X’s new Original Content Rewards Program comes with specific eligibility gates creators must clear: an X Premium (or higher) subscription, at least 500 verified followers, and 500,000 Home Timeline impressions from verified users in the previous 90 days, according to detailed coverage from Tech-Ish and Storyboard18.

The impression bar is notably lower than the old program’s headline requirement of 5 million organic impressions over three months — though the metrics are not directly comparable, since the new measure specifically targets verified-user Home Timeline views and excludes replies. Applicants must also be at least 18, live in an eligible country, and hold an account in good standing.

Earnings come from qualified impressions: unique views of original posts by Premium subscribers in the Home Timeline with at least half the post visible. Repeat views from one account do not count twice; paid, promoted, artificial and fraudulent impressions never count. Payouts stay fortnightly with a $30 minimum, and creators who completed ID verification and connected a payout method under the old program do not need to repeat those steps.

The content rules are the real filter. Original reporting, commentary, analysis, photographs, videos and creator-made graphics can qualify; copied, minimally modified or aggregated material cannot. Posts carrying a Community Note earn nothing, and content about monetization itself is excluded.

For creators, the lowered impression threshold opens the program to mid-size accounts — but only those producing genuinely original work. Repost and aggregation accounts are structurally excluded for the first time.

The takeaway for creators: check your verified-follower count and 90-day verified impressions in analytics. If you clear 500/500K, apply — then shift your mix toward original posts, since every recycled viral post in your feed is now dead weight for earnings.