Starting February 1, 2027, new applicants to YouTube's Partner Program will need 8,000 watch hours or 20 million Shorts views in 90 days to earn ad revenue, exactly double today's bar, while the 1,000-subscriber floor stays the same.
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Transcript
Getting paid on YouTube just got twice as hard if you're new. Starting February 2027, new creators need eight thousand watch hours in a year, or twenty million Shorts views in ninety days, just to qualify for ads. That's double the old bar. The one thousand subscriber floor stays the same. If you're already in the program, you're not kicked out, but you have to accept the new terms by the end of January twenty twenty seven to keep your lower maintenance requirements. And there's a separate catch: every channel, new or old, now needs ten million Shorts views every ninety days just to keep earning from Shorts specifically. YouTube says it's rewarding active creators. It's also the first real change to entry requirements since 2018.