You have to be at least 13 years old to stream on Twitch, and if you’re between 13 and 17 a parent or legal guardian must supervise the account and agree to Twitch’s Terms of Service on your behalf. The floor is the same whether you plan to broadcast or just watch. Earning money adds another layer, because Twitch’s Affiliate program requires a parent to walk through the legal and tax paperwork with you if you’re under 18.
Why 13 Is the Floor
The 13-year-old minimum comes from the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), a federal law that treats anyone under 13 as a “child” and bars online services from collecting their personal information without verifiable parental consent.1eCFR. Part 312 Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA Rule) Twitch collects data like usernames, chat activity, and viewing history the moment you sign up, so 13 is set as a hard cutoff to stay on the right side of that rule.2Twitch Help. Children on Twitch
What Supervision Means for Streamers 13 to 17
If you’re 13 or older but haven’t hit the age of majority where you live (18 in most U.S. states), you can stream, but only under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to be bound by Twitch’s Terms of Service on your behalf.3Twitch Safety Center. Guide for Parents and Educators That’s not a formality. The adult takes on responsibility for everything the account does.
Twitch applies some automatic content restrictions to accounts belonging to users under 18. Streams carrying certain Content Classification Labels (sexual themes, drug or alcohol use, graphic violence, gambling) are hidden by default. You can adjust these under the Content Preferences tab in your profile, but the defaults lean protective.3Twitch Safety Center. Guide for Parents and Educators
Set up chat moderation before the first broadcast. Twitch’s Creator Dashboard has moderation settings, and built-in tools like AutoMod and Chat Verification can filter inappropriate messages before they hit the screen.3Twitch Safety Center. Guide for Parents and Educators Live chat is the hardest thing to control on a stream. Having filters running from day one is easier than cleaning up after.
How Twitch Checks Age
Twitch doesn’t ask for ID at signup for most users. It goes by the birthdate you enter. If the Safety Operations team finds evidence that a user is under the minimum age for their region, the account gets an indefinite suspension.4Twitch Help. Age Verification on Twitch Reports from other users, what shows up on stream, and chat behavior can all trigger a review.
If your account is suspended and you believe the age call is wrong, you can appeal through Twitch Support by submitting government-issued identity documentation.4Twitch Help. Age Verification on Twitch
What Happens If an Underage Account Gets Caught
An indefinite suspension means losing access to essentially everything on the account. You can’t stream, watch, use purchased Bits or subscriptions, or reach any Twitch services. If the channel was monetized, existing recurring subscriptions stop renewing and monetization tools are revoked for the duration of the suspension.5Twitch Safety Center. Enforcement
The practical read: a 12-year-old who lies about their age, builds a following, and starts earning can lose all of it if the account is flagged. There’s no exemption that preserves a channel while the user waits to turn 13.
Earning Money on Twitch as a Minor
The main revenue path for smaller streamers is the Affiliate program. To qualify, you need to hit all four of these benchmarks within a 30-day window:
- 25 followers
- 4 hours of total stream time
- 4 different broadcast days
- 3 average viewers across at least 4 stream days
Meeting the thresholds gets you an invitation to apply.6Twitch Help. Twitch Affiliate Program FAQ You don’t have to be 18 to apply, but if you’re under 18 a parent or legal guardian has to be present during onboarding to agree to the Monetized Streamer Agreement on your behalf. They type their full legal name, check a consent box, and click Agree.7Twitch Help. Affiliate Onboarding Guide
Payouts and the PayPal Age Problem
Twitch pays Affiliates once the balance reaches $50, with options including ACH/direct deposit and PayPal.6Twitch Help. Twitch Affiliate Program FAQ Minors hit a snag here: PayPal requires all account holders to be at least 18.8PayPal. PayPal User Agreement A minor can’t hold their own PayPal account, so the payout either has to go to a parent’s PayPal (with the name and information matching what was submitted to Twitch) or by direct deposit to a bank account. The name on the Twitch tax interview, the PayPal account, and the bank account all need to match. Sort this out before finishing onboarding, not after the first payout is pending.
Tax Paperwork
Onboarding includes two tax interviews covering royalty tax and service tax. You’ll need a legal name, address, and either a Social Security Number or Taxpayer Identification Number. Twitch may also ask for a scanned government ID like a passport.7Twitch Help. Affiliate Onboarding Guide
Twitch income counts as self-employment earnings. If a minor’s net self-employment income reaches $400 or more in a tax year, they’re generally required to pay self-employment tax, which covers Social Security and Medicare.9Internal Revenue Service. Topic no. 554, Self-employment tax Twitch won’t give tax advice and says so directly. A short conversation with a tax professional before the first payout usually saves confusion at filing time.
Countries With a Higher Minimum
Thirteen is the global baseline, but some countries set the bar higher. Australia is the clearest example. A social media minimum age law pushed Twitch’s Australian threshold to 16, and as of January 9, 2026, Australian residents under 16 cannot create new Twitch accounts. Existing accounts belonging to users under 16 were deactivated.4Twitch Help. Age Verification on Twitch
Australian users whose accounts were deactivated can request reinstatement through customer support once they turn 16.4Twitch Help. Age Verification on Twitch Twitch recommended that affected users download any VODs they wanted to keep before the cutoff, and refunded remaining Bits and active subscriptions to the original payment methods. Other countries may adopt similar rules, so check Twitch’s age verification page for the current requirement where you live before you start setting up an account.