The short answer
To file a DMCA takedown on YouTube, use YouTube's copyright complaint form. In YouTube Studio, open Content detection, then New removal request. Provide your contact details, a description of your original work, the exact URLs of the infringing videos, and the two statements required under 17 U.S.C. § 512. Sign with your full legal name and submit.
When to use the copyright form, and how it differs from Content ID
Use the copyright complaint form when someone re-uploads your video, or a clip from it, without permission. That is the tool open to every creator, and you have to file it yourself or through an authorized agent.
Content ID is a different system. It is YouTube's automated fingerprint matcher, and access is limited to rights holders who hold a contract with YouTube and own a large body of frequently uploaded material. Content ID finds matches on its own and can block, monetize, or track them. Most individual creators never get into it, so the form is what you actually use. According to Google's YouTube Copyright Transparency Report, the platform processed over 2.2 billion Content ID claims in a single year, with under 1% disputed (report), which tells you how much of YouTube's enforcement runs through the automated lane the rest of us can't touch.
You own the copyright the moment you record the video, so there is nothing to register first.
Step-by-step
- Collect the links. Get the exact watch URL of each infringing video, in the youtube.com/watch?v=... format, plus a link to your original upload or proof you own it.
- Open the copyright complaint form. In YouTube Studio, go to Content detection, then New removal request. You can also reach YouTube's copyright complaint form directly. Sign in with your Google account.
- Fill it out. Add your contact information (email, address, or phone), pick the content type, describe the copyrighted work clearly, and paste the infringing URLs. If several videos use your work, you can list them together.
- Choose your timing, sign, and submit. You can file for immediate removal, which puts a copyright strike on the channel, or schedule the request to give the uploader seven days to take the video down first and avoid the strike. Add the two required statements (a good-faith belief the use is unauthorized, and an accuracy statement under penalty of perjury), then sign with your full legal name and submit.
- If it's ignored, denied, or counter-notified, escalate. Confirm every URL was exact and resubmit if needed. If the uploader files a counter-notification, YouTube can restore the video in about 10 to 14 business days unless you take it to court, so document the pattern for repeat offenders. When the same video also lives off YouTube, file with those hosts too and de-list it from Google and Bing.
The privacy catch on YouTube
YouTube forwards your complaint to the uploader, and that includes your name, email address, full legal name, and your description of the work. Your physical address and phone number stay confidential unless a legal process requires otherwise. For a creator working under a stage name, this hands your real identity straight to the person who stole your video. If that's a risk, have a service file on your behalf under its name instead of submitting it yourself.
Doing this at scale
One re-uploaded video is a quick form. A leaked set, re-uploaded across dozens of channels, mirrored, and posted again after every removal, is a different job. Fanlock files YouTube complaints for you under Fanlock's name, so your identity stays private, watches for re-uploads, and covers the other places the same content spreads, including Telegram, where a lot of it starts. Mirrored uploads climb into Google's results too, and our Pirate-Intent Search hunts them there the way a pirate searches, catching a fresh copy as it appears. Our Google-side removals run about 97.5%, verifiable in Google's public Transparency Report.
FAQ
What is the YouTube copyright complaint form?
It's the webform YouTube uses to take down videos that infringe your copyright. You reach it in YouTube Studio under Content detection, then New removal request, and it must be filed by the rights holder or an authorized agent.
How long does a YouTube DMCA takedown take?
Valid requests are often actioned within a day or two, though it varies with volume and how clearly you've identified the video and your ownership. Requests for more information add a few days.
What's the difference between a DMCA takedown and a Content ID claim?
A takedown is a manual legal request anyone can file through the copyright form, and it can lead to a copyright strike. Content ID is an automated matching system limited to partners under contract, and it usually blocks, monetizes, or tracks a match rather than striking the channel.
Will YouTube tell the uploader who reported them?
Yes. YouTube shares your name, email, full legal name, and your content description with the uploader. Your address and phone number stay private unless legal process requires them. File through a service that uses its own name if exposing your legal identity is a concern.
Can I get a stolen video removed without giving the channel a strike?
Yes. When you submit the form, choose the scheduled option that gives the uploader seven days to remove the video themselves. If they do, no strike is issued. File immediately and a valid removal carries a strike.
Let Fanlock handle your YouTube takedowns automatically
Filing one notice is easy. Doing it across every repost and re-upload is not. Sign up and Fanlock detects your stolen content on YouTube and everywhere else it spreads, files under our name to protect your identity, and re-files when it comes back. Our Google removals run about 97.5%, verifiable in Google's public Transparency Report.
Don't file the same form for every re-upload
We handle YouTube takedowns and the re-uploads that follow, under our name, alongside every other place your content leaks. Run a free scan to see what's out there. Just a username. No card, no selfie.
About Zander Small
co-founder of Fanlock
Zander Small is a co-founder of Fanlock and the engineer who built its detection and takedown system. He's a creator himself, with a following of around 2 million, and started Fanlock after seeing how hard it is for creators to get stolen content removed and keep it down. He writes about how DMCA enforcement actually works in practice, across search, social, Telegram, and piracy sites. More about the Fanlock team →