How to get verified on TikTok: requirements and how to apply

To get verified on TikTok, open the app and go to Settings and privacy, then Account, then Verification, and send a request. TikTok gives the blue check to accounts that are real, active and notable, which in practice means news outlets have written about you. No follower count earns it, and TikTok does not sell it.

Most requests fail on one point: notability. A big following helps you get press, but TikTok says it does not count followers or likes when it decides. Below is what TikTok asks for, what 2026 guides report about follower numbers and review times (they disagree), how to lose the badge by accident, and how to spot the people selling fake ones.

What the blue check means

The blue check sits next to an account's name on its profile and in search results. It tells people one thing: TikTok checked that the account belongs to the person, brand or group it claims to be. It is not a quality badge, a reward for good videos or a sign TikTok will push your posts. TikTok's help page on verified accounts says the badge means the account was reviewed and represents the person, business or brand it names.

That makes it scarce. Each person or brand gets one verified account, with an exception for separate language accounts. TikTok also says it can refuse or remove the badge from accounts that meet the rules through fake or bought activity.

People searching TikTok mix the real badge up with lookalikes. We typed "tiktok verified" and "get verified tiktok" into TikTok's search bar and saved the 20 suggestions it offered. Seven are about shortcuts or copies: a checkmark emoji to paste into your name, a "verified" filter, a trend, a follower-count "method" and a way to skip the ID step. A checkmark emoji in your name is just text. The real badge comes only from TikTok's review.

Data: TikTok search suggestions via TokConnect, pulled 27 September 2026, 10 per seed. Suggestions show what people type, not how often. Open the snapshot.

TikTok verification requirements

TikTok's help page names four tests: the account must be authentic, unique, active and notable, and it must follow the Community Guidelines and Terms of Service. The 2026 guides from Sprout Social, SocialBee and Stack Influence add two more that the app checks: a complete profile and a secured login.

Sources: TikTok's verified accounts page (blocks automated reading; checked through the guides that quote it), Sprout Social (January 2026), SocialBee (January 2026), Stack Influence (updated September 2026), Sideshift (February 2026), MegaDigital (2026). Checked 27 September 2026.

Notable is the hard one. The request form asks for links to coverage about you. Stack Influence and LitCommerce say to send at least four articles, plus links to your verified profiles on other apps. Sprout reports that the form also asks personal accounts for a government ID and a live selfie, and business accounts for an email on the company's own domain or official documents. That is why "without passport" shows up in the suggestions. TikTok has not published a way around the ID step.

How many followers you need to get verified on TikTok

None. TikTok's help page says it does not consider follower or like counts, and every 2026 guide we checked repeats it. The badge follows press coverage, not views.

The guides still float numbers, and they do not agree:

Sources linked in the table. Checked 27 September 2026.

Read those numbers as descriptions of who tends to get press, not as a rule. If you want the following first, the followers guide measures what the first 1,000 takes. The brand deals guide covers the media kit that often leads to the coverage TikTok asks for.

How to get verified on TikTok, step by step

1. Open TikTok and tap Profile.
2. Tap the menu (three lines), then Settings and privacy.
3. Tap Account, then Verification.
4. Pick the type. A personal account can ask for personal or institutional verification. A business account can only ask for business verification.
5. Add your legal details, your news links and links to your verified profiles elsewhere, then send.

If Verification is missing from your Account screen, use TikTok's online verification form instead. Sprout, SocialBee and Sideshift all point there. TikTok has not published which accounts see the in-app option, and Sideshift says it is not offered in every region.

What to have ready before you apply

• Press links. Four or more articles from real news outlets about you or your brand. No paid posts, no press releases, nothing years old.
• Your final username. Changing it later removes the badge.
• Your final account type. Switching between personal and business removes it too.
• A complete, public profile. Name, photo, bio and at least one video. The bio ideas guide helps if yours is blank.
• Two-step verification on and a confirmed email, in Settings and privacy, under Security.
• ID ready. A government ID for a person; a company-domain email or registration papers for a business.
• Your verified profiles elsewhere. Instagram, YouTube or X links, if you have them.
• A clean record. TikTok checks that the account follows its Community Guidelines and Terms of Service.

Before you send it, check the profile the way a reviewer would, and check for copies. The "unique" rule is also why impersonators matter: if someone is posting as you, the badge is what lets your followers tell you apart.

An agent connected to TikTok through TokConnect can read your public profile, run the search and list lookalike accounts in one pass. It cannot get you press. That part is still yours.

How long review takes, and trying again

TikTok has not published a review time, and the guides give different answers:

Sources linked above. Checked 27 September 2026.

The guides say the answer arrives as a TikTok notification. Most agree on a 30-day wait after a refusal. Use that month to fix the gap. If you were refused, the likely reason is coverage, and sending the same links again will get the same answer.

Business verification and political accounts

Business verification is a different thing. TikTok's business verification page, updated June 2026, says any account type can apply to prove it is a real company. It unlocks business tools such as analytics, message tools and conversion buttons, and it shows as a "Verified" badge inside Business Suite, not as the blue check on your profile. The same page says the blue check is for high-profile accounts such as celebrities and major brands. Advertisers also verify their company with documents in Ads Manager, which TikTok's ads help page says can take up to two business days.

Government, politician and party accounts follow stricter rules. In a June 2025 filing to Washington State's election regulator, TikTok said these accounts in the US, including state and local candidates, must have the verified badge, and that getting it is the account owner's job. They apply in the app or by web form like anyone else. TikTok's political accounts policy also bars them from ads, gifts, tips, selling and campaign fundraising. Outside the US, TikTok's help page for these accounts calls verification optional in most markets but strongly recommended.

How people lose the blue check

The badge is tied to the account as TikTok checked it. Guides from Sprout, SocialBee, Sideshift and LitCommerce list the same triggers:

• Changing your username. Sideshift says the badge goes automatically.
• Switching account type, personal to business or back. The business vs creator account guide covers what else changes when you switch.
• Handing the account to a new owner.
• Breaking the Community Guidelines, or growing through fake activity.

TikTok has not published a way to remove your own badge; Sideshift says a username change is the only sure route.

Can you buy TikTok verification?

No. TikTok has no paid verification. Sprout Social puts it plainly: anyone claiming to sell TikTok verification "is not affiliated with TikTok".