Check YouTube Shorts duration, shape and upload date
Check the actual upload's duration, shape, date and channel type. A square or vertical video up to three minutes falls within YouTube's current Shorts classification guidance when its relevant upload-date condition is met. Classification does not itself settle copyright, playback or monetisation.
Your working document
Check the applicable upload-date condition
| Channel type | Current date condition | Shape and duration |
|---|---|---|
| Standard channel | Uploaded on or after 15 October 2024 | Square or vertical, up to three minutes |
| Official Artist Channel | Uploaded on or after 8 December 2025 | Square or vertical, up to three minutes |
| Earlier upload | The page says earlier uploads retain long-form classification | Do not infer a retroactive change from a new crop recommendation |
Keep the decision branches distinct
| Observed case | What to check | What this does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| A two-minute square upload after the relevant date | Actual channel type and Studio classification | Playback or monetisation eligibility |
| A vertical upload over three minutes | Duration outside this classification guidance | That a shorter excerpt contains a complete useful answer |
| A wide video intended to remain long form | The primary page suggests a wider shape such as 16:9 | That changing dimensions restores missing context |
| An upload made before the relevant cutoff | Actual upload date rather than the edit's creation date | That current upload rules applied to the older file |
Record the file you will actually upload
Inspect the final output after export; the editor's timeline or camera setting may not describe that file. Keep exact duration and encoded dimensions in the record, then compare the observed classification in Studio with the intended result.
Check claimed-content or playback restrictions separately in the upload's actual status. The classification table does not determine those outcomes; keep that separate status with the actual video version when planning its release.
Preserve the meaning of a shorter edit
- The excerpt introduces the subject and question without requiring an earlier chapter.
- Conditions essential to the answer are still present.
- The useful action remains inside the final frame.
- A deeper related video is used only when its actual feature conditions are met.