Review potentially invalid references

References including content that Content ID may consider invalid must be reviewed before a claim can become active.

If you own exclusive rights to the content and the reference follows reference guidelines, you can request a re-evaluation of the issue. If you don’t own the rights to the content, you need to exclude the segment from Content ID match consideration.

View and take action on invalid references

1. Sign in to Studio Content Manager.
2. From the left menu, select Issues .
3. In the filter bar  click Status  Action Required  APPLY.
4. Click the filter bar  and select Issue type Invalid Reference APPLY.
   • To narrow your search, select more filters: Sampled media, Open licenses, Other media, Questionable ownership, Mixed compilation, Video game soundtrack, and Distinctness, and Potential violation of YouTube monetization policy. These filters represent the reasons a reference could be marked as invalid.
   • Note: You can also get to this page directly from the Dashboard  by clicking Invalid References in the Issues column.
5. Click an invalid reference with an Action required status. A detail page opens to show more details about the reference, including ownership info.
6. Click Play on the video player and review the potentially invalid segment of the reference.
   • Above the video player, there’s more info about why the segment was marked as potentially invalid. In the video player’s progress bar, it shows what percentage of the reference is considered potentially invalid.
   • Note: Claims made from a potentially invalid segment are automatically set to pending. These claims can’t be confirmed as active until the invalid reference issue is resolved. You can review examples of pending claims under Sample of videos with claims pending due to invalid segment.
7. Choose an action to take:
   • EXCLUDE SEGMENT: If the segment shows content that you don’t own the rights to, such as public domain footage, select this option to exclude it from the reference.
     • If you exclude the segment, any claims based on the segment are automatically released.
     • Back on the Issues page, you can exclude segments for multiple invalid references at once. Select the invalid references whose segments you want to exclude and, in the top banner, click EXCLUDE INVALID REFERENCE.
   • REQUEST REVIEW: If you own exclusive rights to the content and the reference follows the reference guidelines, select this option to request a re-evaluation.
     • If the segment is confirmed as valid after re-evaluation, pending claims based on the segment can be reviewed and confirmed as active.
     • Note: Requesting re-evaluations of multiple invalid references at once is not available.

Manage invalid reference issues

If a reference issue has been resolved or is waiting to be resolved, you can get more info on its status from the Issues  page:

1. In the filter bar , click Status  Waiting and Resolved  APPLY.
2. Click the filter bar  and select Issue type  Invalid Reference  APPLY.
3. Find the Status details column. Resolved invalid reference issues will be in one of these states:
   • Waiting on (Re-evaluation): You requested re-evaluation of the invalid segment of this reference and are waiting on YouTube to make a decision.
   • Owned (Re-evaluation approved): Your requested re-evaluation of the invalid segment of this reference was approved.
   • Owned (Claims routed to review): Your requested re-evaluation of the invalid segment of this reference was approved by YouTube, however claims made by this reference will be routed to review.
   • Excluded (Expired): The invalid segment is excluded from your reference due to expiration.
   • Excluded (Manual): The invalid segment is excluded from your reference due to your action.
   • Excluded (Re-evaluation denied): Your requested re-evaluation of the invalid segment of this reference was denied. The segment has been marked as excluded, however it can still make potential claims that are routed for manual review.