Upwork Top Rated, Top Rated Plus and Rising Talent: How the Badges Work in 2026
Quick answer
To become Upwork Top Rated in 2026, you need a current Job Success Score of 90% or higher, at least 13 of the last 16 weeks at Rising Talent or a 90%+ score, $1,000 in earnings over the past 12 months, a first project more than 90 days old, a complete profile, up-to-date availability, recent activity and an account in good standing. Rising Talent is the entry badge for newer freelancers, Top Rated Plus adds $10,000 in 12-month earnings and a large contract, and Expert-Vetted is a screened, usually invitation-only badge. Upwork rechecks Top Rated eligibility every two weeks, and you keep each badge only while you still meet its rules. By our reading of those rules, the fastest realistic path from a first contract to Top Rated is about four months.
At FreelanceAtlas, we help freelancers turn platform rules into a plan. This guide covers the exact criteria for all four Upwork talent badges as of September 2026, how and how often Upwork evaluates you, what each badge actually gets you, how badges are lost, and a week-by-week plan to reach Top Rated. Read it alongside What Is a Good Job Success Score, and How to Raise Yours Fast and How the Upwork Algorithm Works in 2026 (and How to Rank Higher).
The Four Upwork Talent Badges at a Glance
Upwork’s talent badge overview describes four badges for individual freelancers. Agencies have their own versions with higher thresholds; this guide covers individuals.
| Badge | Core requirements (September 2026) | What Upwork says it represents |
|---|---|---|
| Rising Talent | Invited by Upwork, or a 4.8+ average rating and $250 earned in 12 months, plus profile, ID and activity rules | “among the best new freelancers” |
| Top Rated | Current JSS of 90%+, 13 of the last 16 weeks eligible, $1,000 earned in 12 months, first project over 90 days ago | The top 10% of talent |
| Top Rated Plus | Top Rated status, over $10,000 earned in 12 months, a large contract with no negative outcome | The top 3% of performers |
| Expert-Vetted | Usually by invitation, screening by Upwork’s Talent Managers, select categories only | The top 1% of talent |
Two display rules shape what the badges are worth. Upwork’s page on how badges display says Rising Talent, Top Rated and Top Rated Plus “are visible to all clients,” while Expert-Vetted badges “are only visible to Enterprise Suite and Business Plus clients.” And “No matter how many badges you’ve earned, clients will only see the top one.”
Rising Talent: The Badge for Newer Freelancers
Upwork’s Rising Talent page gives two ways in. You must either be invited by Upwork, or “Have an average star rating of 4.8 or above and earned at least $250 USD in the past 12 months.” You must also meet every one of these:
- A 100% complete profile “with accurate skills and genuine work”
- A proposal submitted or work done within the past 90 days
- A Job Success Score of 90% or higher, if you have one; you can qualify before earning a JSS
- No account holds
- No “public or private negative feedback from clients”
- The identity verification badge
- A valid withdrawal method on your account
- Compliance with the Terms of Service
The negative-feedback rule is the strict one. A single unhappy private rating can keep you out, even with a strong public average. The identity rule has a cost: the identity verification badge takes 35 Connects, which is $5.25 at $0.15 each, and you must finish verification within seven days of spending them or lose them. Our guide to Upwork Fees in 2026: What Freelancers Actually Pay breaks down that and every other cost.
You do not apply. “If you qualify to become Rising Talent, we’ll email you,” and you keep the badge as long as you stay eligible. If you lose it, you can re-earn it, with up to 24 hours for the badge to return once you qualify again. Benefits: the badge on your profile, proposals and Project Catalog projects, a one-time 30 Connects, and the ability to offer consultations to clients.
Top Rated: Every Requirement, Line by Line
Upwork’s Top Rated page, updated September 28, 2026, lists eight criteria for individual freelancers:
- A current Job Success Score of 90% or higher
- Your first project on Upwork was more than 90 days ago
- Rising Talent status or a JSS of at least 90% for at least 13 of the last 16 weeks
- A 100% complete profile (90% for profiles brought over from Elance)
- 12-month earnings of at least $1,000
- Up-to-date availability, with a date estimate if you are unavailable now
- “An account in good standing with no recent account holds”
- Activity in the past 90 days: a proposal, an accepted invitation or earnings
Every item is a rolling window. Earnings, activity and the 16-week record all move with the calendar, so meeting the bar once does not mean you hold it. Upwork says Top Rated “represent the top 10% of talent on Upwork.”
