Tallyterms

Rights and account standing

How to get verified on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, YouTube and X: requirements and cost

By the Tallyterms editorsPublished 11 November 2026Last updated

Checked YouTubeTikTokInstagramFacebookX

On this page
  1. How do the platforms compare?
  2. How much does Meta Verified cost?
  3. Is there a free way to get verified on Facebook and Instagram?
  4. How do you get verified on Threads?
  5. How do you get verified on TikTok?
  6. How do you get verified on YouTube?
  7. How much is the blue checkmark on X?
  8. What does a year of each badge cost?
  9. What does the badge not give you?
  10. What makes you lose a verified badge?
  11. Should you pay for a badge or apply for one?
  12. Frequently asked questions
  13. Sources

The rule

Instagram and Facebook sell the badge through Meta Verified, and Threads shows it if your Instagram is subscribed. On X the checkmark comes with a paid plan, from $8 a month in US dollars. TikTok verification is free but needs notability. YouTube needs 100,000 subscribers.

Checked Primary sources

This is general information, not financial or tax advice. Check the linked official sources or ask a qualified accountant or tax adviser.

Key facts

  • Meta Verified for creators requires you to be at least 18, or the age of majority where you live, with a government-issued photo ID.
  • Meta's Essential creator bundle starts at $14.99 a month and includes a verified badge, pending successful verification.
  • Facebook offers a free Facebook Verified badge that needs no notability or subscription.
  • TikTok says verification is free and that follower count alone does not decide eligibility.
  • YouTube requires 100,000 subscribers to apply, and a renamed channel loses its badge.
  • New X subscribers get the checkmark from The X Subscription Plus, listed at $8 a month or $80 a year before tax; the checkmark appears after a review.
  • On X, changing your profile photo, display name or username removes the checkmark until the account is reviewed again.

There are four routes: a paid subscription (Meta, X), an application judged on notability (TikTok, Facebook, Instagram), a subscriber threshold before you may apply (YouTube), and a free identity check (Facebook Verified). Every rule and price below comes from the platform's own help centre, pricing page or newsroom, opened on 11 November 2026. Where a platform does not publish a number, this page says "not published".

How do the platforms compare?

Checked Prices are what each platform's own page states, before tax. Platforms are listed alphabetically.

Platform How you get the badge Main requirements Price (checked 2026-11-11) What removes it
Facebook Three routes: free Facebook Verified, paid Meta Verified, or an application for the blue notable badge Notable badge: authentic, unique, complete, notable, with coverage in multiple news sources (paid or promotional coverage not counted) Facebook Verified: free. Meta Verified: see Meta row. Notable badge: no fee stated Meta Verified: cancelling (at the end of the billing cycle) or false information
Instagram Paid Meta Verified, or a request for the notable badge if you are a public figure, celebrity or brand Meta Verified: 18+ or age of majority, government photo ID, Advanced Protection on, minimum activity Meta Verified: depends on plan and region, shown when you subscribe. Meta's newsroom lists the Essential creator bundle, which includes the badge, "starting at $14.99/mo" Cancelling; false information; selling or transferring the badge; switching public and private too many times (notable badge)
Threads No direct route. The badge appears when your Threads profile and a Meta Verified Instagram profile share a Meta Account An active Meta Verified subscription on Instagram Included in the Instagram subscription A Threads name or username that no longer matches Instagram; moving either profile out of the Meta Account; the subscription ending
TikTok Free application, reviewed for notability Active, authentic, complete, notable (independent media coverage), verified phone and email, two-step verification on Free Changing your username or account type; a change of owner; repeated or serious violations
X Paid: The X Subscription Plus or higher for new subscribers; Premium or Premium+ (blue) for existing subscribers; Premium Business (gold), Premium Organizations (grey) Confirmed phone number; the checkmark appears after an eligibility review New subscribers: Plus $8/month or $80/year (dollar list price). Existing Premium subscribers: $8/month or $84/year on web in the US; 8 GBP/month in the UK; 8 EUR/month in eurozone countries. Plus tax Changing profile photo, display name or username (until re-reviewed); cancelling (at the end of the paid term); suspension
YouTube Application after an automatic threshold 100,000 subscribers, two-step verification, complete profile with banner, picture, description and one public video No fee stated Changing the channel name (a handle change does not); Community Guidelines or Terms of Service violations

How much does Meta Verified cost?

Meta does not publish one price on its help pages. The Meta Verified billing page says the price "depends on the subscription plan you choose", and the plans page says plans, benefits and availability "may vary by region, by app, and by account". You see the price for your country when you start the subscription (billing and payments, About Meta Verified for creators).

