistaken for real people, places or events, covered in full under Disclosing use of GenAI content. Viewers see this surfaced through an on-video label, explained on YouTube's "How this content was made" disclosures page. Skipping a required disclosure is treated as a policy violation independent of whether the video is monetised.
None of this replaces YouTube's baseline Community Guidelines either — see the Community Guidelines overview for the platform's baseline policy set, which applies to every channel regardless of monetisation status.
Old vs new, side by side#
Put together, here's exactly what changes on 1 February 2027 and what doesn't.
| Requirement | Through 31 Jan 2027 | From 1 Feb 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Subscribers to join | 1,000 | 1,000 (unchanged) |
| Watch hours to join | 4,000 in 12 months | 8,000 qualified hours in 365 days |
| — or Shorts views to join | 10M in 90 days | 20M qualified views in 90 days |
| Ongoing activity, once in YPP | None | 1,000 hrs/365d, or 1M Shorts views/90d, or 2 videos/5 Shorts per 90d |
| Shorts Creator Pool earnings | — | 10M qualified views over trailing 90 days, monthly |
Deadline to note separately: creators must accept YouTube's updated terms by 31 January 2027 to keep earning without interruption after the cutover — a compliant channel can still lose monetisation temporarily just by missing that step.
Common questions#
When do YouTube's new 2027 Partner Program requirements take effect?
1 February 2027, for both the new entry thresholds and the new ongoing channel activity requirements. Creators need to accept YouTube's updated terms by 31 January 2027 to avoid an interruption in earnings.
Do creators already in the YouTube Partner Program need to re-qualify at the new, higher thresholds?
No. The doubled entry requirements -- 8,000 watch hours or 20 million Shorts views -- apply only to channels applying to join YPP after the cutover. Existing members are not required to re-qualify at that level, though they are subject to the new ongoing activity requirements.
What happens if a channel falls below the new YPP activity requirements?
YouTube gives a 90-day grace period to get back above at least one of the three activity thresholds -- watch hours, Shorts views, or upload frequency -- before monetisation is affected.
Is AI-generated content banned from monetisation on YouTube?
No. YouTube has been explicit that AI tools themselves are not prohibited. What's excluded from earning, as clarified on 16 July 2026, is generic and repetitive low-originality content, manipulative "distressing" content, and AI personas discussing sensitive topics like health, finance or legal matters -- whether or not AI was used to make the video.
What's changing with YouTube Shorts monetisation specifically?
From 1 February 2027, earning from the Shorts Creator Pool each month requires 10 million qualified Shorts views over the trailing 90 days -- a rolling requirement, not a one-time milestone. Channels below it stay in YPP but pause Shorts revenue sharing until they cross the threshold again.
Does YouTube Premium Lite affect how much creators earn?
Yes, indirectly -- YouTube is expanding Premium Lite to every country where full Premium is offered, and creators are paid a share of subscription revenue based on member watch time across long-form and Shorts. The exact split has shifted as the tier has rolled out, so YouTube's own Premium Lite help page is the source to check rather than any fixed number.
Want your channel checked against every 2027 requirement, not just one?
Send us your channel and what you're hoping to earn from — you'll get a straight answer on where you stand today, and what closes the gap before 1 February 2027.