Verifying a YouTube channel: by phone, and what it is for

To verify your YouTube channel all you need is a phone number: in YouTube Studio, from a computer, go to Settings, Channel and Feature eligibility, click “Verify phone number” and enter the code you receive by SMS or by call. That gives you access to intermediate features, including uploading videos longer than 15 minutes and setting custom thumbnails. It has nothing to do with the verification badge that appears next to the name of some channels: that is requested separately and requires 100,000 subscribers.

What verifying the channel means

Verifying the channel means confirming your identity to YouTube so that it lets you use more tools. YouTube explains it this way: when you verify your identity, you help reduce abuse and spam on the platform. In return, YouTube Studio features are divided into three levels:

• Standard features. They are available to you from the moment you create the channel, as long as you have no active strike for breaching the Community Guidelines.
• Intermediate features. You get them by verifying your phone number.
• Advanced features. You get them with enough channel history or by verifying your identity with a valid ID document or a video.

To see where you stand, go into YouTube Studio from a computer and open Settings, Channel and Feature eligibility: you will see the message “Enabled” next to the features you have access to.

What phone verification unlocks

Phone verification opens the intermediate features. According to the table in YouTube's official help on feature eligibility (in Spanish):

Feature	Unverified	With phone verified
Upload videos longer than 15 minutes	No	Yes
Custom thumbnails	No	Yes, with a reduced daily limit
Live stream from a computer	No	Yes, with a reduced daily limit
Create a podcast	No	Yes

The same table also marks as requiring phone verification two features that it places in the advanced group: adding more channels to your account and adding a related video to your Shorts.

The 15-minute limit has its own page in the help, which puts it bluntly: by default, you can upload videos with a maximum length of 15 minutes, and verified accounts can upload videos longer than 15 minutes. Even when verified, there is a ceiling: you can upload files with a maximum size of 256 GB or a total length of 12 hours, whichever is smaller. How long each video should last is another question, and we answer it in how long a YouTube video should be.

The same goes for thumbnails: YouTube lets you choose one of the automatically generated ones or upload your own if your account has been verified. What size and format it recommends for them is covered in YouTube thumbnails.

How to verify the channel with your phone, step by step

1. On a computer, sign in to YouTube Studio.
2. Click Settings and then Channel.
3. Go into Feature eligibility, find Intermediate features and click “Verify phone number”.
4. Enter a phone number.
5. You will receive a verification code by text message or by call to that number: enter it and you are done.

You can also start on a computer from youtube.com/verify. Two details that save time:

• Who can do it. If the channel belongs to a Brand Account, both the owner and the managers can verify it by phone. If not, only the channel's owners can, not users with manager, editor or viewer permissions.
• If you uploaded a long video before verifying. If it does not play, after verifying your account you must upload it again from YouTube Studio.

Can you verify without a phone number?

For intermediate features, no: YouTube's help says you will need to enter a phone number to verify your channel. Nor is there a shortcut to the advanced ones, because to access them you must first complete phone verification; the ID document or the video come afterwards.

What can be fixed is the code not arriving:

• Carriers that do not support Google's messages. Not all carriers support Google's text messages or voice calls. Try the call instead of the SMS, or a number from another carrier.
• One number for too many channels. To prevent abuse, the same phone number can only be associated with 2 channels per year. If you are going to verify more than two channels in a year, you will need another number; how to organise several channels is covered in having several YouTube channels.
• Delays. The SMS can take a while in densely populated areas; if a few minutes go by, try the call option.

YouTube states that it will only use your phone number to send you a verification code.

Advanced features: history or identity

Advanced features are the next step up. They include applying for monetisation, pinning comments, adding clickable links in the description of long videos and adding chapters, as well as higher daily limits. There are two paths:

• The channel's history. If you are an active creator who has built up enough history, you probably already meet the requirements. The history covers the channel's activity and data from your Google account, such as when and how it was created or how often it is used.
• An ID document or a video. They get you there sooner. The review usually takes 24 hours, and these two verifications are not available to all creators. According to YouTube, that verification is usually removed a few months after your channel has enough history, or after a year if you have not used any advanced feature.

Access is not forever: it can be delayed or restricted for receiving strikes, publishing the same content repeatedly, spamming or using misleading metadata, among other reasons. Normally, active channels that comply with the Community Guidelines can regain sufficient history within 2 months.

The verification badge is something else

The mark that appears next to the name of some channels means that YouTube has verified that channel as the official one of a creator, artist, business or public figure. It is not obtained with a phone and does not give more features. To apply for it:

• You must have 100,000 subscribers.
• Your Google account must have 2-Step Verification turned on.
• The profile must be complete: banner image, profile picture, description and at least one public video.

The help itself warns that verified channels do not enjoy additional benefits on YouTube, and that the badge is lost if you change the channel's name: you would have to apply again. Changing the handle, on the other hand, does not remove it.

What this has to do with the Estudio de Canales

Verification is your own business and is done in YouTube Studio; the Estudio de Canales works earlier, when the video is produced. But what the studio produces runs into these limits if you do not verify the channel:

• Length. In the channel bible you set a target length of 1 to 180 minutes, and each series can have its own. If your videos go beyond 15 minutes, verify the channel before the first upload.
• Thumbnails. The package comes with three 1280×720 thumbnails composed over the scenes' visuals. To upload one as a custom thumbnail, the channel has to be verified.
• Chapters. The package includes them when they meet YouTube's rules; if you do not yet have access to chapters, YouTube says to request access to advanced features.

The studio does not publish on its own: it prepares the package, you upload it in YouTube Studio and then paste the link to follow the results. Connecting your Google account is optional and lets you see your videos' analytics inside the studio.

Sources consulted

Checked on 11 October 2026. We link to the original source so that you can consult the current text.

• Acceder a las funciones intermedias y avanzadas. Google · Ayuda de YouTube.
• Verificar la cuenta de YouTube. Google · Ayuda de YouTube.
• Insignias de verificación de los canales. Google · Ayuda de YouTube.
• Acerca del acceso a las funciones por parte de creadores de YouTube. Google · Ayuda de YouTube.
• Subir vídeos con una duración superior a 15 minutos. Google · Ayuda de YouTube.
• Añadir miniaturas personalizadas en YouTube. Google · Ayuda de YouTube.
• Ver y desbloquear funciones con la verificación por teléfono. Google · Ayuda de YouTube.
• Capítulos en vídeos. Google · Ayuda de YouTube.