TIKTOKLIVE
How to go live on TikTok: requirements, followers and LIVE Studio
What TikTok asks for before you can go LIVE (age and followers), why it may block you, LIVE Studio vs your phone, and what LIVE Gifts and Diamonds are.
Short answer
Before you start
- Be 18 or older, and ready to confirm it if TikTok asks
- A TikTok account with no recent LIVE suspensions
- The follower count TikTok asks for where you live, usually 1,000
- For LIVE Studio: a 64-bit Windows 10 or newer PC, or a Mac
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Step by step
- 01
Check the age requirement
TikTok Help: Age requirements for TikTok LIVE ↗You want to do your first live and TikTok won't show you the option. Before you blame your Wi-Fi, start with the basics: you must be 18 or older to go LIVE. TikTok may ask you to confirm your age first. Depending on where you live, you'll get options like ID photos plus selfies, a selfie with your ID through Incode, a credit card authorization or a facial age estimate from a selfie. With Incode you get 15 minutes to finish. This is your real ID, so only do it inside the TikTok app, never through a link someone messages you. If TikTok can't confirm your age, you can't go LIVE.
What you should see: When you try to go live, TikTok either lets you continue or shows the steps to confirm your age.
- 02
See which access requirements TikTok sets for you
LIVE Studio Help: FAQ ↗TikTok says the access requirements for LIVE may vary by country or region. That's why people swear they went live with fewer followers: the requirements aren't the same everywhere. To see yours, check the app. Tap + at the bottom, swipe to LIVE and, if you don't have access yet, tap Get access to go LIVE. Any requirement you haven't met shows in gray at the top, and you can reapply once you meet it.
What you should see: The LIVE section lists the access requirements, with the ones you haven't met in gray.
- 03
Go live from your phone
TikTok Help: What is TikTok LIVE? ↗TikTok's help center says you need 1,000 followers to go LIVE, and adds that this may vary across regions. It also says LIVE and Gifts aren't available in every country. Once you qualify, going live from the app is quick. Tap the Add post + button at the bottom, then LIVE, which may be a scroll to the side. Add a title, check your LIVE tools and settings, and tap Go LIVE. While you're live you can change settings, safety settings included, under More, then Settings. To finish, tap End LIVE at the top, then End now.
What you should see: An End LIVE button appears at the top of the screen, so you know you're on air.
- 04
If TikTok won't let you, find out why
TikTok LIVE Studio Help: FAQ ↗When the option is missing, the reason is usually one of these. You haven't confirmed you're 18 or older. You don't have the follower count your region asks for. LIVE isn't offered in your country yet. Or your LIVE access was suspended for a violation. In that case you can appeal from the violation detail page, the inbox notification or the violation records in LIVE Center. You only get one appeal per violation, and TikTok says the answer comes within 24 hours.
What you should see: You know which case is yours: the LIVE section shows a requirement in gray, or there's a violation notice in your inbox.
- 05
Download LIVE Studio to stream from a computer
TikTok: Download LIVE Studio ↗LIVE Studio is TikTok's official desktop tool for going live. Head to tiktok.com/studio/download. On Windows it needs 64-bit Windows 10 or newer. Under Also available for you'll find the Mac versions for Apple silicon and Intel. The Windows minimum is an Intel Core i3 9th Gen or AMD Ryzen 5 3000 Series CPU, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 10 Series or AMD Radeon graphics, and 8 GB of RAM. For a general LIVE, TikTok recommends more: an Intel Core i5 11th Gen, an NVIDIA RTX 20 Series and 16 GB of RAM. For gaming it bumps the graphics card to an RTX 30 Series. Install it and sign in with your TikTok account.
What you should see: LIVE Studio opens and asks you to log in with your TikTok account.
- 06
Get LIVE access in LIVE Studio
TikTok LIVE Studio Help: Apply for LIVE access ↗Besides the app, you need LIVE access. Your access status sits in the top right corner of LIVE Studio. If you already go live on TikTok, you get access right away when your account is old enough, you've gone live recently for long enough, you have enough followers and your access hasn't been suspended. The page doesn't give the numbers, and says they vary by country or region and can change without notice. If you stream on another platform, like Twitch, you can apply with a form about your channel. Review can take days, and you'll get a notice in the TikTok app.
What you should see: In the top right of LIVE Studio, your LIVE access status shows as active or offers a button to apply.
