Channel memberships eligibility, policies, & guidelines

We’re making a few changes to how we collect and use data on kids content on YouTube.com. As a result, some of the instructions in this article may have changed. Learn more

Channel memberships allow viewers to join your channel through monthly payments and get members-only perks like badges, emoji, and other goods. If you’re eligible, these are the policies and guidelines will help steer you out of trouble.

Minimum eligibility requirements

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

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

  • Your channel must have more than 5,000 subscribers
  • Your channel is in the YouTube Partner Program
  • You're over 18 years old
  • You're 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) have agreed to and are complying with our terms and policies (including the relevant Commerce Product Addendum)

Note: You may see memberships on some channels with fewer than 30,000 subscribers. We plan to make memberships more broadly available in the future.

Availability

Channel memberships are currently available to eligible creators in the following locations: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vietnam.

Learn how to set your location setting.

Channel memberships policies and guidelines

Channel memberships policies

Participating creators (and MCNs) must accept and comply with:
All perks or benefits offered to your members are subject to these policies, whether listed in your offer window or offered by other means. We may update these policies from time to time.
You still must comply with all relevant laws as required by YouTube’s Terms of Service. Money you get from channel memberships may be treated differently based on laws that apply to you and your activities. Please be aware that channel memberships aren't crowdfunding or donation tools. You‘re responsible for fully complying with all relevant laws -- including if you can turn on, offer, and get money from channel memberships.
We continually use signals to identify potentially abusive or fraudulent behaviour. We will terminate access to memberships if we detect any of those signals. We reserve the right to terminate access to channel memberships on any channel.
 
You should be aware of our Community Guidelines strike system and aware of potential loss of privileges for actions that cause harm to the YouTube community.
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).

Policy and guideline violations

Paused mode
Memberships on your channel will enter "paused mode" if you:
  • Leave your MCN without having turned on monetization and accepted the Commerce Product Addendum before joining that MCN.
  • Move to a new MCN that hasn't turned on channel memberships for its creators ("Paid features").
  • Set your channel as made for kids

What happens when your channel is in paused mode

In paused mode, your members will lose access to membership offerings from your channel (including badge, emoji, and members-only Community posts), and their payments will pause. In addition, the "Join" button will disappear from your channel.
Note that members may cancel their membership at any time, including while your channel is in paused mode.

Exit paused mode 

To exit paused mode and resume channel memberships, you (or your new MCN) must go to studio.youtube.com/channel/UC/monetization/membershipsand click "Enable" in the channel memberships box. You can only turn on memberships if you (or your new MCN), 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. They'll be charged again at the start of their next 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 ended and you'll 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. If we need to refund your members, your share will be deducted from your AdSense account. 

Warnings and strikes

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

Our team reviews channel memberships perks you submit before the public sees them, and inappropriate perks will be rejected. For minor violations, you’ll get a warning. For serious or repeated violations, you may get a Community Guidelines strike.

What happens if you get 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 gets three Community Guidelines strikes within a three-month period, your account will be ended.

Appealing strikes

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

What happens if memberships are ended on your channel

If membership is terminated on a channel because of termination by the channel, removal from the YouTube Partner Program, or as a result of abuse, fraud or breach of our terms or policies, all active paying members will get a refund of their last month's payment. The channel's share of the revenue to be refunded will be deducted from the channel.

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