Twitter explains how to apply for a verification badge

Your New Year's resolution to get verified on Twitter just got slightly more realistic.

Three years after pausing the verification process, Twitter announced Thursday that it's making good on its November promise to start verifying accounts again. Or, rather, that it will make good on that promise. In a lengthy blog post, the company stated that starting next year it intends to launch a public application process where anyone can submit a request for a coveted blue checkmark.

What's more, as of Jan. 20, Twitter will also start applying a host of new rules and qualifications to already verified accounts — kicking off a possible landslide of de-verifications in the process.

"Under our policy, we may also remove verification from accounts that are found to be in severe or repeated violation of the Twitter Rules," reads Thursday's announcement. "We will continue to evaluate such accounts on a case-by-case basis, and will make improvements in 2021 on the relationship between enforcement of our rules and verification."

But back to why you're really here: you want to know how to get verified. We reached out to Twitter for clarification on when in 2021 — January? June? December? — it intends to open up the application process, and we were told "early 2021."

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Ask and you shall (maybe) receive. Credit: twitter

When that time rolls around, the process should be relatively straightforward. Users will be able to find the "Request verification" option in their Account Settings page both in the app and on the website. To actually be verified, users must be "authentic, notable, and active."

According to Twitter, being "notable" means your account falls into one of the following categories:

• "Government"

• "Companies, brands, and organizations"

• "News organizations and journalists"

• "Entertainment"

• "Sports and gaming"

• "Activists, organizers, and other influential individuals"

Pay close attention to the categories, because you're going to be asked to submit your account for consideration as one of the above.

"The process will include asking applicants to select a category for their verified status and confirming their identity via links and other supporting materials," explains Thursday's blog post. "We plan to use both automated and human review processes to ensure that we are reviewing applications thoughtfully and in a timely manner."

SEE ALSO: Twitter to 'automatically' de-verify users as it opens verifications back up

Notably, it's unclear if opening up the verification process like this will do anything to calm the years-long criticism surrounding it. After all, when Twitter's "automated" process inevitably begins rejecting applications, we're sure to hear about it in the timeline.

At least going forward, users will hopefully understand the criteria by which their verification dreams were crushed.