The one dollar figure Meta publishes is in its newsroom. On 15 September 2026 Meta announced Meta One, a subscription that bundles its paid features. Its creator and business bundles are Essential "starting at $14.99/mo", Advanced from $49.99, Expert from $149 and Max from $499. Essential is the one described with "a verified badge" and impersonation protection, "pending successful verification" (Meta newsroom). The help centre still lists four Meta Verified creator plans (Standard, Plus, Premium and Max), each with the badge. Which plans and prices you see depends on your account.

Billing recurs on the date you first paid. You can bundle one Instagram and one Facebook profile in the same Meta Account, and Meta says that bundle "may" be cheaper.

What do you need for Meta Verified?

From Meta's eligibility page:

  • Be at least 18, or the age of majority in your country.
  • Live in a country where Meta Verified is available.
  • Have a government-issued photo ID. The profile may also need a name and picture that meet Meta's naming standards.
  • Have Advanced Protection turned on. Meta's About page says it "can't be disabled once your subscription is active".
  • Meet minimum activity requirements. The minimum is not published.
  • Not exceed a limit on recent profile changes (name, picture, username, location or profile type) before applying. The limit is not published.

Eligible profiles are Instagram and Facebook personal or professional creator profiles. Review takes up to 3 business days, according to the About page.

Is there a free way to get verified on Facebook and Instagram?

On Facebook, yes. Facebook lists a free Facebook Verified badge, which shows "there's a real person behind your profile" with "no notability or subscription required", for people who are eligible (Facebook Help).

Both apps also keep a notable badge for public figures, celebrities and brands. Facebook's requirements for it: authentic (a real person, registered business or entity), unique (one Page or profile per person or business), complete (an about section, a photo and at least one recent post) and notable ("a well-known, often searched" name). Facebook reviews profiles "featured in multiple news sources" and does not count "paid or promotional content".

On Instagram, the request page says only that you must meet "certain account and eligibility requirements". The decision arrives in Activity within 30 days, and a denied request can be resubmitted after 30 days. Applying again before you hear back cancels the application (Instagram Help). A Facebook badge does not carry over: Instagram says a verified Facebook Page still has to apply separately on Instagram (Instagram Help).

How do you get verified on Threads?

You cannot subscribe on Threads. Meta's Threads page says you subscribe to Meta Verified on Instagram, then add your Threads profile to the same Meta Account, and the badge "will automatically appear on Threads". Only the badge carries over: enhanced support and impersonation protection "are not available on Threads".

How do you get verified on TikTok?

TikTok does not sell the badge. Its Creator Academy guide says verification "is completely free" and that follower count alone "does not determine eligibility". It reviews five things:

  1. Active: logged in recently, with at least one public post.
  2. Authentic: the name, profile, content and submitted documents match one real person, business or organisation.
  3. Complete: a public account with a photo, name, bio and at least one public post.
  4. Notable: TikTok may review independent media coverage. Strong coverage focuses on you, is dated and is not sponsored, a press release, a personal blog or a social post. Screenshots and search results may not be accepted.
  5. Secure: a verified phone number and email address, and two-step verification turned on.

Apply in the app: Profile, Menu, Settings and privacy, Account, Verification. TikTok says it will never DM or email you asking you to apply.

How do you get verified on YouTube?

YouTube sets a threshold first. "To be eligible to apply for verification, your channel must reach 100,000 subscribers", the Google account needs 2-step verification, and the channel needs a banner, profile picture, description and at least one public video (YouTube Help). The review checks that the channel is authentic and complete. Apply in YouTube Studio on a computer, under Settings. YouTube says it sometimes verifies channels under 100,000 subscribers that are well known outside YouTube.

How much is the blue checkmark on X?

X Premium is now part of The X Subscription, one plan for X, Grok and Cursor. New customers start on The X Subscription; existing Premium subscribers keep their plan and price until they switch (X Subscription pricing). Its cheapest paid plan, Plus, includes "a checkmark" among its X benefits (X Premium customers page). Plus lists at $8 a month or $80 a year before tax, and the next plan, Premium, at $30 a month. The pricing page gives dollar list prices only; no other currencies are published there.

For existing subscribers, the blue checkmark is part of Premium and Premium+, not the cheaper Basic tier. X's Premium page lists their web prices by country, plus tax such as VAT. Checked 2026-11-11:

Country Premium, monthly (web) Premium, annual (web)
United States 8.00 USD 84.00 USD
United Kingdom 8.00 GBP 84.00 GBP
Germany, France, Spain, Italy 8.00 EUR 84.00 EUR

Premium+ is 40 USD a month in the US. The checkmark is not instant: all other features start at once, the checkmark appears "after a review to ensure subscribed accounts meet all eligibility criteria". You must confirm a phone number. In the EEA, X no longer calls checkmark holders "verified" but "Premium" users, after a European Commission decision it is appealing (About X Blue Checkmark).

