Your Instructor Account

  • Teaching on Udemy: Frequently Asked Questions

    We're happy you're interested in becoming a Udemy instructor. At Udemy, you can teach what you know, or teach what you love, on a platform that millions of students use to learn.

    This article answers the most frequently asked questions we receive regarding the teaching experience on Udemy, and becoming a Udemy instructor.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    How do I become a Udemy instructor?

    As a first step, please set up your instructor account on Udemy.com. (Learn how)

    How do I create a course on Udemy?

    This section in our Teaching Center includes extensive resources on how you can create a Udemy course and get started. 

    In addition, our free, How to Create an Online Course: The Official Udemy Course outlines best practices to plan, produce, and publish a well-designed, high-quality course.

    How do I update my instructor account or profile?

    Learn how to update your instructor account.

    Can I teach a course on any topic?

    You are free to choose the topic you wish to teach on Udemy and by using our Marketplace Insights tool, you can learn more about the demand for that topic (see below).

    Please refer to our restricted topics list, however, for details on the topics that we do not accept.

    Can you tell me more about the existing demand for my course topic on Udemy?

    With our Marketplace Insights tool, we offer robust reporting on student demand, search volume, and revenue for a particular topic to help you decide what course to teach. If no data exists for a topic you’re searching for, it likely means that there’s an opportunity to fill this gap in the Udemy marketplace and you should get started right away.

    While success as an instructor on Udemy is not guaranteed, this tool offers some powerful data to help you make your decision.

    Note: currently the Marketplace Insights tool can only search for course topics that are entered in English. Please enter English words in the search box.

    Do I have to pay any fees to become an instructor?

    There is no fee to be an instructor on Udemy. Instructors are paid according to a revenue share model. 

    Learn more about Udemy’s instructor revenue share.

    What approval do I need to get started as an instructor?

    No approval is needed to get started. Just before an instructor publishes their first course on the Udemy marketplace, however, they need to complete the instructor identity verification process.

    To create paid courses, instructors must register to become a Premium instructor (Learn more).

    Are there any requirements that my course must meet?

    Yes. Courses must have at least 30 minutes of video content, at least 5 lectures or learning modules, and follow our course materials guidelines. 

    To ensure that content meets Udemy guidelines,  we have a Quality Review Process (QRP) to advise instructors of policies they may have missed so they can make any necessary course updates (Learn more).  

    How do I become a Premium instructor?

    Learn how to become a Premium Instructor.

    How will I get paid?

    Instructors can use PayPal, Payoneer, or direct deposit (U.S. only) to receive their payments.

    When and how often will I get paid?

    Learn about our payment schedule.

    What is the general structure of a Udemy course? What is the primary teaching method?

    A standard Udemy course is video-based. Additional teaching tools (like assignments, quizzes, coding exercises, etc) can be added to create a rich learning experience for students.

    For courses regarding certification preparation, we also offer instructors the ability to create a Practice Test course. 

    How do I get my course materials on your site?

    Since we function primarily as an on-demand, video-based platform, you’ll need to upload your video files directly to Udemy. In other words, students must be able to view course lectures on the Udemy platform.

    In addition to our standard lecture uploader, we offer the ability to upload materials in bulk. Learn about our bulk file uploader.

    Does Udemy retain exclusive rights to my course if I sell it on your platform?

    No. Our marketplace model means that when you publish a course on our platform, you retain all the rights to your content. You simply grant us a license to host the course and make it available to our users, and to advertise your course on our platform and on third-party services.  

    These license terms are outlined in detail in Udemy’s instructor terms. You can also offer your course on other services, but please note that it cannot be offered for free on other platforms if it is paid on Udemy. 

    Note that if your course is included in the Udemy Business content collection, per the Promotions Policy, exclusivity is required.

    Will Udemy promote my course?

    As an instructor, you have the option to enroll in the Udemy Deals Program. Every year, millions of students enroll in courses that are selected for promotion and discounted through the Udemy Deals Program.

    Learn more about the Udemy Deals Program.

