YouTube's verification badges page says that to get the check mark beside your channel name, the channel needs 100,000 subscribers, 2-Step Verification on its Google Account and a complete profile, and an owner or manager then applies in YouTube Studio under Settings, Channel, Verified badge. That badge is separate from the other checks YouTube calls verification: a phone code opens intermediate features, channel history or an ID or video check opens advanced features, and Partner Program members confirm their identity and address in AdSense for YouTube before payouts.
Most confusion comes from that overlap. A creator told by Studio to “verify” usually needs a phone code, not a badge. This guide separates each check, shows where you start it, and flags where YouTube's own help pages disagree.
Every kind of YouTube verification, side by side
The requirements below come from YouTube and Google help pages, and the Source column links the page behind each row.
| Check | What it gives you | What you need | Where to start it | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verification badge | A check mark identifying the official channel of a creator, artist, company or public figure; no extra features | 100,000 subscribers, 2-Step Verification, a banner, profile picture, description and public video, then a review | Studio on a computer: Settings > Channel > Verified badge | Verification badges on channels |
| Phone verification | Intermediate features: videos longer than 15 minutes, computer live streaming, custom thumbnails and podcasts | A number that can receive a text or voice code; each number covers no more than 2 channels per year | Settings > Channel > Feature eligibility > Intermediate features | Feature access for creators; Verify your YouTube account |
| Advanced features | Chapters, clickable links, Related Video links on Shorts, pinned comments, A/B tests, higher daily limits and monetization applications | Phone verification, then enough channel history or, where offered, an ID or video check | Settings > Channel > Feature eligibility > Advanced features | Intermediate and advanced features |
| Partner Program application | The ability to apply for the YouTube Partner Program once the audience thresholds are met | 2-Step Verification, advanced features, one active AdSense for YouTube account and no active Community Guidelines strikes | The Earn section of YouTube Studio | Partner Program overview and eligibility |
| AdSense identity and address checks | Ads and payments keep running once earnings reach the verification threshold | An ID matching your payments profile, then a 6-digit PIN mailed to your payments address | AdSense for YouTube: Payments > Verification check | Verify your identity; Verify your address with PIN |
| Official Artist Channel | Merges an artist's topic, Vevo and own channels into one, with tools such as Analytics for Artists | A single artist or band channel with an official release delivered by a distributor or label | A request from your label, distributor or a music service partner | Introduction to Official Artist Channels |
The rows are independent. A badged channel still needs phone verification for long uploads, and a channel with every advanced feature can sit far below the badge's subscriber count. Only the Partner Program and AdSense rows connect, because AdSense checks begin once a channel is in the program and earning.
How to apply for the verification badge
YouTube's badge help page limits applications to channel owners and managers, and the form appears only once the subscriber requirement is met. On a computer:
- Sign in to YouTube Studio with the Google Account that owns or manages the channel.
- Open Settings, then Channel, then the Verified badge tab. If the tab is missing, YouTube says the channel is not yet eligible under the subscriber requirement.
- If the tab offers to turn on 2-Step Verification or edit your profile, finish those first; the Apply button appears once both are done.
- Click Apply and complete the request.
The page warns that YouTube's systems can take a few days to update after a new milestone or a newly enabled 2-Step Verification, so a missing form is not a refusal. Check you are signed in to the eligible channel and try again later.
The review then checks two things. The channel must be authentic, representing the real creator, brand or entity it claims to be; YouTube weighs factors such as channel age and may ask for documents. It must also be complete: public, active, with content, a banner, a description and a profile picture. YouTube sometimes verifies channels below the subscriber requirement on its own initiative when they are well known outside YouTube, but there is no form for that route.
What the badge changes, and what it leaves alone
The badge is an identity label. YouTube's verification page says verified channels get no extra features and that the badge is not an award, a milestone or an endorsement. The same page attaches these conditions:
- Renaming removes it. A renamed channel loses verification and must reapply, so settle any rebrand first.
- A new handle does not. Changing your handle leaves the badge in place.
- It can be withdrawn. YouTube may revoke verification, or terminate channels, for breaking the Community Guidelines or Terms of Service.
- Copycats are refused. Channels impersonating another creator or brand are not verified and may face further action.
- Older badges followed older rules. Verification has changed over time, so you will see many kinds of verified channels, not only ones that match today's criteria.
Phone verification and the intermediate tier
When Studio prompts you to verify, it nearly always means a phone check. YouTube's feature access page describes three tiers: standard features come with any channel that has no active Community Guidelines strikes, intermediate features need a verified phone number, and advanced features need channel history or an ID or video check on top. The phone code opens the middle tier.
Start from Settings > Channel > Feature eligibility, or the youtube.com/verify page, and YouTube sends a code by text or voice call. Its account verification page says one phone number can be associated with no more than 2 channels per year, so a team running several channels cannot verify them all from one phone. If a code never arrives, the page suggests the voice option or a number on another carrier.
