• by Colin Kirkland , October 23, 2025

Since announcing its “Second Chance” pilot program, in which eligible YouTube creators with previously banned channels can apply for a new channel a year later, a plethora of users have reached out to the company, wanting to know more about the intricacies of the program.

Two weeks ago, YouTube began rolling out the ability for some previously banned creators to rebuild their presence on the platform by requesting access to a new channel and accepting a formal review of in-app and off-app activity.

In its announcement, YouTube acknowledged that the platform has “evolved and changed over the past 20 years” and is therefore open to offering banned creators more options to return. Once accepted, creators can also apply to rejoin the YouTube Partner Program, which now boasts over 3 million channels and $100 billion in creator payouts.

In a brief video posted on Wednesday, a YouTube spokesperson addresses users’ questions and concerns about the program.

“Some terminated creators will see the option to request a new YouTube channel when logging into Studio on desktop through their previously terminated channel,” the spokesperson explains. “Not every type of channel termination will be eligible for this pilot.”

“All applications will be reviewed,” they add. “This means the team reviews all channels a creator previously owned as well as off-platform activity they may have become aware of.”

When reviewing applications, YouTube’s designated team will review various factors regarding the severity and consistency of the creator’s prior policy violations, and how harmful the creator’s on- and off-platform activity is for YouTube users.

All eligible creators will eventually see the option to request a new channel. However, even creators who have previously had their channel revoked are able to appeal YouTube’s initial decision. The company team will then check to see if the creator was penalized based on outdated community guidelines.

Even if a creator’s appeal is rejected, they will still be able to request a new channel. But if a previously banned creator is rejected in the pilot program, they will not have another opportunity to return to the platform.

Furthermore, those eligible for the pilot program can create more than one new channel once their application is approved.

In response to why creators with banned channels must wait a year to request a new channel, YouTube’s spokesperson says that “terminations are still a serious penalty, and the team stands by their enforcement decisions.”