How to get approved from youtube partner program 2026?

Getting into the YouTube Partner Program in 2026 takes more than crossing a numbers threshold — reviewers are really judging the overall health of your channel. The baseline requirements haven't moved: 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 valid public watch hours, or 10 million Shorts views, all within the trailing 12 months. What has changed is how closely the manual review checks for originality. Google now applies a strict no-tolerance stance on thin AI-written videos or clips lifted from other platforms without real, transformative editing on your part.