One discrepancy is worth knowing. The verify your account page lists appealing copyright claims among the things a phone-verified account can do, while the newer table on the feature access page places Content ID appeals in the advanced tier. Go by your own channel: Studio's Feature eligibility page shows “Enabled” beside each feature you can use.
Advanced features through channel history, ID or video
Advanced features hold the tools established channels lean on, from chapters and clickable links to A/B tests and the monetization application. YouTube's advanced features verification page offers two routes once your phone is verified:
- Channel history. YouTube reviews activity such as uploads, live streams and audience engagement, plus account data such as when and how the Google Account was created and how often it is used. Most active channels already qualify, the page says.
- ID verification. Studio emails a link or shows a QR code, you photograph a valid ID with your phone, and its birthdate must match your Google Account.
- Video verification. You record your face on your phone while following prompts such as tracking a dot.
The verification page says both reviews usually take 24 hours, and that after a second rejected attempt you must wait 30 days before trying either method again. ID and video checks are not offered to every creator; without them, history is the only route. On a Brand Account only the primary owner can verify, and everyone on the channel then gets the features that owner's status allows.
On data, the same verification page says an ID confirms your date of birth, that the document is valid and that you were not previously suspended, and that verification data is deleted automatically within 2 years, usually sooner once your history is sufficient or after 1 year without using advanced features, though Google may keep data for up to 3 years from your last interaction to stop repeat abusers. Deleting it yourself before your history is established switches advanced features off.
Access can also be lost through strikes, spam, misleading metadata, impersonation or repeatedly uploading content you do not own, and the feature verification page says compliant active channels can usually rebuild sufficient history within 2 months. It also separates all this from age estimation, which applies teen protections when YouTube's model judges an account to belong to a minor.
Identity checks before Partner Program payouts
Monetization adds its own layer. YouTube's Partner Program overview requires 2-Step Verification, advanced features access and one active AdSense for YouTube account before you join, alongside the audience thresholds. Our guide on how to make money on YouTube maps which revenue streams open at each Partner Program tier.
Once your earnings reach the verification threshold, AdSense asks you to prove who you are. Google's identity verification page places a temporary payment hold, gives you 45 days from the first request to submit documents, and stops ads if it still cannot verify you. The same page says only payments admin users can submit, that the name and issuing country must match the payments profile, and that you must be at least 18. Accepted documents vary by country: the version shown to Australian visitors asks individuals for a passport, driving license or photo ID card.
Address verification follows. YouTube's PIN verification page says Google posts a 6-digit PIN by standard mail with no tracking, it usually arrives in 3 to 4 weeks, and you have 4 months from its generation to enter it; 3 wrong entries, or missing that window, demonetize the channel. Some locations can verify online instead. Set your payee name exactly as it appears on your ID, at an address that receives ordinary mail, well before you near the threshold.
Standing out and staying protected without a badge
Most channels never reach the badge threshold, and they do not need it to look official. YouTube's verification page suggests a distinctive name and handle, a high-quality profile picture and customized channel branding so viewers can tell you apart in search results.
When someone copies you, report it rather than wait for a badge. YouTube's impersonation policy covers copied names, profile pictures, banners and color schemes, tricks such as typos and special fonts, and AI likeness or voice used to suggest you own a channel. It links a reporting form for impersonating channels and a privacy route for videos that mimic your face or voice. Keep dated screenshots of the copy, its URL and your original. Our impersonation report workflow was written for subscription creators, but its evidence log suits a YouTube report too. Fan channels, the policy adds, must say so in their name or handle.
Which check do you need? A quick decision list
- Studio blocks a long upload, a custom thumbnail or a computer live stream: complete phone verification.
- You cannot add chapters, clickable links or an A/B test: keep building channel history or use the ID or video option if Studio offers it. Our YouTube SEO guide explains how chapters and thumbnails feed search.
- You are preparing to apply for monetization: turn on 2-Step Verification, confirm advanced features and create one AdSense for YouTube account from inside Studio.
- Your payments are on hold: open Verification check in AdSense for YouTube and look for an identity or PIN request and its deadline.
- An impersonator is copying you and you are below the badge threshold: report the channel and strengthen your branding.
- You release music through a label or distributor: ask them about an Official Artist Channel, a separate program from the badge.
- Feature eligibility looks wrong for your channel: our guide to contacting YouTube Creator Support lists the routes your channel can use.
For the badge itself, the remaining work is audience growth rather than paperwork. Our YouTube channel growth review system sets out which Analytics reports to check each quarter on the way there.
Limitations of this guide
Everything here comes from YouTube and Google help pages read on 1 October 2026, and those pages change without notice. Where they contradict each other, as on copyright appeals, this guide points you to your own Feature eligibility page instead of declaring one page right.
AdSense document rules are localized, so the list quoted reflects one country, and thresholds and holds depend on your location and account history. The help pages give no review time for badge applications, so nothing here predicts how long a review takes or whether it succeeds. Use the official AdSense and YouTube routes for disputes about holds or identity decisions, and ask a qualified accountant or lawyer in your country which legal name, entity or tax details belong on a payments profile.