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How to Verify Your YouTube Account: Step-by-Step Guide (with Photos)

Updated: August 25, 2023 by Duncan Dodsworth | Leave a comment

As a budding YouTube creator, you’re probably interested in attracting an audience and building your personal brand.

Part of your content strategy is likely going to involve creating customized thumbnails, uploading entertaining and informative videos, and even going live with your followers. But, you might quickly realize that these features aren’t available on your account! The reason for that is simple –– your account hasn’t yet been verified.

If you’re wondering exactly what this means and how to verify your YouTube account, you’re in luck. We’re going to break down this quick and simple process. Follow along!

What Does Verifying Your YouTube Account Mean?

Somewhat surprisingly, there are actually two meanings to YouTube verification. The first and most common type is the process by which YouTube authenticates your account. Basically, YouTube checks that you’re a real human using your phone number. As a reward, features are unlocked. These include:

Uploading customized thumbnails for your videos
Uploading videos that are longer than 15 minutes
Live streaming from your account

And some more advanced features, such as:

Increasing the daily limit of live streams and shorts
Increasing the daily limit of uploads from 10 to 30 videos
Embedding live streams into your channel
Adding external links to video descriptions
Eligibility for monetization
Appealing Content ID claims

Being eligible for monetization will be particularly important if you’re looking to make money off of your content creation. The ability to appeal content ID claims can also be useful if someone makes a claim that your content has plagiarized theirs. If you want to avoid your content being unfairly blocked, you’ll want to verify your account promptly.

The other kind of verification is also known as channel verification. This is when YouTube gives you a verification badge on your profile, proving to your audience that you’re an established content creator. (More on that later).

Why is Verifying Your YouTube Account Important?

Put simply, verifying your YouTube account is important to prove that your account is not run by an automated bot. This helps to prevent any of your videos from being flagged as spam by YouTube.

It’s also common that the subject matter you want to cover can’t be condensed into a 15-minute video, so being able to upload longer content really helps you make interesting and original content. Customized thumbnails also go a long way in personalizing your brand and increasing its recognition.

Once you have built up a following, live streaming with them is a great way to keep them engaged, as live streams often receive triple the amount of engagement compared to other types of content.

How to Verify Your YouTube Account

This process to verify your youtube account is relatively simple. Follow the steps below.

Step 1: Go to https://youtube.com/verify

Go to the address above and you’ll be brought to this page, where there is a prompt to enter your phone number.

Step 2: Enter your Phone Number and Choose to Receive a Call or Text

Here, choose the method by which YouTube should contact you, and enter your phone number. Then, click the GET CODE button below. We’re going to illustrate this process with the text option.

verify your youtube account — *Verify your account through your phone number.*

Step 3: Enter the Code

Now you should receive a verification code from YouTube, and be taken to this screen. Simply enter the code you received into the prompt and click SUBMIT.

Step 4: Confirm Your Verification

After this, your account has been verified, and you’ll be brought to this confirmation page. The additional features mentioned earlier are now unlocked for your account.

Another Way to Verify Your YouTube Account

Alternatively, you can start the process of verification from within your youtube account. These steps will tell you how.

Step 1: Log in to Your YouTube Account

Go to the YouTube website and log into your account to be brought to the homepage.

Step 2: Go to Your Settings

From here, click the profile icon in the top right corner, and navigate to the Settings tab.

Step 3: Open the Channel Status and Features Tab

Under the Your YouTube channel section, you’ll find Channel status and features. Click this option.

Step 4: Verify Your Account

Open the Intermediate features drop-down list, and click VERIFY PHONE NUMBER to be brought to the same webpage as the first method. Follow those steps to finish verifying your account.

To see how these steps work check out the video below which also walks you through the process.

What’s the Difference Between Intermediate and Advanced Features?

While verifying your account with your phone number will unlock the intermediate features from the first bullet list above, to unlock the advanced features you’ll need to go one step further.

You have a few options to achieve this -– you can take a photo of your ID or upload a video verification to unlock these features instantly, or continue growing your account by following community guidelines and creating content. The latter can take up to 2 months, though, so isn’t a short-term solution. We’ll discuss how to do this via video verification next.