The 13-of-16-Weeks Rule, Explained
This is the rule that makes Top Rated slow. Upwork’s stats and trends page tracks it as “eligible weeks”: how many of the last 16 weeks you were Rising Talent or had a JSS of 90% or higher. It updates weekly. If you are eligible this week and were not 17 weeks ago, the count rises; if you were eligible 17 weeks ago and are not now, it falls.
Because Rising Talent weeks count, earning Rising Talent early starts the clock before you even have a JSS. A drop below 90% does not reset the count to zero, but every ineligible week stays in your window for the next 16 weeks.
What “Good Standing” Means
The Top Rated page does not define the phrase, but Upwork’s account health hub, under your profile picture, shows your account standing as Good, At risk, High risk or Blocked. Good means “no recent policy violations, or maybe just one minor one.” At risk means “more than one minor violation or one serious one.” Violations expire over time, but Upwork does not share the timeline. Check the hub before you count on a badge, and see Can You Get Banned From Upwork? 11 Rules You Are Probably Breaking for the rules that most often cause trouble.
Top Rated Plus: Large Contracts and $10,000 a Year
Upwork’s Top Rated Plus page sets three conditions for individual freelancers: total earnings over $10,000 in the past 12 months, one or more large contracts in the past 12 months “without negative outcomes,” and maintained Top Rated status. The large contract must keep earning: “You must earn funds on your large contract within the past 12 months for it to remain qualified.”
“Large” depends on the contract’s category. Upwork bases the amounts on the opportunities currently available:
| Category | Large contract, freelancers | Large contract, agencies |
|---|---|---|
| Web, Mobile and Software Development | $15,000 | $30,000 |
| Customer Support | $20,000 | $20,000 |
| Accounting and Consulting | $10,000 | $20,000 |
| Admin Support | $10,000 | $20,000 |
| Data Science and Analytics | $10,000 | $20,000 |
| IT and Engineering (agencies: IT and Networking) | $10,000 | $20,000 |
| Sales and Marketing | $10,000 | $20,000 |
| Design and Creative | $5,000 | $10,000 |
| Engineering and Architecture | $5,000 | $10,000 |
| Legal | $5,000 | $10,000 |
| Translation | $5,000 | $10,000 |
| Writing | $5,000 | $10,000 |
The practical reading: a writer or designer can reach Top Rated Plus with one $5,000 contract as part of more than $10,000 in yearly earnings, while a developer needs a single $15,000 contract. If your work comes in small jobs, the route is a retainer or a long hourly contract with one client that grows past your category’s line. Upwork’s badge summary calls Top Rated Plus “the top 3% of performers.”
Expert-Vetted: Screening, Interview, Top 1%
Expert-Vetted is the one badge you cannot earn by numbers alone. Upwork’s Expert-Vetted page says it “is typically invitation-only,” though Upwork “may occasionally offer opportunities to submit an application proactively.” Only freelancers in select categories qualify, and Upwork says those categories may change over time.
After an invitation comes a screening that includes “a 30-minute interview to assess both hard and soft skills.” You can reschedule only once, with 24 hours of notice, and joining more than five minutes late counts as a missed call, which ends your consideration “at this time.” Upwork’s tips: a strong connection, a working webcam, a quiet, well-lit room, and concrete examples of projects, problems solved and results.
The payoff is access to bigger buyers: the badge shows to Enterprise and Business Plus clients, puts you in expert-level searches, gets you “invited first to privately-posted projects,” and gives priority access to opportunities with those clients, including Fortune 500 companies. The badge summary adds a Talent Manager, coaching and skill workshops.
How and How Often Upwork Evaluates You
The badges run on several clocks. Knowing which one you are waiting on saves a lot of refreshing.
- Job Success Score: daily. Upwork’s JSS guide says it calculates your score daily over 6-, 12- and 24-month windows and displays the best of the three.
- Eligible weeks: weekly. The 13-of-16 count moves once a week, as described above.
- Top Rated and Top Rated Plus: every two weeks. The badge overview says, “We update eligibility every two weeks.”
- Rising Talent: within 24 hours of re-qualifying, if you lost it and meet the criteria again.
- Your stats page: within about 24 hours of a new proposal, profile view, badge or feedback. Its Badge section shows your current badge, the next one you can earn and its requirements.
