Hi everyone, I’ve been dealing with a persistent Step 2 issue in YouTube Studio and could really use some community advice from anyone who has cleared a similar roadblock. My channel qualified for YPP, but Step 2 went into an "Errors" state because I previously had an old, conflicting web-based AdSense account attached to my email. I closed that legacy web AdSense account, after which Step 2 changed back to "In Progress," but inside the YouTube for AdSense dashboard, I got trapped in a loop where it constantly asked me to check the "Meet AdSense Program Policies" box and click "Resubmit." Every time I clicked it, the review clock seemed to reset.

YouTube Support (via Creator Support) escalated my case to their internal specialist team, but after a few days of internal review, I received a formal email stating that my AdSense application was declined because my account "doesn't meet our program criteria." Where things stand right now: my YouTube Studio Step 2 is currently back to **"Errors"** ("Your associated AdSense for YouTube account was disapproved"), and both the "Go to AdSense for YouTube" and "Change association" buttons are greyed out and unclickable, which I assume is due to the standard 32-day association cooldown period.

Once the 32-day cooldown expires and the "Change association" button becomes clickable again, is it **absolutely mandatory** to create and link a brand-new AdSense account under a trusted family member's name (with their ID, address, and bank info)? Is there *any* legitimate way to fix or re-apply using my own identity, or does Google's system permanently flag and disallow my personal identity details once an internal specialist review returns a "program criteria" disapproval?

Has anyone successfully cleared this exact "disapproved / greyed-out button" loop using their own information after the 32-day wait, or is switching to a clean account under a family member's name the only reliable fix? Thanks in advance for any insights or past experiences you can share!

Step 2 Error Loop & Disapproval