- 07
Bring your OBS scenes into LIVE Studio
Nicole Rojas | YouTube | 7:40 ↗If your scenes already live in OBS, don't rebuild them. This is what I show in my vertical streaming video (it's in Spanish): OBS builds the picture and sends it out as a virtual camera, and LIVE Studio picks it up like a webcam. You need this because only one app can use a camera at a time. In OBS, click Start Virtual Camera. In LIVE Studio, create a scene, add a camera, choose the OBS virtual camera and set the resolution, FPS and format.
What you should see: LIVE Studio shows your OBS scene as if it were a webcam.
- 08
Know what LIVE Gifts and Diamonds are
TikTok Help: LIVE Gifts on TikTok ↗LIVE Gifts is one of the features that lets you collect Diamonds during a LIVE. Viewers send Gifts during your stream, and TikTok awards you Diamonds based on how popular your content is. That help page describes Diamonds but doesn't say what to do with them afterward. To turn Gifts on, you need to be somewhere they're offered, be 18 or older (19 in South Korea), be eligible to go LIVE and have an account in good standing. On the LIVE screen, tap Settings and switch on LIVE Gifts before you start.
What you should see: When your LIVE ends, the summary shows how many Diamonds you collected.
- 09
Test your quality before the real thing
Nicole Rojas | YouTube | 13:19 ↗In my experience, TikTok isn't kind to blurry or pixelated streams. It happened to me: I tried it on a bad internet day and nobody saw it. Run a test live, watch it on another phone, and if your connection can't keep up, lower the quality or stream to one place only. And that's it, you know what TikTok asks for, where to go live from and what to do when it says no.
What you should see: Your test live looks sharp on another phone, with no pixelation.
If something does not work
- There's no LIVE option in the app
- Check your age, your region's follower count and whether LIVE exists in your country. Tap Get access to go LIVE in the LIVE section and see which requirement is in gray. Classic TikTok, always one more rule tucked in a menu.
- Your LIVE Studio access was revoked
- On a trial you have to go live for at least 25 minutes, twice, in your first week. Miss that and access gets revoked. Meet the requirements again and reapply at tiktok.com/studio/download.
- TikTok suspended one of your LIVEs
- Open the violation details or the violation records in LIVE Center and appeal from there. You get one appeal per violation, and the answer usually arrives within 24 hours. The ban can be lifted, kept, or have its length changed.
- LIVE Studio can't find your OBS camera
- Only one app can use a camera at a time. Click Start Virtual Camera in OBS before adding the camera in LIVE Studio, then pick the OBS virtual camera as the source.
- You can't turn on Gifts
- LIVE Gifts needs a location where they're offered, age 18 or older, LIVE eligibility and an account in good standing. Government, politician and political party accounts can't collect Diamonds.
Test before you go live
- You're 18 or older and, if TikTok asked, your age is confirmed.
- You checked the LIVE section for any requirement still in gray in your region.
- You picked your route: your phone or LIVE Studio on a computer.
- If you use OBS, the virtual camera starts before LIVE Studio.
- LIVE Gifts is on if you want to receive Gifts.
- And that's it: your next live goes out sharp and surprise-free.
Cómo hacer stream vertical para TikTok e Instagram desde OBS
Related video from Nicole (in Spanish) ↗Common questions
How many followers do you need to go live on TikTok?
TikTok's help center says 1,000 followers, and notes this may vary across regions. The exact number for your account shows in the app: open the LIVE section and tap Get access to go LIVE.
Can I go live on TikTok with fewer than 1,000 followers?
First check the app, because your region may ask for fewer. If you already stream elsewhere, you can apply for LIVE access in LIVE Studio with a form about your channel, and the review can take a few days. In my vertical streaming video I also show Restream's Apply button for requesting access. The magic tricks in the comments don't count.
Can I go live if I'm under 18?
No. TikTok requires you to be 18 or older to go LIVE and to receive Gifts (19 in South Korea). If it confirms you're under 18 you can't use LIVE, and if it confirms you're under 13 it removes the account.
Which is better, LIVE Studio or OBS?
TikTok says they have similar functions, that LIVE Studio is built by TikTok and you sign in with your account, and that it won't change your traffic based on the tool you use. OBS needs a stream key, and as I mention in my video, TikTok doesn't give one to everyone. Without a key, pair OBS with LIVE Studio through the virtual camera.
Does TikTok pay per view for LIVE?
In its LIVE help pages, TikTok doesn't mention a payment per thousand views. It says LIVE Gifts is one of the features that lets you collect Diamonds, which are awarded based on how popular your LIVE is.
