Twitter (X) Blue Check and Premium Checker

Does this account pay for X Premium, and since when? Enter any public X (Twitter) handle to see whether it has the checkmark, the date its Premium subscription started, how long it has been active and which organization it is affiliated with. Free, no login. Below: what the blue, gold and grey checks actually mean in 2026.

Handle or profile link

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Vetting a list of creators or accounts?Check Premium status and start dates for a whole list with the Sorsa API. 100 free requests to start, no card.

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How to Check if an X Account Has Premium

Enter the account

Type the @handle or paste the profile link of any public X account.

Run the check

The checker reads the account’s public profile and About this account data in about a second. No login, and the owner is not notified.

Read the result

You see whether the account has the checkmark, when its X Premium started, how long it has been subscribed and which organization it is affiliated with, if any.

On X itself

You can tap the checkmark on a profile to see why the account has it. The checker adds the exact start date and the time since the account was created, and works without opening X.

What Does the Blue Check Mean on X in 2026?

The blue check on X means the account pays for X Premium or Premium+ and passed X’s automated eligibility review. It does not mean X confirmed who is behind the account. That is the biggest change from the old Twitter, where the badge was given only to notable people and organizations after a manual review.

The blue check is a Premium badge, not proof of identity.

Before April 2023Notable accounts, checked by Twitter
April 2023Legacy checks removed, check tied to paid Premium
December 2025EU rules the design deceptive

The shift happened in stages:

In April 2023, X removed the legacy checkmarks and tied the blue check to a paid subscription.
On December 5, 2025, the European Commission fined X €120 million in its first decision under the Digital Services Act. One of the three findings was that the blue check was deceptive, because anyone who pays can get it.
Since then, users in the European Economic Area see a notice that blue-check Premium accounts are not verified under identity or authenticity criteria, and X no longer calls them “verified” there.

So read the checkmark for what it is: a sign that someone pays for Premium, which usually brings more reach for replies and posts. To judge whether an account is who it claims to be, look at its age, location and history as well. The Account Age Checker, Location Finder and Username History Checker each read one of those signals.

Blue, Gold and Grey Checks and the Affiliation Badge

Blue check

Who gets it: Individuals and accounts subscribed to X Premium or Premium+ that meet the eligibility rules, plus some accounts X gives complimentary Premium
Paid?: Usually: a Premium or Premium+ subscription
Shown by this checker: Checkmark: Yes, and the Premium start date

Gold check

Who gets it: Businesses and organizations in X’s Verified Organizations program
Paid?: Yes, a separate business subscription
Shown by this checker: Checkmark: Yes, usually without a Premium start date

Grey check

Who gets it: Government accounts and officials, and multilateral organizations
Paid?: No
Shown by this checker: Checkmark: Yes, usually without a Premium start date

Affiliation badge

Who gets it: People and accounts that a Verified Organization links to itself, shown as the organization’s small logo next to the name
Paid?: Paid by the organization
Shown by this checker: The affiliated organization’s handle

ID verified

X also offers optional ID verification to Premium subscribers. It shows up as a separate “ID verified” label, not as a different checkmark. This checker does not read it.

What the Blue Check Checker Shows

Field	What it tells you
Checkmark	Whether the account currently shows a checkmark on its profile.
Premium since	The date the account’s X Premium subscription started, as X records it.
Subscribed for	How long ago that was, in years and months.
Account created	The exact join date and account age.
Premium started	How long after creation the account started Premium: years for an old account that upgraded, days for a brand-new one.
Affiliated with	The organization the account is officially affiliated with, if any.
Checked at	When we read the data. Results are cached for one hour.

Everything comes from X’s public data for the profile. We do not estimate anything, and we do not show fields X does not publish, such as the subscription tier or how much the account pays.

How to Read Premium Signals

A checkmark tells you someone pays. The dates around it tell you more.

Common

Old account, Premium started later

Most long-standing accounts upgraded after 2023, when the blue check became paid. A start date years after creation is the normal pattern.

Common

Checkmark with no start date

Organizations, government accounts and accounts on complimentary Premium often have no start date on record.

Look closer

Premium started days after the account was created

Some new accounts buy Premium immediately to get reach from day one: new creators and businesses, but also spam and impersonation accounts that want to look established. Check the account’s history before you trust it.

Look closer

Start date but no checkmark

The subscription exists, but the badge is missing. That happens while X re-reviews a changed name, photo or @handle, or when an account does not meet the eligibility rules.

None of these patterns proves anything on its own. Read them together with the account’s age, location and username history.

How Much X Premium Costs and Which Tiers Get the Check

	Basic	Premium	Premium+
Monthly (web, US, approx.)	$3	$8	$40
Yearly (web, US, approx.)	$32	$84	$395
Blue checkmark	No	Yes	Yes
Shows in this checker	Same as a free account	Checkmark and start date	Checkmark and start date

Approximate US web prices at the time of writing. X changes them often, and local prices, taxes and in-app purchases differ, so check the Premium page in your X settings for your price.

A blue check does not always mean the owner pays. In April 2024, X began giving complimentary Premium to accounts with a large verified following: 2,500 verified followers for Premium, 5,000 for Premium+, per the original announcement. Organizations can also cover the checkmark for the people affiliated with them.

