Join the YouTube Partner Program, and apply before 1 February 2027 if you can, when the bar for new channels doubles. Today you need 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 public watch hours in 12 months, or 10 million Shorts views in 90 days; from 1 February 2027 new applicants need 1,000 subscribers plus 8,000 watch hours or 20 million Shorts views. India is an eligible country. You also need two-step verification, no active strikes and an AdSense for YouTube account; apply from Earn in YouTube Studio, and review typically takes about a month. Fan funding and Shopping open earlier, at 500 subscribers with 3 uploads in 90 days and 3,000 watch hours or 3 million Shorts views. Mass-produced or repetitive videos are not monetised. Submit US tax information in AdSense, or Google may withhold up to 24% of your worldwide earnings. Rule: publish original, useful videos on a schedule; the thresholds follow viewers who come back.
YouTube's own page on joining the Partner Programme: 1,000 subscribers with 4,000 public watch hours in 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in 90 days, plus two-step verification, no active strikes and an AdSense for YouTube account.
YouTube's announcement of new YPP terms: from 1 February 2027 new applicants need 1,000 subscribers plus 8,000 watch hours in 365 days or 20 million Shorts views in 90 days, and current partners must accept new terms by 31 January 2027.
The full list of ways to earn inside the Partner Program, ads, Shopping, Premium revenue, memberships, Super Chat and Super Thanks, with each feature's minimum requirements.
The policies a channel must meet to earn. Since July 2025 the repetitious content rule is called inauthentic content and covers mass-produced, generic or repetitive videos.
Why a creator in India must submit US tax information in AdSense: without it Google may deduct up to 24% of total worldwide earnings; with it, withholding applies only to earnings from US viewers at a rate set by any tax treaty.
YouTube's page on tagging other brands' products in videos and earning commission. India is one of the eligible countries, and a channel must be in the Partner Program to be invited.
YouTube's own four-minute explainer of the 2027 YPP changes: new entry requirements, Shorts revenue, new incentive programs and how to accept the terms in Studio.