    In addition, we provide instructors with extensive articles, resources, and features at Udemy to help you effectively market your course(s). Review resources on how to market your course.

    What languages can courses be taught in?

    Most world languages are selectable as the home language for a Udemy course you teach, and you are welcome to create a course in any available one you wish. Learn how to select a language for your course.

    What is the Udemy Deals Program, and how do I opt in or out?

    Learn about the Udemy Deals Program.

    Can I use a pen name, pseudonym, or business name for my instructor account?

    Review our guidelines for using alternate names in our frequently asked questions for the instructor identity verification process.

    How do I submit a tax form to Udemy?

    View our frequently asked questions about submitting tax forms to Udemy.

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  • Troubleshooting: Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) for Instructor Accounts

    Review troubleshooting steps instructors can take to resolve common issues they may encounter regarding Udemy’s multi-factor authentication (MFA) feature.

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  • Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) For Instructor Accounts

    Instructors can further enhance the security of their account, and help prevent unauthorized access, by enabling Udemy’s multi-factor authentication feature (MFA). 

    Troubleshooting

    Review troubleshooting steps you can take to resolve common issues regarding Udemy’s multi-factor authentication (MFA) feature.

    Learn more about keeping your instructor account secure.

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  • Set up Your Instructor Account and Profile

    This article explains how to create your instructor account and profile and begin the process of creating a course on Udemy. It also provides resources on the different ways to set up your account.

    Please note: There is no fee or cost required to open or maintain an instructor account.

    Table of Contents

    Before you begin

    Before you begin, please make sure you have the following: 

    How to create an instructor account

    1. After logging in to your Udemy account, click on Teach on Udemy in the right corner.

    2. Click Get Started.

    3. You will be asked to answer some questions about your teaching experience. Please follow the instructions on the screen.

    4. Once you have completed the questionnaire, you will be directed to the instructor dashboard, a dedicated space for instructors to create and manage their courses.

    Update your instructor profile

    After creating your instructor account, we recommend updating your profile which will be publicly visible to learners once your first course is published. 

    To edit your instructor profile, double-click on the circular icon in the upper right corner of the screen.

    The information you enter in this tab will be visible to the public as your instructor profile once the course is published. You can edit the information at any point in time.

    • First Name and Last Name: Enter your instructor name. 
      • Please note: 
        • If you plan to use a pseudonym, pen name, or business name, additional verification may be required (Learn more).
        • As a global platform, registered names are displayed in the order of "First Name + Last Name". If you would like your name to appear in the order of "Last Name + First Name", please enter your last name in the First Name field and your first name in the Last Name field. 
    • Headline: Your occupation, specialization, and qualification
    • Biography: Your professional and personal profile to help learners learn more about you
    • Language: Your primary language
    • Links: Your website and your social networking services. For your social networking services, please make sure to only enter the "account name" of the URL

    When you are ready, click Save at the bottom of the screen.

    Upload your profile picture

    1. After accessing your Profile & settings page, click on Profile picture tab on your profile. 

    2. Click on Upload image and include a high-quality, non-pixelated, non-animated image of yourself. If you are publishing as a company, you can upload your corporate logo.

    3. Adjust the position and size of the image, and then click Crop Image. The image will appear round on your profile page, so make sure your face or logo is centered. 

    4. Click Save

    Update your privacy settings

    To update your privacy settings, click on the Privacy settings tab on your profile. 

    Check the boxes to adjust your privacy settings. You can adjust your settings to have your profile only visible to logged-in users or to show the courses you are enrolled in on your profile.

    Please note: Once you become a published instructor your privacy settings will default to make your profile visible to the public, your profile will be searchable in search engines, and your profile will only include the courses you are teaching (excluding any private courses).

    Ready to create a course?

    Once you are ready to create your course, we recommend viewing our Teaching Center, which includes a getting started guide and other articles to plan, record, and market your course.

    Become a Premium Instructor

    If you plan on selling your course on Udemy’s marketplace, you will need to register as a Premium Instructor to set a price for your course. Learn how to become a Premium Instructor. 

