Note: The criteria and process outlined in this article applies only to authoritative health providers based in the US, UK, DE, BR, ID, JP, FR, KR, CA, and MX.
Outside of the countries listed above, organizations with pre-existing, standardized vetting mechanisms such as accredited hospitals, academic medical institutions, public health departments, or government organizations who would like to be considered for eligibility in our health features can submit a request via the feedback tool available in the menu from your profile picture.
In the feedback, please include your channel details, channel URL, country, and website with “#healthinfo”. This feedback is reviewed on a periodic basis. Eligible channels may take months to show up in our features.
At YouTube, we’re committed to connecting viewers with health content from authoritative sources. As our health features grow, we’re looking to expand the types of health sources used in some of our health features. To expand eligibility for authoritative sources, we’re introducing an application process for health-focused YouTube channels.
To inform this process, we worked with third-party health authorities to define principles for how creators share health info online. These health authorities include:
- Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS)
- The National Academy of Medicine (NAM)
- The World Health Organization (WHO)
Individuals, companies, and nonprofits with health-focused YouTube channels in the US, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, France, South Korea, Canada, and the UK can apply for these features. Applicants will be vetted against eligibility criteria outlined below. Right now, the following are not eligible for consideration:
- Certain types of for profit healthcare brands
- Channels run by pharmaceutical companies, health insurers, or medical device companies
Applicants who meet our criteria will be eligible for the:
For the UK
In the UK, to inform this process we worked with a third-party health authority, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC), to define health information sharing principles for how individuals, companies, and nonprofits with health-focused YouTube channels share health information online.
Experts convened by the AoMRC developed these principles, outlining key aspects of health information sharing. These principles allow us to identify credible sources of health information online in the UK.
Minimum eligibility requirements
- Attest to the Health Information Sharing Principles. Experts convened by CMSS, NAM, and The WHO developed these principles outlining key aspects of info sharing. These aspects help define what it means to be a credible source of health info on social media. In the UK applicants must attest to the AoMRC principles instead.
- Be licensed in one of these health professions in the country/region that you’re applying to be an authoritative source. For example, you must be a licensed nurse in the United States to be eligible for the health features in the United States. If you’re applying on behalf of an organization, you must be a licensed professional in one of these professions. You must also have oversight and review of the content your organization posts on YouTube.
- Licensed Doctor (eligible to practice medicine in the relevant country)
- Licensed Nurse / Registered Nurse
- Licensed Psychologist or equivalent
- Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist or equivalent
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker or equivalent
Some professions may not be eligible or applicable in certain countries. Please refer to your country’s application form for further details.
Also, you or your organization’s associated YouTube channel must:
- Follow YouTube channel monetization policies, regardless of if the channel is monetizing.
- Have more than 1,500 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months, or 1.5 million valid public Shorts views in the past 90 days. You can read more about public watch hours and public Shorts views on this article.
- Primarily focus on covering health info.
- Have no active Community Guidelines strikes.
Organizations with pre-existing, standardized vetting mechanisms not based in the US, UK, IN, ID, CA, DE, FR, BR, JP, KR, and MX.
- Click Send feedback using the menu from your profile picture
on YouTube.
- Include your channel details, channel URL, country, and website with “#healthinfo”.
on YouTube.This feedback is reviewed on a periodic basis to determine if the channel is affiliated with accredited health organizations, academic medical journals, or government entities.
Eligible channels may take months to show up in our features.
How to apply
If you, or a representative from your organization, meet the above eligibility criteria, you are welcome to apply here. We’ll get back to you with a decision once your channel is reviewed (typically in about 1-2 months). Accepted applicants may become eligible to start surfacing in select features in early 2023.
Accepted applicants are periodically reassessed. If you, or the channel, no longer meet the eligibility criteria, you may no longer be eligible for certain YouTube Health features.