You also need a JSS before Top Rated is possible. Upwork says the score appears once you have “two or more contract outcomes within 24 months and outcomes with two or more clients.” One big client, however happy, cannot give you a JSS on its own.
What Each Badge Actually Gets You
Here is what Upwork’s own pages list, badge by badge:
- Visibility. The badge appears on your profile, proposals and Project Catalog projects. For Top Rated, Upwork says it “may increase your chances of being invited to interview.”
- Free Connects. Upwork’s Connects page gives “30 free Connects for each badge: Rising Talent, Top Rated, and Top Rated Plus.” Skipped badges are combined, so going straight to Top Rated Plus pays all 90 at once, and 90 is the maximum.
- Consultations. All four badges unlock the ability to offer consultations to share your expertise with clients.
- Job Digest email. Top Rated and Top Rated Plus get Upwork’s curated job email.
- Faster hourly payouts. Upwork’s faster payouts page says that for Top Rated and Top Rated Plus, “the typical 10-day wait for payment is cut in half for hourly contracts,” with cleared payments released on Fridays by 11:59 p.m. UTC. It does not apply to fixed-price contracts, and a partial refund puts the rest of that payment back on the standard 10-day hold.
- Priority customer support. Listed for Top Rated Plus only.
- Expert-Vetted extras. A Talent Manager, coaching, workshops and priority access to Business Plus and Enterprise clients.
What badges do not do: none of these badge pages lists a lower service fee. Your fee is still set per contract, as our fees guide explains. And a badge is one signal among many in search, which our guide to the Upwork algorithm covers; it does not write the proposal that wins the job.
How Badges Are Lost
Because every criterion is rolling, losing a badge is usually quiet: one requirement slips, and the next check removes it. The common causes:
- Your JSS drops below 90%. Top Rated needs a current score of 90% or higher, and the eligible-weeks count starts falling.
- Your 12-month earnings slide. Below $1,000 for Top Rated or $10,000 for Top Rated Plus, measured over a moving year.
- Your large contract ages out. With no earnings on it in 12 months, it stops counting for Top Rated Plus.
- You go quiet. No proposal, accepted invitation or earnings in 90 days fails Top Rated, and Rising Talent needs a proposal or work within 90 days.
- Your availability is stale. Top Rated requires it to be current, or a date estimate if you are unavailable.
- Negative feedback. Any public or private negative feedback removes Rising Talent eligibility.
- A hold or violation. Account holds disqualify you, and violations lower your standing.
One cause carries a fixed penalty. Upwork’s Top Rated page warns that if you “direct or accept payments outside of our payment system, or repeatedly communicate off Upwork before a contract is in place, you’ll lose your Rising Talent, Top Rated, or Top Rated Plus badge,” and you cannot earn them again for six months. If a client asks to move off-platform, read Is It Against Upwork’s TOS to Take a Client Off-Platform? before you answer.
A Realistic Plan to Reach Top Rated
This plan follows the published criteria in order. The timing is our estimate from those rules, not an Upwork promise.
- Before your first proposal: clear the fixed requirements. Complete your profile to 100%, verify your identity (35 Connects), add a withdrawal method and set your hours per week. If your profile is thin, start with Upwork Profile Tips for Beginners With No Experience.
- Weeks 1 to 4: win two small jobs from two different clients. Choose scopes you can finish fast and well. Two clients are the minimum for a JSS, and $250 earned with a 4.8+ average opens Rising Talent. The free FreelanceAtlas Upwork proposal writer can help you get the first drafts out.
- Weeks 4 to 6: earn Rising Talent and start the clock. From the week you hold it, your eligible weeks begin to count, even before your JSS appears.
- Weeks 6 to 16: build to $1,000 and keep every week eligible. Keep your JSS at 90% or above once it appears, send a proposal at least every few weeks, and keep availability current.
- Around weeks 17 to 19: the review catches up. Once your first project is more than 90 days old and you hold 13 eligible weeks, the next two-week update can add the badge.
The Timeline Math
Say, as an illustration, your first contract starts in week 1 and Rising Talent arrives at the end of week 4. Weeks 5 through 17 give you 13 eligible weeks. Your first project passes 90 days during week 14, so the eligible-weeks rule is the one you wait on. With reviews every two weeks, the badge lands in roughly weeks 17 to 19, about four months in. Every ineligible week along the way adds at least a week.