    Collaborate on a course

    If you are collaborating with multiple people to create or manage a course, each person must create an instructor account. Learn how to register different types of instructor accounts with varying permissions.

    Please note: Any accounts which are to receive a share of the revenue must become registered as a Premium instructor. For additional information, please view our guidelines for co-instructors.

    Create an instructor account as a business

    You can open a Udemy instructor account as a business, company, or organization. While the process for creating an account is the same, we may need to reach out to the representative of your company during the instructor verification process to confirm the association. 

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  • How to Become a Premium Instructor

    This article outlines the steps you can take to become a premium instructor and enter your applicable information, before selecting a payment method. 

    Review frequently asked questions and answers on how to become a Udemy instructor.

    What is a premium instructor?

    Anyone can create a free course on Udemy. If you want to charge students a fee for your courses, however, you will need to become a premium instructor. There is no charge to become a premium instructor and the process is usually completed within 2 business days.

    How to begin your premium instructor application

    1. Start building a course.
    2. From the course management page click on Pricing.
    3. Next, click on here (see below) to begin your premium instructor application.

    begin

    Completing the Premium Instructor application

    After you click on the premium instructor application link on the Pricing page, you can complete your application, by following these steps:

    1. ​​​Enter your name or company name.
    2. Include a 60 character headline, or quick description of your expertise.
    3. Write a short bio.
    4. Upload a profile picture.
    5. Accept Udemy Terms of Service and choose which promotional programs you would like to participate in.
    6. Select your payout method: PayPal, Payoneer or direct deposit (U.S. only)
    7. After your payment method has been approved, be sure to return to your course and select a price for it.

    Fees

    There is no fee to become a premium instructor, and Udemy does not charge any transactional fees when delivering payment to instructors. Udemy does, however, keep a percentage of each sale depending on the transaction. Learn more about Udemy's instructor revenue share.

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  • Instructor Payment Methods: How to Set up PayPal or Payoneer

    If you are applying to become a premium instructor, this article outlines how you can set up PayPal or Payoneer as your payment method, or make changes to your PayPal and Payoneer payment settings.

    Table of Contents

    How to set up Payoneer or PayPal as your payment method

    Once you have entered the applicable information for your premium instructor application, you will be prompted to select your payment method. 

    To activate PayPal or Payoneer as the payment method for your Udemy account, please follow the steps below:

    1. Move your cursor to your profile avatar at the top right and click on Payout settings from the dropdown menu. 

    2. On the Payout settings page, select the payout method you wish to use by clicking on Log In for PayPal and Connect for Payoneer.

    3. You will be directed to the payment processor’s website, where you will authenticate and create a link to your Udemy profile. If you do not have a PayPal or Payoneer account yet, you can also create a new account during this process.

    premium_instructor_application_payout_method.pngPlease note: After you’ve submitted your request, it may take up to three days to receive final approval from the payment processor.

    Payoneer_pending-1.png

    When your request is approved, the payment method status will change from Pending to Active, which indicates that you will now receive payment through that vendor. No further action is required on your behalf. 

    instructor_payout_method_active.png

    PayPal or Payoneer fees

    You can review any fees PayPal or Payoneer charge on their respective sites. Payoneer’s fees can also be reviewed during the payment application process.

    Payments

    Payments from PayPal are delivered directly to your PayPal account, which can, in turn, be transferred to your bank account. Payoneer payments can be delivered to your local bank account or your prepaid MasterCard®.

    Please review the respective sites for PayPal or Payoneer regarding any minimum withdrawal amounts that may apply.

    Changing your payment method preference

    If you wish to change your payment method in the future, you can do so, by following these steps:

    1. Return to the Payout settings page.

    2. If you currently only have one payment method active, click on Log In for PayPal and Connect for Payoneer, beside the payment method you wish to add.

    3. Once the request has been approved the payment method will be listed as Active.

    Once you have established connections with each payment method, you can select which payment processor you would like to deliver your payouts at any time by clicking on the “Set Active” link.  Active indicates that you will now receive payment through that vendor.

