Let's be real for a second. You didn't start a YouTube channel just to hear the sound of your own voice echoing in an empty digital void. You want to get paid. I get it. Everyone wants to know how do you turn on monetization on youtube without spending three years screaming into a microphone for pennies. But here’s the thing: most people think it’s just a toggle switch you flip in the settings once you hit a certain number. It's not.
It is a grind. A long, often annoying, bureaucratic grind involving tax forms, postal mail, and algorithm prayers.
If you’re looking for a "get rich quick" button, you’re in the wrong place. But if you want to know how the plumbing of the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) actually works in 2026, let's get into it. YouTube has changed the rules a dozen times. What worked for your favorite creator in 2018 is basically ancient history now.
The Math Behind the Money: Understanding the 2026 Requirements
First off, you can't just upload a video of your cat and expect a check from Google. You have to qualify. YouTube uses two "tiers" of monetization now, which confuses a lot of people.
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The first tier is the "Fan Funding" level. To get this, you need 500 subscribers, three valid public uploads in the last 90 days, and either 3,000 watch hours in the past year or 3 million Shorts views in the last 90 days. This doesn't give you ad revenue. It gives you things like Super Chat, "Thanks," and channel memberships. Basically, it lets your fans pay you directly. It’s a nice start, but it’s not the "big" money.
The big one—the one everyone actually means when they ask how do you turn on monetization on youtube—requires more.
You need 1,000 subscribers. You also need 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months or 10 million public Shorts views in the last 90 days. And no, your private videos don’t count. Deleted videos don’t count. Ad campaigns don’t count toward watch hours. It’s brutal.
Why "Valid" Watch Hours Are the Silent Killer
I’ve seen creators hit 100,000 views on a video and still not qualify. Why? Because they used "unlisted" or "private" settings later, or the views came from YouTube Stories or "Shorts Shelf" views that didn't meet the specific duration criteria for the long-form tracker.
Google’s systems are incredibly picky. If they suspect you’re using a "view for view" group or some sketchy bot service from a dark corner of the internet, they won’t just deny your monetization; they might shadowban the channel. It happens.
Setting Up the Backend: It’s Not Just About the Subs
So, you hit the numbers. Great. Now comes the part that makes people want to pull their hair out: Google AdSense.
You cannot get paid without an AdSense account. This is a separate entity from YouTube. You have to link them perfectly. If you already have an AdSense account from an old blog or a different channel, do not—I repeat, do not—try to create a second one. Google will flag you for having duplicate accounts faster than you can say "copyright strike." They are one-person-per-account for life.
Once you apply through the "Earn" tab in YouTube Studio, you’ll be asked to set this up. Then, you wait.
Google will eventually send a physical—yes, like on actual paper—PIN to your home address. This is to verify you’re a real human living at a real place. If your mail is slow or you live in a remote area, this can take weeks. You can’t bypass it. You can’t "verify by email" usually. You just sit there checking the mailbox like it’s 1995.
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The "Human Review" Hurdle
This is where most people fail. Once you submit your application, a real person (and some very smart AI) reviews your channel. They aren't looking at every single video, but they check your "Main Theme," your most viewed videos, and your newest ones.
If your channel is just "reused content"—like taking clips from The Office or Twitch streamers and adding a basic filter—you will get rejected. YouTube wants "originality" and "added value."
Honestly, it’s subjective. I’ve seen some reaction channels get through and others get blocked. The difference is usually the amount of "transformative" work. Are you talking over the clip? Are you editing it significantly? If you're just a "curator," you’re probably not going to get the green light to turn on monetization on youtube.
Common Rejection Reasons
- Reused Content: This is the big one. Using someone else’s work without significant commentary.
- Repetitive Content: Making 100 videos that all look and sound exactly the same, like those weird AI-generated nursery rhymes or basic slideshows.
- Misleading Metadata: Clicking-baiting the title so hard it has nothing to do with the video.
- Community Guideline Violations: Even if you don't have a formal "strike," if your content is "borderline" (too much violence, sexual suggestive themes, or harassment), they’ll just say no.
How Do You Turn On Monetization on YouTube for Shorts?
Shorts are the wild west right now. Since 2023, the way you make money on them has shifted. You don’t get paid per "ad" like long-form. Instead, YouTube pools all the ad revenue from the Shorts feed and distributes it based on your share of the total views.
But there’s a catch.
If you use copyrighted music, your "share" gets split with the record label. If you use too much music, you might get nothing. It’s a volume game. To make real money on Shorts, you need millions—not thousands—of views.
Beyond the AdSense Check: Diverse Revenue Streams
If you're smart, you aren't just looking at the "Earn" tab. The most successful YouTubers treat AdSense like a bonus, not the main course.
- Affiliate Marketing: You link a product in the description. Someone buys it. You get 5%. Simple.
- Sponsorships: This is where the real money is. Brands don't care about your 4,000 watch hours as much as they care about your audience demographic. If you have 5,000 subscribers who are all highly engaged software engineers, you can charge way more than a meme channel with 50,000 subs.
- Merchandise: YouTube’s "Shopping" feature lets you link your store (like Shopify or Spring) directly under your videos once you hit the lower 500-sub threshold.
The 2026 Policy Shifts
YouTube recently updated their "Advertiser-Friendly Content Guidelines." They’ve become a bit more relaxed about mild profanity in the first 30 seconds, but they are much stricter on "dangerous acts" and "misinformation."
If you’re in the news or political space, your journey to turn on monetization on youtube will be audited much more heavily. They want to ensure they aren't placing a Coca-Cola ad next to a conspiracy theory. It's just bad for business.
Actionable Steps to Get Monetized Faster
Stop checking the "Earn" meter every day. It won't move faster. Instead, do these three things:
Audit your own "Top 5" videos. Look at your five most popular uploads. If any of them use copyrighted music or "borrowed" clips, consider if they are truly transformative. If not, start making more original content now so that when the human reviewer looks at your channel, they see a trend of original work.
Fix your "About" section and Branding. Make it look like a business. A professional banner, a clear description of what you do, and a linked email address for "business inquiries" go a long way in proving to the reviewer that you're a serious creator and not a spam bot.
Focus on "Binge-able" Content. Watch hours are harder to get than subscribers. Create playlists. Use end screens to point to the next video. The goal is to get one person to watch four videos in a row. That’s how you hit 4,000 hours without needing a viral hit.
Keeping the Lights On
Once you’re in, you aren't "safe" forever. You have to stay active. If a channel is inactive for six months or more and falls below the thresholds, YouTube reserves the right to remove you from the Partner Program.
You also need to keep an eye on your "Yellow Icons." That’s the "Limited or No Ads" symbol. If you get too many of those, the algorithm might start to think your channel isn't advertiser-friendly, and your reach will tank.
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Getting your channel to a point where you can turn on monetization on youtube is a marathon. It’s a test of whether you can provide value to an audience consistently. The tech is easy; the "staying power" is the hard part.
Verify your two-step authentication today. Ensure your tax info is ready for when that PIN arrives. Then, go back to making videos. That’s the only way the numbers actually go up.