Channel memberships eligibility, policies, & guidelines

You have to meet minimum requirements to be considered for channel memberships on YouTube.

Please note, meeting the following does not mean you'll automatically get channel memberships. We are slowly rolling this feature out. If you have access, you'll see memberships as an option on the Memberships page:

• Your channel must have more than 30,000 subscribers
  • Gaming channels must have more than 1,000 subscribers
• Your channel is in the YouTube Partner Program
• You are over 18 years old
• You are located in one of the available locations
• Your channel is not set as made for kids
• Your channel does not have a significant number of ineligible videos
  • Videos set as made for kids, or videos with music claims are considered ineligible
• You (and your MCN, if applicable) have agreed to and are complying with our terms and policies (including the applicable Commerce Product Addendum)

Note: You may see memberships on some channels with fewer than 30,000 subscribers. These may be either gaming channels or channels that have helped test memberships. There’s a lower threshold for gaming channels because there were lower minimum eligibility thresholds for channel memberships in the gaming app (which is no longer available). We want to keep requirements consistent for gaming creators across YouTube.

• YouTube Terms of Service
• YouTube Community Guidelines
• YouTube monetization policies
• Commerce Product Addendum
  • Participating creators can see the Commerce Product Addendum at youtube.com/paid_features_signup
• Channel membership content and perk guidelines

All channel membership benefits you offer — including badges, emoji, perks, videos, live chats, and other content — are subject to membership policies and guidelines.

While you can offer things of value that make your members feel special, the following members-only benefits are not allowed under our policies and terms:

• Downloads of content (including music) available on YouTube
• In-person 1:1 meetings
• Anything that one or some (but not all) of your members are chosen to receive at random including, but not limited to
  • Contests
  • Lotteries
  • Sweepstakes
• Perks that are marketed, directed, or targeted, to children, or that may be attractive to, or inappropriate for, children (including encouraging children to ask their parents to join your channel membership).

• Leave your MCN without having enabled monetization and accepted the Commerce Product Addendum before joining that MCN.
• Move to a new MCN that hasn't enabled channel memberships for its creators ("Paid features").

What happens when your channel is in paused mode

Exit paused mode if you leave your MCN or moved to a new MCN

To exit paused mode and resume channel memberships, you (or your new MCN) must go to youtube.com/features and click "Enable" in the channel memberships box.You'll only be able to turn on memberships if you (or your new MCN, if applicable), agree to and are complying with out terms and policies (including the Commerce Product Addendum). 

Once you have resumed memberships, your members will regain access to membership offerings by your channel, and they will be charged again at the start of their next applicable billing cycle unless they cancel.

What happens if you’re in paused mode for more than 90 days

If channel membership is not resumed within 90 days, membership on your channel will be terminated and you will lose all members on your channel. Your members at the time of termination will automatically be refunded for their last month’s payment for membership on your channel. Your share will be deducted from your AdSense account in order to refund members.

All content on YouTube is subject to our Community Guidelines. Anything you offer as part of channel memberships must meet the same policy standards as any content you post.

What happens if your memberships perks violate our guidelines & policies

Channel memberships perks you submit are reviewed by our team before they are seen by the public, and inappropriate perks will be rejected. For minor violations, you’ll receive a warning. For serious or repeated violations, you may receive a Community Guidelines strike.

What happens if you receive a strike

We understand that users make mistakes and don’t intend to violate our policies — that’s why strikes don’t last forever and can be appealed. Each strike expires after 90 days.

While you have a strike on your account, you may not have access to some features on YouTube. You can see what features are active in your account's Status & Features.

If your channel gets 3 strikes

If your account receives three Community Guidelines strikes within a three-month period, your account will be terminated.

Appealing strikes

If you believe that the strike was issued without just cause, you can appeal the strike on your account.

What happens if memberships is terminated on your channel