    Changing the PayPal or Payoneer account 

    PayPal

    If you need to change the PayPal account you have registered for your payment method, you can do so by following these steps:

    1. Return to the Payout settings page.

    2. Click on Log In beside the PayPal icon.

    3. After clicking Log In, you will be directed to PayPal’s website, where you will authenticate a different account, and generate a link to your Udemy profile.

    Payoneer

    If you wish to change your credentials for your Payoneer account, however, you will need to contact Payoneer directly.

    Missing a payment?

    Please review our troubleshooting steps instructors can take for missing payments.

    Contacting PayPal and Payoneer

    If you encounter any issues while authenticating your account on PayPal or Payoneer, please contact their respective support teams for assistance. You can 

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  • Instructor Account Notifications

    Instructors receive several kinds of email notifications related to Udemy, their courses and messages they're sent by students. In addition, some notifications can be accessed in your account’s notification bell at the top of the page. This article outlines how you can edit your notification settings, and the different types of notifications you may receive.

    Please note: direct messaging and the Q&A are not available in free courses.

    Editing the Notification Settings for Your Instructor Account 

    You can edit the notification settings for your Udemy account by following the steps below:

    1. Move your cursor to the the top right-hand corner of the page

    2. Click on Account from the drop-down menu and then Notification Settings

    notification_settings.jpg

    3. Select the notifications you wish to receive. Please note: if you want to receive instructor email notifications like the Daily Q&A Digest, or the New Student & Review Daily Digest, make sure to check the box next to Helpful resources and important updates related to being an instructor on Udemy.

    4. If you don't wish to receive any emails from Udemy, then click on the box beside Don't send me any promotional emails.

    Please note: if you check this box, you will not receive any instructor email notifications like the Daily Q&A Digest, the New Student & Review Daily Digest and lecture ready confirmations. In addition, you will not receive preview emails you request for your educational announcements or promotional emails.

    Transactional emails, notifications for Q&A replies (not to be confused with the Daily Q&A Digest), and notifications for new direct messages you've been sent cannot be disabled.

    5. After you have edited your notification settings, click Save

    turn_on_or_off_notifications.jpg

    Editing the Notification Settings for a Specific Course

    Instructors can also edit the notification settings for each of their courses, and select whether they wish to receive Lecture Ready Emails and the Daily Q&A Digest for a specific course.  

    First, make sure that the box is checked next to Helpful resources and important updates related to being an instructor on Udemy. Then to edit the notification settings for a specific course, please follow the steps below: 

      1. Navigate to the course management page and click the Settings gear icon on the right
      2. Next, click Manage Email Notifications 
      3. Select the notifications you wish to receive for that course and click save

    edit_the_notification_settings_for_specific_course.jpg 

    For steps on how to edit the notification settings for a specific course you’re enrolled in as a student, please refer to this article. 

    Notifications: Email vs. Onsite

    Depending on an instructor’s notification settings, they will receive a variety of email notifications regarding Udemy, their courses and student activity. These email notifications will be sent to the email address that you have registered for your Udemy account.

    Some of the notifications that instructors will receive emails for include:

    • new direct messages
    • confirmation that your promotional email or educational announcement is on its way
    • promotional email and educational announcement previews
    • lecture ready confirmations
    • Q&A replies
    • The Daily Q&A Digest
    • the New Student and Review Digest
    • course invitations to students (for private courses).

    In addition, instructors are delivered various on-site notifications, which can be accessed in your account’s notification bell at the top of the page. Some of the on-site notifications that are posted include:

    • new questions and responses in the Q&A
    • comments on course announcements
    • feedback and responses for assignments
    • confirmation that your course has received auto-generated captions

    Onsite notifications are indicated by a red number that appears in the notification bell located at the top right of the page. By clicking on the bell, you will able to scroll through and click on the notification you wish to read.