The earnings bar is lower than it sounds. Five projects paying $150, $200, $200, $250 and $300 add up to $1,100, which clears $1,000 with room to spare and passes Rising Talent’s $250 line after the second job.
Protecting Your Score on the Way Up
Early on, each contract is a large share of your record, so one bad outcome hurts more. Upwork’s JSS guide notes that “Jobs with higher earnings will have a bigger impact on your score,” that contracts with rate changes can have a greater impact in either direction, and that longer-term relationships “can help boost your score” without hurting you if you lack them. Feedback from clients Upwork has flagged or suspended does not count against you. Upwork calls 90% or above “excellent” and warns that below 79% “you may find it difficult to connect with new clients.” For the tactics behind keeping that number high, use our Job Success Score guide.
Conclusion
Upwork’s badges are not awards you apply for. They are rolling checks: Rising Talent on profile, verification and early feedback; Top Rated on a current 90% JSS, 13 of 16 eligible weeks and $1,000 a year; Top Rated Plus on $10,000 a year and a large contract; Expert-Vetted on a screening most freelancers only reach by invitation. Because each criterion moves with the calendar, the work is less about one big push and more about never letting a week fall out of eligibility.
Do this next. Open your Stats and trends page and read the Badge section and your eligible-weeks count. Check your account health hub for holds or violations. Fix the one-time requirements today: profile completeness, identity verification, withdrawal method and availability. Then aim your next two proposals at small, clearly scoped jobs from different clients, and put a reminder on your calendar to send at least one proposal before 90 quiet days can pass.
Key Takeaways
- Top Rated requires a current JSS of 90% or higher, 13 of the last 16 weeks at Rising Talent or 90%+, at least $1,000 earned in 12 months, a first project over 90 days old, and activity in the past 90 days.
- Rising Talent requires an invitation or a 4.8+ average rating with $250 earned in 12 months, plus identity verification, a withdrawal method and no public or private negative feedback.
- Top Rated Plus requires Top Rated status, over $10,000 earned in 12 months and a large contract, which is $5,000 for writing or design and $15,000 for web, mobile and software development.
- Expert-Vetted is typically invitation-only, includes a 30-minute interview, and the badge shows only to Enterprise and Business Plus clients.
- Upwork updates Top Rated and Top Rated Plus eligibility every two weeks, recalculates JSS daily, and pays 30 free Connects per badge, up to 90 in total.
- Taking payments off Upwork, or repeatedly communicating off-platform before a contract, removes Rising Talent, Top Rated and Top Rated Plus badges for six months.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to become Top Rated on Upwork?
At least three months, because your first project must be more than 90 days old and you need 13 of the last 16 weeks at Rising Talent or a 90%+ JSS. By our reading of the criteria, about four months is the realistic minimum once you add the two-week review cycle. Any week that does not count, such as a dip below 90%, pushes the date out.
Can I become Top Rated without Rising Talent first?
Yes. The 13-of-16-weeks rule accepts either Rising Talent status or a Job Success Score of at least 90%, so a freelancer with a strong JSS can skip Rising Talent. Upwork’s Connects page confirms the skip path: if you become Top Rated without having had Rising Talent, you receive 60 Connects at once. Rising Talent simply lets your eligible weeks start before you have a JSS.
Do Top Rated freelancers pay lower Upwork fees?
No badge page lists a fee discount. The Freelancer Service Fee is still set for each contract and shown before you submit a proposal. What Top Rated and Top Rated Plus do get on the money side is faster payouts on hourly contracts, which cuts the typical 10-day wait in half, plus 30 free Connects per badge.
Why did I lose my Top Rated badge?
Usually one rolling requirement slipped: your JSS fell below 90%, your 12-month earnings dropped under $1,000, you had no proposal, accepted invitation or earnings in 90 days, your availability went out of date, or an account hold appeared. Check your Stats and trends page and the account health hub to find which one. If you took payments off Upwork, the badge is gone for six months.
What counts as a large contract for Top Rated Plus?
It depends on the category. For individual freelancers, Upwork sets $5,000 for Design and Creative, Writing, Translation, Legal and Engineering and Architecture; $10,000 for categories such as Admin Support, Sales and Marketing and Data Science and Analytics; $15,000 for Web, Mobile and Software Development; and $20,000 for Customer Support. The contract must have earned money in the past 12 months, with no negative outcome, to keep counting.
Written by Areeha Abubakar
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