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 recurring payments and get members-only perks like badges, emoji, and other goods you offer. Find out if you’re eligible, and if you are, these are the policies and guidelines that will help steer you out of trouble.

Minimum eligibility requirements

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. 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, 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.

Learn how to set your location setting.

Channel memberships policies and guidelines

Channel memberships policies

Participating creators (and MCNs as applicable) must accept and comply with:
All perks or benefits offered to your members, whether listed in your offer window or offered by other means, are subject to these policies. We may update these policies from time to time.
You must also continue to comply with all applicable laws as required by YouTube’s Terms of Service. Money you receive from channel memberships may be treated differently based on laws that apply to you and your activities. You‘re responsible for understanding and fully complying with all applicable laws -- including whether or not you can enable, offer, and receive money from channel memberships.
In addition to our Community Guidelines strike system, all creators should be aware of potential loss of privileges for actions that cause significant 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 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").
  • 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 be paused. 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'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. 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

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

If membership is terminated on a channel (including, by voluntarily disabling it, or as a result of breaching our terms or policies, or being removed from the YouTube Partner Program), all active paid members on that channel at the time of such termination will receive a refund of their last month’s payment for membership on that channel, and the channel’s share of the revenue to be refunded will be deducted from the channel.

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