YouTube Giveaway Rules, Guidelines and Regulations

You're about to film a video with a giveaway in it.

Before you say "subscribe and like to enter" on camera, check YouTube's rules, because that line alone can get the video removed.

YouTube has a short contest policy that applies to any giveaway run on YouTube or using YouTube. It sits alongside the fake engagement policy, which is the one creators break most often. We checked both on 30 October 2026, and here's what they mean for your next giveaway.

The contest policy has two parts: general restrictions and what your official rules must say. In plain words:

• Entry must be free
• You can't run the contest through YouTube ad units
• You're solely responsible for the contest, and it has to follow the law wherever you run it (including US sanctions)
• It can't infringe anyone's rights, and you can't make entrants hand over all rights to their entries
• Neither you nor any tool you use can manipulate views, likes, dislikes or subscribers
• You can't suggest YouTube endorses or is involved in the contest without YouTube's written consent

Most of the list is common sense.

The metrics rule is where giveaways go wrong.

"Subscribe, like and comment to enter" is the most common YouTube giveaway mechanic, and it's the one YouTube's policies target.

The contest policy bans giveaways that manipulate views, likes, dislikes or subscribers. The fake engagement policy goes further. It bans content that exists only to reward viewers for engagement and bans sub4sub swaps. It also bans linking to services that inflate views, likes or subscribers, and YouTube can act on your channel for methods used by someone you hired.

The consequences are real.

YouTube says it removes violating content and emails you. A first violation usually gets a warning, and three strikes within 90 days can end the channel.

Asking is still fine.

The fake engagement policy says you're allowed to encourage viewers to subscribe, like, share or comment. What you can't do is make a prize the reason they do it.

That's why Gleam removed its Subscribe to a YouTube Channel, Watch a Video and Comment on a Video Actions. The YouTube Actions we still offer, like Visit a YouTube Channel, send people to your channel and leave subscribing up to them.

You've got three setups that work with YouTube's rules.

Ask a real question in the video ("Which book should I read next?") and let viewers enter by answering in the comments. You get a comment section full of ideas instead of "done" fifty times over.

Make the comment an answer, not a price.

A video that exists only to collect comments for a prize is what the fake engagement policy describes. Gleam's YouTube Comments import pulls comments into a Competition, can filter them by a hashtag or word, and lets you draw a winner at random. It's on the Business Plan and above.

Announce the giveaway in your video and put the entry link in the description. Entrants go to a giveaway page and enter with Actions like an email signup, a visit to your channel, following you elsewhere or sharing the giveaway with friends.

This is the setup that gets you the most for your prize, because you can collect email addresses (which you own) and promote the same giveaway on every channel you run, YouTube included. Every entry is tracked, and Gleam picks the winner at random.

If your audience makes things, ask them to make a video. Gleam's Submit a YouTube Video Action collects entries as video links, and you judge the best one.

If a judge picks the winner, write the judging criteria into your rules so entrants know how they'll be scored.

YouTube requires official rules for every contest. They must:

• Link to the YouTube Community Guidelines and say entries that break them are disqualified
• Include every disclosure your local laws require
• Match YouTube's Terms of Service
• Say YouTube isn't a sponsor, and require entrants to release YouTube from any liability
• Include a privacy notice that explains how you'll use entrants' data

Then run the contest and award the prizes exactly as the rules say.

Digital Trends puts the release in the video description, in one plain sentence, next to a warning about scammers.

Gleam generates Terms & Conditions for every Competition. Read them against the list above before you launch, and add the YouTube release and Community Guidelines link if they're missing. Writing your own custom terms needs the Hobby Plan or above.

If you're in the US, entry must also stay free under no purchase necessary rules, and our guide to US giveaway laws covers the rest.

Since the giveaway can't run in an ad, it lives in your content. A mention inside a regular video usually works better than a standalone giveaway video, because people who came for the content find the giveaway, rather than prize hunters who leave once it's over.

Romance author Sam Parks keeps it short.

The Short shows the books, says the giveaway is open internationally, and gives a deadline.

LeonoraSmee announces a hamper giveaway in a Short and sends viewers to a vlog for the entry details.

Draw at random and keep a record.

Gleam's random winner draw handles that for a hosted giveaway. If you draw from comments yourself, screen-record it or do it live.

Then expect impersonators.

YouTube has no direct messages, so once you announce a winner's channel name, anyone can email you claiming to be them. Give the person who contacts you a unique code and ask them to post it as a comment under your video from the winning account. Only the real account holder can do that.

Close the loop with a short winner video or community post. Gaz's Golf announced the winner in a dedicated video: