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Category 3 · How to get monetized on YouTube

How do I check if my YouTube channel is monetized?

By the VIRAL AI team · Updated · 2 min read

The short answer

You check whether your YouTube channel is monetized in YouTube Studio under Earn. If you are in the Partner Program, you will see monetization status and revenue options; individual videos show a green dollar icon when monetized in the Content tab.

If you see "Not eligible" or progress bars toward thresholds, you are not yet in YPP. A yellow dollar icon means limited ads, a red one means ads are off, and grey can indicate monetization is disabled. Revenue appears in Analytics → Revenue for monetized channels. If you were monetized and lost it, Studio and email notifications explain why.

Step-by-step plan

  1. Open YouTube Studio and select the Earn tab.
  2. Confirm your Partner Program status and active modules.
  3. Check monetization icons on each video in the Content tab.
  4. Review Analytics → Revenue for estimated earnings.
  5. Read YouTube emails explaining any status changes.

Why this works

YouTube monetization runs through the YouTube Partner Program. The full ad-revenue tier has required 1,000 subscribers plus either 4,000 public watch hours in the last 12 months or 10 million public Shorts views in the last 90 days, with a lower fan-funding tier at 500 subscribers. Thresholds and eligible countries change, so confirm the live numbers in YouTube Studio's Earn tab. Reviewers also check that the channel is original, advertiser-friendly and policy-compliant.

Common mistake to avoid

Assuming monetization is active because you met the thresholds. You must apply and be approved first.

Pro tip

Filter the Content tab by monetization status to spot videos with limited or no ads in seconds. Fixing titles, thumbnails or sensitive sections on high-traffic videos often restores ads where it matters most.

Check it before you post

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