Premium Business adds a gold checkmark: in the US, Basic is $200 a month or $2,000 a year, and Full Access is $1,000 a month plus $50 a month per affiliate (X Premium Business). Premium Organizations gives governments and multilateral organisations a grey checkmark.

What does a year of each badge cost?

A worked example from the prices above, before tax, for one person paying the lowest published dollar price (X Premium prices are US web prices, Plus is a dollar list price, and Meta's newsroom does not name a region):

Badge Billing Year one
TikTok, YouTube, Facebook Verified No fee 0
X Subscription Plus (new subscribers), billed monthly 8 USD x 12 96 USD
X Subscription Plus (new subscribers), billed annually 80 USD once 80 USD
X Premium (existing subscribers), billed annually on web 84 USD once 84 USD
Meta Essential bundle, billed monthly from 14.99 USD x 12 from 179.88 USD

Annual billing on Plus saves 16 USD a year over monthly; on an existing Premium plan it saves 12 USD. Meta publishes no annual price on the pages cited, and its "starting at" figure can be higher for your account.

What does the badge not give you?

  • YouTube: "Verified channels don't get extra features on YouTube", and the badge is not an endorsement (YouTube Help).
  • Instagram: the badge "is not a symbol to show importance, authority or subject matter expertise" (Instagram Help).
  • TikTok: a badge "doesn't mean TikTok endorses everything you post". The guide cited makes no claim about reach or the For You feed.
  • Meta Verified: none of the four plans lists more reach in Feed or recommendations. The plans list "Search optimization", and Higher plans add a "Featured profile" and links in Reels. A badge also does not exempt you from recommendation rules; see what platforms say about shadowbans.
  • X: the one platform that ties the badge to reply ranking. X says people "will see a slight preference for replies from verified accounts", and Premium includes reply prioritization. Basic also has reply prioritization without the checkmark.

On X, Premium is also the door to Original Content Rewards and Creator Subscriptions, subject to their own requirements. Those programmes are compared in monetization requirements by platform.

What makes you lose a verified badge?

  • Changing your name or handle. YouTube: a renamed channel "won't be verified", though a handle change keeps the badge. TikTok: a username change means reapplying. X: a new photo, display name or username removes the checkmark until the account is reviewed again, with no further changes allowed meanwhile. Instagram notable badge: you "may not change the username". Meta Verified: name changes are capped at twice every 14 days on Instagram and once every 60 days on Facebook, need review, and must stay similar to the current name (Meta Help).
  • Cancelling. Meta Verified stays active to the end of the billing cycle, then every subscribed profile loses verification, with no partial refunds. Cancel at least 24 hours before the next payment (Meta Help). X keeps the checkmark to the end of the paid term.
  • Changing account type or owner. TikTok requires a new application for either.
  • Breaking the rules. YouTube can revoke verification for Community Guidelines or Terms of Service violations. TikTok can remove the badge for "repeated or serious violations". X can remove the checkmark "at any time in its sole discretion without offering you a refund", including on suspension. Strikes and how to appeal them are covered in strikes on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.
  • False information or selling the badge. Meta may remove verified status for false or misleading information. Instagram can remove a badge for advertising, transferring or selling it, verifying through a third party, or switching between public and private too many times.

Should you pay for a badge or apply for one?

A checklist built from the rules above.

  1. Check the free routes first. On TikTok and YouTube there is nothing to buy. On Facebook, check whether you are eligible for free Facebook Verified.
  2. Count your coverage. Facebook's notable badge looks for coverage in multiple news sources, and TikTok reviews independent media coverage. Neither counts paid or promotional pieces. If all you have is sponsored posts and press releases, an application does not meet the stated criteria.
  3. Check the YouTube number. Under 100,000 subscribers, the application tab does not appear.
  4. Settle your name before you subscribe. Each platform above limits or penalises name or handle changes for at least one of its badges. Pick the name you will keep.
  5. Buy for the features, not for reach. Only X states a ranking effect in replies for verified accounts, and it calls it "slight". Meta's paid plans list support, impersonation protection and search optimization, not Feed reach.
  6. Beware of sellers. TikTok says anyone offering to sell verification is "not with us". Instagram can remove badges from accounts that try to verify through a third party.

Frequently asked questions

Can you buy a verified badge on TikTok?

No. TikTok says verification is free and anyone claiming to sell it is not with TikTok.

Sources

All opened on 2026-11-11.

Written by the Tallyterms editors. Each rule links its primary source, opened on the date shown; how that works is in the editorial policy.