Last September, YouTube announced that it was changing its processes on how creators can apply for a Verification badge, and what the requirements would be moving forward. This week, YouTube has provided an update on this process, including a full overview of how you can go about getting a verification badge for your channel.

First off, in order to qualify for a YouTube Verification badge, you need at least 100k subscribers to your channel. That’s a pretty significant undertaking, so it’s not widely available to everyone. But if you’re really keen on a YouTube verification stamp, this is the first requirement of the process. YouTube does make some exceptions on this front for public figures known outside of YouTube.

Second, once you reach 100k subscribers, you need to fill out this form in order to apply for YouTube verification. If you don’t have 100k subscribers, the form won’t be available to you.

Once you’ve submitted the form, YouTube will then assess your application, which incorporates an analysis of two key elements.

The first is “channel authenticity. As explained by YouTube:

“Your channel needs to represent the creator brand that has been producing all of this great content for so long. We might ask for additional documentation or information to verify that it’s really you.”

The second is profile completion – your channel must be public, it has to include a description, videos, and it needs a channel icon, in order to fulfill all the requirements of an official, verified presence.

Once you’ve met all of these requirements, you can be YouTube verified, adding an extra level of authority and authenticity to your on-platform presence.

Though YouTube is also keen to note that there are no additional functions or tools made available to verified users:

“This does not represent an award, it doesn’t provide you with extra product features, there’s really nothing else that you get other than the badge itself.”

YouTube does allocate channel awards for different reasons, but they are not directly tied to verification, as such. 

In addition to this, YouTube notes that it can remove a verification badge if a channel is found to be impersonating somebody or something else, or it changes its channel name, in which case you would need to re-apply. So take care with our channel name, you could end up stuck with it for some time. 

Verification checkmarks can have value, in terms of helping users find your official presence, and they do add a sense of authority, but they’re also not essential, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t meet these requirements as yet. 

But if you really want to get that mark, this is how you do it.