Second chances on YouTube
Oct 09, 2025 [[read-time]] minute read
As the heart of the creator economy, YouTube provides an incredible opportunity for creators to build not just an audience but a business. There are now more than 3 million channels in the YouTube Partner Program, and over the past four years alone, we’ve paid out over $100B to creators, artists and media companies.
Given the scale of the opportunity, we know that our long-held approach of enforcing lifetime terminations can be difficult for creators. Our approach is to allow creators to appeal a termination decision if they think we’ve gotten it wrong. Appeals are evaluated based on a number of factors, including whether the policy in question is retired from our Community Guidelines. The majority of appealed decisions are upheld, meaning many creators reached the end of the road. We’ve heard loud and clear from our creator community that they want more options to return to YouTube. So we’re happy to share that we’re introducing a pilot program to offer some qualified creators an opportunity to rebuild their presence on YouTube.
Starting today, some previously terminated creators will have the opportunity to request a new YouTube channel.
We know many terminated creators deserve a second chance – YouTube has evolved and changed over the past 20 years, and we’ve had our share of second chances to get things right with our community too. Our goal is to roll this out to creators who are eligible to apply over the coming months, and we appreciate the patience as we ramp up, carefully review requests, and learn as we go. Not every type of channel termination will be eligible.
We're looking forward to providing an opportunity for creators to start fresh and bring their voice back to the platform. As always, our Community Guidelines and other policies still apply to help us maintain a responsible business that viewers, creators, and advertisers rely on. We know you’ll have questions so we’ve included some details below.
— The YouTube Team
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How will this work?
Over the next several weeks, eligible creators will begin to see an option to request a new channel when they log into YouTube Studio on desktop with their previously terminated channel. Creators whose requests are accepted will be able to create new channels.
Do I get my content and my subscribers back if I’m approved for a new channel?
This is a fresh start on YouTube – just like many other platforms, you can build back your community through your new channel. You can also re-upload any of your prior videos that are within our Community Guidelines.
How will you decide who gets a new channel?
We’ll consider several factors when evaluating requests for new channels, like whether the creator committed particularly severe or persistent violations of our Community Guidelines or Terms of Service, or whether the creator’s on- or off-platform activity harmed or may continue to harm the YouTube community, like channels that endanger kids’ safety.
Additionally, this pilot won’t be available to creators terminated for copyright infringement or those who have violated our Creator Responsibility policies. Creators who deleted their YouTube channel/Google account will not be able to see the ‘request a new channel’ option at this time.
What about monetization?
You can apply for the YouTube Partner Program once your new channel meets the program criteria.
Can I apply for a new channel as soon as my old one is terminated?
Channel terminations are still a serious penalty, so creators are not eligible to apply for a new channel until one year after their channel was terminated. However, during that year creators can still appeal the channel termination if they think we got it wrong, and our team will take another look.
What’s the difference between appealing a channel termination and requesting a new channel?
We’ve always offered creators the option to appeal our decisions. This option is available for one year after a termination. When you appeal a channel termination, our team takes another look at the content leading to the termination. Our policies are designed to evolve over time, and appeals are evaluated based on how our policies apply at the time of the appeal. If your appeal is successful, your old channel will be reinstated. If your appeal is unsuccessful, you now have the option to apply for a new channel one year after your channel was terminated.