How to Unlock Advanced Features by Video Verification

Fortunately, there’s a quick way to unlock advanced features for your account. The steps below tell you how.

Step 1: Go to Channel status and features

As before, navigate to the Channel status and features tab under your Account settings.

Step 2: Choose to Use Video Verification

Under the Advanced features tab, click ACCESS FEATURES and then select the first option, Use video verification.

Step 3: Get the Verification Link

By clicking GET EMAIL, YouTube will send a verification link to the email address registered to your account. Alternatively, you can click Scan QR code instead to initiate this process faster.

Step 4: Agree to the Terms and Conditions

You’ll be brought to a page containing terms and conditions. Read and agree to these to continue the process.

Step 5: Verify Your Account via Video

Next, you’ll see some tips for recording a suitable video. After clicking NEXT, your camera will activate. Follow the onscreen prompts to verify your account.

Step 6: Wait for Your Account to Be Verified

You’ll be taken to a confirmation page, which will advise you may have to wait up to 24 hours for your account to be verified. After this, the advanced features will be unlocked for your account.

How to Get a Verification Badge for Your YouTube Account

As briefly mentioned before, obtaining a verification badge is slightly different. It can be very useful, however, in establishing your channel and building trust with your viewers. Generally, you’ll need to fulfill these requirements to get that coveted badge:

Upload interesting and entertaining content regularly
Have a complete description, a high-quality profile picture, and a banner for your channel
Make sure your account, channel, and content represent you authentically and truthfully
Have at least 100,000 subscribers to your channel

In rare cases, you can get a verification badge without having 100,000 subscribers. But, generally, this is only possible if you have an established presence on other online platforms. For example, if you’re a well-known singer, musician, or celebrity. Otherwise, you’ll likely have to have sufficient subscribers to get your application approved.

How to Apply for a Verification Badge

if you think you meet the requirements previously listed, here is how you go about applying for a verification badge.

Step 1: Go to Google Support and Open YouTube Support

Go to Google Support to be brought to the support homepage. Here, click on the YouTube logo to go to YouTube support.

Step 2: Open Your Account Settings

Next, click on the Manage your account and settings tab to open a drop-down list, and then open Manage account settings.

Step 3: Go to the Verification Badge Page

If you scroll down a bit, you’ll see Verification badges on channels under the Manage settings for your channel section. Click this to go to the application page.

Step 4: Apply for a Badge

This next screen will tell you if you’re eligible for applying or not.

If you’re not eligible, you’ll see the message “You can submit a request for a channel verification once you have 100,000 subscribers. It looks like your channel isn’t eligible yet.”

Otherwise, you’re in luck and can go ahead with the application form.

Wrapping Up

You can now see verifying your YouTube account with your phone number is a simple process and unlocks many useful features for your channel and creates more engaging content. Getting a verification badge is somewhat more difficult, but if you’re serious about being a successful YouTube creator it’s definitely something you can aim for.

Up Next:

Frequently Asked Questions

What options are there to verify my account?

You can verify your account by text or phone call, but you’ll need a phone and phone number for both methods.

Why does YouTube ask for my phone number?

It’s the simplest way for them to identify you and help protect the community. They also make sure the number isn’t registered to more than 2 accounts.

What do I do if I haven't received my verification code?

Some countries don’t support texts from Google, so in that case, you’ll need to use a different phone number or the voice call option. Sometimes the text is delayed, but it could also be that too many accounts are registered with the number.

How do I stop my verification from being removed?

Sometimes, your account can become unverified. This is usually if you violate YouTube’s terms and conditions, change your channel name, or delete your channel. If you do these, you’ll have to go through the verification process again.

How do I get more subscribers?

If you want a verification badge, you’ll need to get 100,000 subscribers. To gain an audience, you’ll want to upload regular content that’s interesting and entertaining. Having an on-brand and high-quality profile picture and banner for your channel also helps, as well as customized thumbnails. Being involved with the YouTube community by commenting and collaborating helps to get your name out there, as well as considering YouTube SEO to be more visible in search results. And above all else, being patient and strategic about growing your account will help you get there.