Adobe Stock video requirements

Adobe Stock video requirements: file, length and codecs

Adobe takes video in a MOV, MPG or MP4 file of up to 3,900 MB, running 5 to 60 seconds.

Adobe’s list stops short of 48 fps, which Shutterstock and Pond5 both accept. If you shoot 48 fps for those agencies, record clips meant for Adobe at one of its eight listed rates instead.

Adobe’s pages differ on sound. The editing page, updated on 11 June 2026, says Adobe “does not accept videos with audio.” The older do’s and don’ts page bans added music and sound effects and asks for a model release for every identifiable voice, or no audio. The newer, stricter rule is the one to follow: export without audio. The free video spec checker shows whether a clip’s resolution, frame rate, codec, length and size fit Adobe’s rules before you upload.

Accepted resolutions

Adobe asks for the original camera resolution and advises against resizing unless the footage was shot at 4K or higher. Its list has no 2.7K size, while Shutterstock lists 2704x1520 and 2702x1520 for drone footage; the Adobe page does not say how it treats 2.7K clips.

For vertical video, shoot natively in 9:16 instead of converting a 16:9 clip, and add the words “vertical” and “video” to the title and keywords.

Framing and quality refusals

Adobe’s list of common refusal reasons, updated on 11 June 2026, names these problems for video.

Adobe’s do’s and don’ts page, updated on 27 March 2026, adds a few habits that avoid refusals:

• trim the start of the clip where the camera is still adjusting focus or zoom;
• skip vignetting;
• do not build a video out of still photos, except for timelapse or stop motion;
• make the frame at 5 seconds count, since Adobe uses it as the preview image.

Logos, ticketed locations and modern architecture fall under Adobe’s intellectual property reasons. The full list, with Shutterstock’s equivalents, is in why stock footage gets rejected.

In depth: why upscaled video gets rejected.

Title, keywords and category

Adobe can suggest keywords when you upload, and you can edit them before submitting. Whatever their source, move the ones that describe the main subject into the first 10 places. To check a title and keyword list against these limits, use the title and keyword checker; for bulk metadata, the Adobe Stock CSV guide covers each column.

In depth: how to order your keywords.

Model and property releases

• A person who could be identified needs a signed model release. Adobe counts a person as identifiable “by their face, voice, tattoos, clothing, or even specific surroundings.”
• One release per person: Adobe does not accept a group release.
• For a minor, a parent or guardian signs.
• Footage of private property needs a property release signed by the owner.
• You can upload release files from your computer, or collect digital signatures with Adobe Acrobat Sign in the contributor portal.
• In a CSV, the Releases column takes the exact release file name, up to 30 characters, for a JPEG file.

A faulty release does not always mean a refusal. Adobe sets the status “Remind to complete” when a release has incorrect or inconsistent information, an illegible or incomplete signature, or is reused across different models, and you can fix it in the portal.

Uploading and submission limits

Videos go up by drag-and-drop in the contributor portal. Qualified accounts can also use SFTP; Adobe does not define what qualifies an account. The server details and your personal login are under Upload, then Learn More. Leave the port blank or set it to 22, and send standalone files: folders and archives are not supported.

On 20 May 2025, Adobe announced a weekly submission limit and a cap on the amount of content pending moderation. Reaching either one pauses your submissions for a while. Adobe has not published the numbers.

In depth: how to upload video to Adobe Stock, step by step.

AI-generated video

Adobe Stock accepts AI-generated video, unlike Shutterstock and Pond5. You mark the clip as created with generative AI tools when you submit it, and it must meet the same technical and legal requirements as camera footage, model and property releases included. Adobe adds a few rules of its own: no copying of other artists’ styles, no prompts tied to real-world intellectual property, and no embedded text, signature watermarks or model inconsistencies. Generative AI content cannot go into the Illustrative Editorial collection.

The comparison with the other agencies, quoted and dated, is on the AI video policies page.

What Adobe Stock pays for video

Adobe pays 35% of the net price of each video license, against 33% for photos, vectors and illustrations. The net price is the U.S. purchase price after any discount, so a license sold through a discounted plan pays less than the list price suggests.

For the same clip on Shutterstock, where the share depends on your yearly sales level, see Shutterstock video requirements.