How to Get the Blue Check on X

Subscribe to X Premium or Premium+ in Settings or in the Premium tab of the app. Basic does not include the checkmark.
Complete your profile with a display name and a profile photo.
Confirm a phone number on the account.
Stay active. The account needs recent activity and no recent signs of spam, platform manipulation or misleading behaviour.
Wait for the review. X checks eligible accounts automatically. Most get the badge within a day or two, some take several business days.

What removes the checkmark

Changing the profile photo, display name or @username triggers a new review. The badge disappears until the account passes it again.
Cancelling or failing to renew Premium.
Breaking X’s rules on impersonation, spam or misleading identity.

You can no longer hide the checkmark. X removed that option for Premium subscribers in April 2024.

X Premium and Creator Payouts

X’s creator payouts go only to creators with an active Premium, Premium+ or Premium Business subscription, so the checkmark is the first thing to confirm when you assess whether an account can earn on X. It is not enough on its own. At the time of writing, X’s published requirements also include:

500 verified followers;
500,000 qualified Home Timeline impressions from Premium subscribers in 90 days;
original content. X changes these terms from time to time, so check its current creator rules.

Premium Status API: Check Creators and Accounts at Scale

Checking one account is free here. The same data comes from one Sorsa API endpoint, /about. It returns whether the account has the checkmark, when its X Premium started and which organization it is affiliated with, together with its based-in country and username change history.

Teams use it to:

vet creators before a campaign;
filter paying accounts out of a follower list;
flag new accounts that bought Premium on day one;
screen creators for monetization eligibility.

One API key, no app approval, setup in about 3 minutes
One request per account: checkmark, Premium start date, affiliation, country and username changes together
Flat 20 requests per second on every plan
Single lookups from $0.002 per call, and 100 free requests to start, no card
Clean JSON for spreadsheets, CRMs and pipelines

GET /v3/aboutFor developers

import requests

resp = requests.get(
    "https://api.sorsa.io/v3/about",
    headers={"ApiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    params={"username": "targethandle"},
).json()

resp["is_blue_verified"]    # True if the account shows the checkmark
resp["premium_start_at"]    # ISO 8601 date its X Premium started
resp["affiliate_username"]  # affiliated organization, if any

Automate with Sorsa API

Verified Followers: Who Else Pays for Premium

The checker looks at one account. To count how many of an account’s followers have the checkmark, the number X uses as a payout threshold, use the Verified Followers Checker.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you see if someone has X Premium?

Yes, if they have the Premium or Premium+ tier. Those tiers add the checkmark, and X records the date the subscription started. Enter the handle above to see both. Basic subscribers get no checkmark, so they look the same as free accounts.

How can I tell when someone got the blue check?

The checker shows the date the account’s X Premium subscription started, and how long ago that was, for any public account. This is usually the date the blue check first appeared. On X itself you can tap the checkmark on the profile, but you will not see the exact start date.

Does the blue check mean an account is verified?

Not in the old sense. Since 2023 the blue check means the account pays for X Premium and passed an automated eligibility review, not that X confirmed the person’s identity. In December 2025 the European Commission ruled the design deceptive, and in the European Economic Area X now says blue-check accounts are not verified under identity or authenticity criteria.

Is this blue check checker free?

Yes. Every visitor gets 5 free checks a day, which reset at 00:00 UTC, with no login and no account connection. To check a list of accounts, use the Sorsa API: your first 100 requests are free, no card required.

Will the account owner know I checked?

No. The checker reads public profile data and never interacts with the account. X sends no notification.

Can the checker tell blue, gold and grey checks apart?

No. The data confirms that a checkmark exists but not its colour. A Premium start date usually means a blue check. Organizations (gold) and government accounts (grey) usually have no start date. Look at the badge on the profile to be sure.

Can you see which Premium tier an account has?

No. X does not publish the tier. A checkmark means Premium or Premium+ (or a gold or grey badge). Basic does not show a checkmark, so it cannot be detected.

Can users hide their blue checkmark?

Not anymore. X let Premium subscribers hide the checkmark in 2023 but removed the option in April 2024. An account that pays for Premium or Premium+ and meets the eligibility rules shows the badge.

Why does an account have a checkmark but no Premium start date?

X does not record a start date for every checkmark. It is typical for organizations, government accounts, accounts affiliated with a Verified Organization and accounts on complimentary Premium.

Why did an account lose its blue check?

Usually because it changed its profile photo, display name or @username, which removes the badge until X reviews the account again. Other reasons are a cancelled or expired subscription, or a rules violation.

Does X Premium remove a shadowban?

No. A subscription can raise an account’s reach over time, but it does not lift a search ban or a suggestion ban. Run the free shadowban test to see whether one applies.

Does the blue check mean an account can earn money on X?

Premium is required for X’s creator payouts, but it is not enough on its own. At the time of writing, X also asks for 500 verified followers and 500,000 qualified impressions from Premium subscribers in 90 days. X changes these terms from time to time, so check its current creator rules.

Is there an API for X Premium status?

Yes. This page runs on the /about endpoint of the Sorsa API. It returns the checkmark status, the Premium start date and the affiliated organization for any public account, along with its based-in country and username changes. That is one request per account, at 20 requests per second, with 100 free requests to start.