How many hashtags show on a YouTube Short?

YouTube's help page says up to three of the hashtags from the description appear by the video title. That page is about videos in general, and we did not find a separate Shorts-player figure.

Do hashtags in the title count toward the 100-character limit?

A title can be up to 100 characters, and a hashtag typed in the title is part of the title text, so it uses some of that space. Descriptions have their own, much larger limit.

What happens if I use more than 60 hashtags?

YouTube says it ignores each hashtag on that content, and over-tagging may result in removal of the video from your uploads or from search. A handful of relevant ones is plenty.

Can I use the same hashtags on every Short?

Only if they fit each clip. YouTube says hashtags must relate directly to the video, and unrelated or misleading ones may lead to removal, so match them to the topic of each clip.

Do I have to add #Shorts to a Short?

None of the YouTube help pages we read says it is required. They describe a Short by its format: square or vertical, up to three minutes. Check the current help page if that changes.

Guide

YouTube Shorts hashtags: title or description?

By Rakshit · Updated October 11, 2026

You can put hashtags in a Short's title, its description or both; YouTube's help page allows either. Of the hashtags in the description, up to three show by the video title, and all of them stay in the description. YouTube ignores every hashtag on a video that has more than 60. Keep them relevant and write each as one word.

The short answer, from YouTube's help page

YouTube's page on finding videos with hashtags says you can add hashtags to a title and a description when you upload a video or record a Short. You type a # symbol, start the keyword, and YouTube suggests popular hashtags based on what you enter. You can also pick one of the suggestions or write your own.

So the title-or-description question has a plain answer: either place is allowed. The better question is what each place does. The table below sets out what the page says, and where it says nothing.

Hashtag placement, as described on YouTube Help (read 11 October 2026)
Question	What the page says
Can I put hashtags in the title?	Yes. Hashtags in the title and description link to a results page of other videos with the same hashtag.
Can I put hashtags in the description?	Yes. Out of the hashtags in the description, up to three that YouTube considers most engaging appear by the video title.
Do the others disappear?	No. The page says your hashtags still appear in the description and the video can still appear in search results.
Which three show if the title also has hashtags?	The page does not say.
Is #Shorts required?	The pages we read do not say so. They classify a video as a Short by format and length.

A practical rule for choosing

The rule below is our own judgment, not something YouTube states. A title has a 100-character cap, and a hashtag typed into the title uses part of it. A description holds up to 5,000 characters. So we put the words that sell the clip in the title and the hashtags in the description, and let YouTube choose the three that show by the title.

Use the title for the clip's one-line promise, which is the thing a viewer needs to decide to watch.
Put two to four relevant hashtags on a line of their own at the end of the description.
Add a hashtag to the title only when it is also a natural word in the sentence, such as a show name or a topic.

For the title itself, see YouTube Shorts title best practices. The length limit is covered in YouTube Shorts title length.

The rules YouTube attaches to hashtags

No spaces. A hashtag with two words is written together, like #TwoWords.
Over-tagging. YouTube says the more tags you add, the less relevant they become to viewers searching. If a video has more than 60 hashtags, it ignores each hashtag on that content, and over-tagging may lead to the video being removed from uploads or search.
Misleading hashtags. Do not add a hashtag that is not directly related to the video. Misleading or unrelated hashtags may lead to removal.
Policy. Hashtags must meet the Community Guidelines. Profanity may lead to an age restriction or removal, and harassing, hateful or sexual hashtags may lead to removal.
Not hashtags. The page says that adding ordinary descriptive tags or repetitive sentences in the description is still prohibited.

Where this fits in a clipping workflow

Hashtags are the last step. The clip comes first: a vertical 9:16 file with captions, cut from a longer video. YouTube classes a video uploaded on or after 15 October 2024 as a Short when it is square or vertical and up to three minutes long, which is why the format of the file comes before any tag.

KeyMo produces the clip. It cuts up to 15 vertical clips at 1080x1920 from a long video, adds word-by-word captions in one of 12 styles and exports them with no watermark. Titles, descriptions and hashtags are set on YouTube when you upload. Plans are on the pricing page, with no free plan.

We have not added a screenshot here. YouTube's layout changes between app versions, so the best check is your own: publish a test Short and look at what appears under the title on your phone and on the desktop watch page.

Sources: YouTube Help: Find playlists & videos using hashtags (checked 11 October 2026); YouTube Help: Upload YouTube videos (title and description limits) (checked 11 October 2026); YouTube Help: Add tags to your YouTube videos (checked 11 October 2026); YouTube Help: Understand three-minute YouTube Shorts (checked 11 October 2026).