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  • Keeping Your Instructor Account Secure

    Udemy has security protocols in place to help keep instructor accounts secure, and there are steps instructors can take to help protect their account, their courses, and their earnings.

    Create a strong password for your instructor account

    Creating a strong and unique password is an extremely effective way to protect your instructor account and prevent unauthorized access. As a result, passwords for instructor accounts must be at least 10 characters long and meet our system requirements for a strong password. A strong password contains a mix of letters, numbers, symbols (e.g. #, !, &), uppercase and lowercase letters.

    If your password includes any of the following, it may not meet our system’s requirements:

    • Sequential letters or numbers (e.g. abcdefgh, 12345678)
    • Repeating letters or numbers (e.g. dddddddd, 88888888)
    • Words that are commonly used in the dictionary or across the internet
    • Words related to our site (e.g. “udemy”)
    • Predictable substitutions like ‘@’ instead of ‘a’

    Additional guidelines instructors can follow to create a strong password

    • Avoid using your own name or email address, or words you might use on your social media accounts like your location or favorite team. 
    • Don’t use obvious numbers (for example, don’t use numbers that are in your birthday or phone number).
    • Create a unique password for each account and service you have, rather than using the same password for each site, especially if there have been security breaches with those passwords. This way if one of your accounts is compromised, then that password cannot be used to gain access into your other accounts.
    • Rather than creating your own complex password, use a browser plug-in, system keychain, or third-party password manager to create and store complex passwords.

    Change your password periodically

    We also recommend instructors change their password periodically, as this is another effective way to keep your account secure. When you do change your password, we recommend creating a new one, rather than using a password you’ve already used.

    Review steps on how to change your account’s password.

    Additional steps you can take to protect your account

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  • How to Close an Instructor Account

    We're sorry to hear you'd like to close your Udemy account. If you're having trouble with the site, or if there's anything we can help you with before you close your account, please contact Udemy Support. 

    Please note: Closing your instructor account permanently closes your Udemy account, including courses and other items from your student account.

    Table of Contents

    Before closing your account

    If you’ve created a course on Udemy, or you have been added as a co-instructor to a course, you will need to take additional steps before following the steps in the Closing your account section.

    Closing your account as a course instructor

    Courses with no student enrollments

    If you’ve created draft courses on Udemy, you must delete each of the courses you created before closing your account. 

    If you have published courses with no enrolled students, please unpublish the courses first and then delete them in order to close your account. 

    After deleting all courses, follow the steps in the Closing your account section below to permanently close your account with Udemy. 

    Courses with enrolled students

    If you have published or previously published a course with an enrolled student, please contact our Support Team for further instructions on closing your account.

    Please note: Per our student lifetime access feature, students who have enrolled in your courses will continue to have access to them after you close your account.

    Courses in Udemy Business content collection

    If your courses have been selected for inclusion in the Udemy Business content collection, please contact our Udemy Business Content team at ubcontent@udemy.com for further assistance.

    Please note: Per our Promotions Policy, your course will continue to be available for enrollment in the Udemy Business catalog for a period of up to 12 months. 

    Closing your account as a course co-instructor 

    Courses with manage permissions

    If you are a co-instructor of a course, please remove yourself from the course before following the steps in the Closing your account section below.

    Please note: If there are any payments due to be paid to you in your Udemy Revenue Report, you won’t be able to close your account until the last scheduled payout is sent by Udemy.

    Courses without manage permissions

    If you are a co-instructor of a course and do not have Manage permission for the course, please contact the original course creator to remove yourself from the course before following the steps in the Closing your account section below.

    Please note: If there are any payments due to be paid to you in your Udemy Revenue Report, you won’t be able to close your account until the last scheduled payout is sent by Udemy.

    Closing your account

    Once you’ve taken the necessary steps, you can close your account by following these steps:

    1. After logging in to your account, click on your profile at the right corner of the page.  

    2. In the dropdown menu, click Account settings.

    3. Next, click Close account on the right-hand side

    closing_an_account.jpg

    4. Enter your password and click Close Account again. This step cannot be undone. 

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