How to get the blue checkmark on X
If you are a user in the EEA, you may have noticed that X has stopped referring to blue checkmark users as “verified” and now calls them “Premium” users. This change comes courtesy of the European Commission’s Decision of 5 December 2025, which concluded that X’s blue checkmark misled users and breached the European Digital Services Act. X is appealing this decision in court but, in the meantime, this page explains more about what the blue checkmark means and how to get it. Spoiler: It’s business as usual.
What does the blue checkmark mean?
The blue checkmark means that the account has an active subscription to X Premium and meets our eligibility requirements. It does not mean that the account has been ID verified. You can read about ID verification on the X platform here.
Starting April 1, 2023 we began winding down our legacy Verification program and accounts that were verified under the previous criteria (active, notable, and authentic) did not retain a blue checkmark unless they are subscribed to X Premium.
Subscribers need to meet our eligibility criteria below to receive or retain the blue checkmark.
X supports freedom of speech and does not endorse or validate the views expressed on accounts featuring blue checkmarks.
Eligibility criteria for the blue checkmark
Only accounts actively subscribed to X Premium are eligible to receive the blue checkmark.
Our team applies eligibility criteria before the checkmark is given to ensure we maintain the integrity of the platform. Your account must meet the following criteria to receive or retain the blue checkmark:
Complete: Your account must have a display name and profile photo
Active use: Your account must be active in the past 30 days to subscribe to X Premium
Security: Your account must have a confirmed phone number
Non-Deceptive:
Your account must have no recent changes to your profile photo, display name, or username (@handle)
Your account must have no signs of being misleading or deceptive
Your account must have no signs of engaging in platform manipulation and spam
The checkmark will appear once our team reviews your Premium subscribed account and if it meets our requirements.
As a result of this change, X no longer accepts applications for the blue Verification checkmarks under the previous criteria (active, notable, and authentic).
X Premium features
X Premium is an opt-in, paid subscription that offers additional features to improve your experience. X Premium has three tiers: Basic, Premium, and Premium+, with more features available in each higher tier. You can learn more about X Premium here.
Basic: Includes essential Premium features like editing posts, longer posts and longer video uploads, reply prioritization, text formatting, bookmark folders, custom app icons, and more.
Premium: Includes all Basic features plus a checkmark, reduced ads, access to apply for creator revenue sharing and creator subscriptions, larger reply prioritization, ID verification, Media Studio, and increased usage limits on Grok.
Premium+: Includes all Premium features with additional benefits like higher limits on Grok, no ads anywhere on X, largest reply prioritization, Radar Search, and Articles. Occasional promoted content may appear.
These features are subject to change. Not all Premium features are available on all platforms and locations, and features may change periodically/from time to time as we keep improving the service. A complete list of X Premium features is available here.
All X Premium features associated with each tier will be available immediately except the blue checkmark, which will appear on eligible profiles subscribed to the Premium or Premium+ tiers after a review to ensure subscribed accounts meet all eligibility criteria.
Loss of the blue checkmark
In accordance with the Terms of Service, including our Purchaser Terms, X may remove the checkmark of an account at any time without notice.
To minimize confusion and promote integrity on the platform, changes to your profile photo, display name, or username (@handle) will result in a temporary loss of the blue checkmark until your account is validated as continuing to meet our requirements. No further changes to your profile photo, display name, or username will be allowed during this review period.
The checkmark will appear again once our team reviews your X Premium subscribed account and confirms it continues to meet our requirements.
X may also remove the checkmark from accounts that are found to be in violation of the X Rules.
You may not purchase X Premium if you are a person with whom X is not permitted to have dealings under US and any other applicable economic sanctions and trade compliance law.
Any violation of the X Terms of Service or X Rules, manipulation of X processes, or circumvention of enforcement actions may result in the loss of the checkmark or in certain instances, suspension.
