Short answer: according to TikTok, you must be 18 or over and have 1,000 followers to go LIVE. That number of followers can vary by region. For Gifts during a LIVE, the age limit is also 18.

TikTok's requirements

In its own Help Center, TikTok lists three conditions for LIVE:

  • You are 18 or over to go LIVE.
  • You are 18 or over to send or receive Gifts during a LIVE (19 in South Korea).
  • You have 1,000 followers to go LIVE. TikTok itself adds that this can vary by region.

Your account also needs to be in good standing. If you break the Community Guidelines, you can lose LIVE (temporarily), even if you meet the age and follower requirements.

You can't see the LIVE button yet. What now?

Open the TikTok app, tap the plus button at the bottom and check whether you see LIVE next to the camera. If you don't, go through this list:

  1. Age. TikTok looks at the date of birth you entered when you created your account. If it's wrong, you can have it corrected through the settings or TikTok's support.
  2. Followers. If you have only just reached 1,000 followers, it can take a while for the button to appear. Logging out and back in, or updating the app, sometimes helps.
  3. Violations. Check your notifications or account status in the app to see if you have received a warning or restriction.
  4. Region. LIVE and Gifts are not available everywhere. They are in the Netherlands.

If it still doesn't work after that, contact TikTok's support through the app (Settings › Report a problem).

Can you go LIVE without 1,000 followers?

There's nothing you can do to speed this up yourself. TikTok decides who gets LIVE, and sometimes accounts get access earlier because TikTok is testing something. Be careful with people or agencies who promise they can "unlock" LIVE for you: only TikTok can do that.

What you can do is work towards those first 1,000 followers:

  • Post short videos regularly about one topic, so people know what they follow you for.
  • Reply to comments, including with a video reply. This often brings in new viewers.
  • Choose a consistent style and fixed times. Being recognisable helps more than the occasional hit.
  • Join in with trends that suit you, with your own twist.

Never buy followers, viewers or likes. It's against TikTok's rules and can cost you your account or your access to LIVE. Read more about this in the rules of TikTok LIVE.

What do you need for your first LIVE?

A phone is enough. Make sure you have light from the front, a calm background and clear sound. If you want to stream from your computer, you can do so with TikTok LIVE Studio, if TikTok gives you access to it. A step-by-step plan for your first stream is in how to go LIVE on TikTok.

Grow faster together

At Grow Connect, we support creators aged 18 and over who stream in the Netherlands, even if you are just starting out. If you can't see the LIVE button yet, sign up anyway: together we'll make a plan to get there. We can't arrange LIVE access, that's TikTok's decision.

Source: TikTok Help Center, "What is TikTok LIVE?" (read November 2026).