YouTube says: This account has been terminated

This account has been terminated for a violation of YouTube's Terms of Service.

"This account has been terminated for a violation of YouTube's Terms of Service" means YouTube has removed your channel and you can no longer use YouTube with that account. You can still appeal. Find the email YouTube sent you, appeal in YouTube Studio, keep screenshots, and if you live in the EU, use your free complaint and dispute rights.

What this message means

This is the text visitors see on a terminated channel. YouTube ends a channel after three Community Guidelines strikes within 90 days, after one severe violation, or when it decides the channel itself breaks its rules. Your videos are no longer public, monetisation stops, and you cannot create other channels while the termination stands.

What it does not mean

• It does not always mean your whole Google account is closed. Gmail and other services usually keep working.
• It does not mean every strike was right.
• It does not end your right to appeal or, in the EU, to go further.

What to do now

1. Find the termination email from YouTube. It explains the reason. Then sign in to YouTube Studio with the terminated channel to start the appeal.
2. Screenshot the channel page, the email and YouTube Studio if you can still open it.
3. Submit the appeal. Be brief and factual: what the channel is about and why the decision is wrong. If a single video was the cause, explain its context.
4. List the earlier strikes with dates and whether you appealed them.
5. Secure your Google account: change the password and check recent security activity, in case the channel was hacked and used for scams.
6. Do not upload from another channel. YouTube can terminate those too.

If you earned money from the channel, read YouTube business account.

The EU route

If you live in the EU, the Digital Services Act (DSA) applies to terminations and to ending monetisation:

• YouTube must give a clear statement of reasons: the facts, the rule, whether automated tools were used, and how to challenge it.
• You can file a free internal complaint for at least six months from the day you were told about the decision, handled with human involvement. If the decision was wrong, YouTube must reverse it without undue delay.
• You can go to a certified dispute body: Appeals Centre Europe, User Rights and Platform Control list YouTube. No internal complaint needed first. Decision within 90 days of receiving your complaint. If you win, YouTube pays the fees and your reasonable costs.
• The GDPR gives you a free copy of your data within one month.
• Court stays open.

If the channel was a business, the P2B Regulation may require at least 30 days' notice before termination, with exceptions. Outside the EU, YouTube's appeal is your main route. More on the YouTube page.

Watch out for scams

Terminated creators get messages from people claiming "YouTube partner contacts". They cannot restore channels. Never pay them or share your Google password or codes.

Checked against: rollingstone.com, support.google.com, support.google.com