Upload and claim your videos

Features described in this article only apply to users of YouTube Studio Content Manager. For general info on uploading videos to YouTube, learn more here.

YouTube offers multiple ways to upload videos. For channels linked to a Content Manager account, uploading a video also involves setting policies, specifying ownership, and creating an asset.

You need to own the rights or have the necessary licenses for the rights to any video you upload to YouTube.

Upload your videos

If your channel is linked to a Content Manager account, you can use the steps below to upload videos from studio.youtube.com.

Note: This upload process is different when uploading videos through other content delivery methods.

1. Select a file and enter details

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio as the channel that’s linked to your Content Manager account.
2. In the top-right corner, click  CREATE Upload videos.
3. Click SELECT FILES or drag-and-drop the video files you want to upload.
4. When the Details page appears, add the title and description for your video.
5. Select if your video is made for kids.
6. To enter more info like paid promotion, tags, subtitles, click SHOW MORE.
7. Click NEXT.

After you click NEXT on the Details page, the Rights Management page will appear.

2. Set policies

1. On the Rights Management page, under Policies applied to your own video, click Upload policy  and select the upload policy.
   • Your default upload policy will already be selected. If you don’t have a default upload policy, Track in all countries will be selected.
   • The Upload policy dropdown list removes any policies with autoclaim criteria. Select a different policy to override your default upload policy.
2. In the Policies applied to copies of your video section, click Match policy  and select the match policy.
   • To allow Content ID matches for this video, click the Turn on Content ID matching checkbox and select a match policy from the dropdown list.
   • If you’re not registered for Content ID, these controls don’t appear. Learn more about Content ID eligibility.
   • If your video is too short for Content ID, a note will appear: “Video is too short for Content ID matching”.

3. Specify ownership

1. On the Rights Management page, under Ownership, select Global (default option) or Specific territories.
2. If you selected Specific territories, choose Own in selected territories or Own everywhere except selected territories. Then enter the territories in the text box.
   • To block your video outside of the territories where you have ownership, check the box next to Block video outside your territories of ownership. Learn more.

4. Create an asset

1. On the Rights Management page, under Asset information, click Asset type  and select the Asset type to create for this video. Learn more about asset types.
2. In the Asset title field, enter the title for your asset.
   • Note: You can’t change the Asset type once you click Save changes.
3. You can also add a custom ID, asset description, and notes in the remaining fields.
4. Click NEXT.

Once  the ownership and asset info is saved, changes can be made from the Assets page in Studio Content Manager. Learn more.

5. Complete remaining steps

Once you’ve completed the Details and Rights Management sections, proceed through the remaining steps of the upload process.

You can use the info here to guide you through the remaining sections: Video elements, Checks, and Visibility.

In the Visibility section, if you want to review your video before it's published, set the video as Private, Unlisted, or Scheduled. If your video's privacy setting is Public, YouTube publishes your video once you click SAVE and the file is done processing.

Claim previously uploaded videos

If you’ve already uploaded a video, you can claim it afterward by selecting an upload policy from Studio Content Manager.

Claim a previously uploaded video

1. Sign in to Studio Content Manager.
2. From the left menu, select Videos .
3. Click the video you want to claim.
4. Select the Rights Management tab.
5. Click Upload policy  and select the upload policy to associate with this video.
   • Fewer policies may be available in this list because match policies with Content ID matching conditions cannot be set as upload policies. Learn more.
6. Click APPLY.
7. Click SAVE.

Claim multiple previously uploaded videos at once

1. Sign in to Studio Content Manager.
2. From the left menu, select Videos .
3. Click the checkboxes next to the videos you want to claim.
4. From the top banner, click Edit  Upload policy.
5. Click Upload policy  and select the upload policy to associate with these videos.
6. Click APPLY.
7. Click UPDATE VIDEOS.