Short answer: To make a YouTube channel for your business, sign in to YouTube, go to your channel list and click Create a new channel. Choose a profile picture, a name and a handle, then click Create channel. YouTube creates a Brand Account with it, so the channel can have more than one owner or manager.
A personal channel or one with your business name
A Google Account lets you watch videos, like them and subscribe to channels. To upload videos, comment or make playlists, you need a YouTube channel, and without one you have no public presence on YouTube.
YouTube Help describes a personal channel as one that only you can manage. A channel with a business or other name can have more than one manager or owner.
That second kind uses a Brand Account, which lets the channel show a name on YouTube that is different from your Google Account’s. Google Account Help says Brand Accounts created after August 4, 2021 can only be linked to YouTube channels, marked “(limited to YouTube)”.
If a channel isn’t connected to a Brand Account, YouTube says you can change its managers but not its owners. In our view, a business should pick the business name option from the start, so more than one person at the business can own the channel.
How to make a YouTube channel for your business
- Sign in to YouTube on a computer or the mobile site.
- Go to your channel list.
- Click Create a new channel.
- Choose a profile picture, a name and a handle.
- Click Create channel.
The steps come from YouTube Help, and the last one also creates a new Brand Account. If you already manage a Brand Account that has no channel, choose it from the list instead. If that Brand Account already has a channel, you can’t create a new one.
For a personal channel, start at your profile picture and open Settings. In the Account section, select Add or manage channel(s), then click Create a channel.
Your handle and your channel name
A handle is a short, unique identifier that starts with the @ symbol, and it is separate from your channel name. It also becomes your channel’s address, youtube.com/@ followed by the handle, which you can share with people outside YouTube.
YouTube asks for 3 to 30 characters, with other limits for some scripts such as Han or Hangul. A handle uses letters or numbers and can include underscores, hyphens, periods and Latin middle dots, but not at the beginning or end.
Handles aren’t case-sensitive, can’t look like a web address or a phone number, and can’t already be in use. YouTube doesn’t allow selling or transferring them, and it can change, reclaim or remove a handle at any time.
For handles with characters other than the letters A to Z, the numbers 0 to 9, underscores, hyphens or periods, YouTube Help gives two things to consider. People who don’t have the right keyboard may not be able to type them easily, and some apps and websites may show your link as broken.
In our view, if your business name has an accent or an ñ, keep it in the channel name and leave it out of the handle.
You can change your handle twice within 14 days, and the same limit applies to your channel name. A new channel name removes your verification badge and may take a few days to show across YouTube.
Fill in your channel’s profile
You edit the description, links and contact email in YouTube Studio, under Customization and then Profile. Each change needs a click on Publish.
The description shows in your channel header. You can add up to 14 links, and the first one appears near the subscribe button, while the rest show when someone clicks to see more links.
Contact info is an email address for business questions, so people know how to reach you. In our view, make your website the first link, because it’s the one people see next to the subscribe button.
Your profile picture, banner and watermark each have their own size, and our YouTube thumbnail and banner size guide lists them. Our YouTube SEO guide covers the title and description of each video.
If your first videos are short and vertical, our YouTube Shorts guide explains their length, their shape and how to upload them.
Give your team access without your password
With channel permissions, you give people access to your channel’s data, tools and features in YouTube and YouTube Studio. They don’t need access to your Google Account, and YouTube says this is safer than sharing your password.
To invite someone, open YouTube Studio and click Settings, then Permissions and Invite. Enter their email, choose a role under Access and click Done. The invite expires after 30 days.
If you have a Brand Account, YouTube asks you to migrate to channel permissions before you invite anyone.
A Manager can manage permissions, edit channel details and upload, publish or delete content, but can’t delete the channel. An Editor can edit everything and publish, but can’t delete the channel or published content, or manage permissions.
A Viewer can see all channel details without editing them. The limited versions of Editor and Viewer can’t see revenue data, and a Subtitle Editor can only work on subtitles.
The owner can do everything, including deleting the channel and managing permissions. YouTube says it is the owner’s responsibility to give access only to trusted users.
In the permissions table, the owner can’t transfer ownership to other users. In our view, that is the reason to create the channel yourself, from a Google Account your business keeps, and give your agency a Manager or Editor role. To transfer ownership, YouTube says to convert the channel to a Brand Account by removing all roles in its permissions.
Owners, managers and editors can link Google Ads accounts to the channel. Our YouTube ads guide shows where that link comes in when you run your first ad.
Verify your channel by phone
By default, a channel can upload videos, create and edit playlists and add collaborators to playlists. Once you verify it by phone, it also gets custom thumbnails, live streaming, uploads longer than 15 minutes and copyright claim appeals.
To verify, go to studio.youtube.com on a computer and click Settings, then Channel and Features. Click Features that require phone verification, then Verify phone number, and follow the prompts.
YouTube sends a code by text or voice call. It also makes sure a phone number is linked to no more than 2 channels per year.
With a Brand Account, the owner and the managers can phone-verify the channel. Without one, only channel owners can.
Advanced features come after that. You first complete phone verification, then build up enough channel history or verify with an ID or a video.
Access to these features may change if your channel is restricted because of Community Guidelines or copyright strikes.
Before you share your channel
- The channel uses your business name and has its own Brand Account.
- Its owner is a Google Account your business keeps.
- The handle is easy to type, with no accent or ñ.
- The description, your website link and a contact email are in place.
- Your team and your agency have their own roles, and nobody has your password.
- Phone verification is done, so custom thumbnails and longer videos work.
RememberCreate the channel with your business name, from a Google Account your business keeps, so the ownership stays with you. Pick a handle that is easy to type, fill in the profile, verify by phone and invite your team with roles instead of sharing your password.
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Questions about making a YouTube channel
What is a YouTube Brand Account?
It’s an account set up specifically for your brand, and it lets your channel use a name on YouTube that is different from your Google Account’s. A channel with a business name can have more than one manager or owner.
Can I change my YouTube handle later?
Yes. You can change it twice within 14 days, in YouTube Studio under Customization and then Profile. Handles can’t be sold or transferred, and YouTube can change, reclaim or remove a handle at any time.
Can my agency manage my channel without my password?
Yes. With channel permissions you invite them by email from YouTube Studio and choose their role, such as Manager or Editor. YouTube says that is safer than sharing your password, and an invite expires after 30 days.
Does changing my channel name remove my verification badge?
Yes. YouTube says changing your channel name removes your verification badge. You can change the name twice within 14 days, and the new name may take a few days to show across YouTube.
How many channels can my phone number verify?
YouTube makes sure a phone number is linked to no more than 2 channels per year. If you see a message saying the number has already created the maximum number of accounts, you’ll have to use a different number.
Sources
Read on November 9, 2026. From YouTube Help, on creating a channel: Create a YouTube channel and Learn about YouTube handles. On the profile: Manage your YouTube channel’s profile. On access: Add or remove access to your YouTube channel with channel permissions. On owners and managers: Change channel owners & managers with a Brand Account. On phone verification: Verify your YouTube account and See & unlock features with phone verification. From Google Account Help: Manage your Brand Account.