Upwork's Top Rated badge has eight published requirements for freelancers: a Job Success Score of 90% or higher right now, 90% or higher for 13 of the last 16 weeks or Rising Talent status instead, a first project more than 90 days ago, a 100% complete profile, $1,000 earned in 12 months, up-to-date availability, no recent account holds, and activity in the past 90 days.
Top Rated is Upwork's reputation badge for what it calls the top 10% of talent on the platform. Upwork updates badge eligibility every two weeks against a published list of criteria. The Job Success Score sits at the center of that check: a single percentage, recalculated daily, that summarizes how your contracts ended and how your clients rated them.
I sell development work on Upwork and hold the Top Rated badge there and on Fiverr, with 580+ five-star reviews on Fiverr and 900+ projects delivered in 13+ years of freelancing. Every criterion below comes from Upwork's own help pages, read on 27 October 2026 and linked.
What are Upwork's Top Rated requirements, exactly?
Eight of them for a solo freelancer, all on one page. Upwork's How to become Top Rated on Upwork page gives the specific criteria.
| Requirement | What Upwork's page says | What that means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Current score | A current Job Success Score of 90% or higher | The best of your 6-, 12- and 24-month scores |
| Score history | Maintained Rising Talent status, or 90% or higher for at least 13 of the last 16 weeks | Rising Talent substitutes for this row only |
| Tenure | First project on Upwork more than 90 days ago | Counted from your first project, not signup |
| Profile | 100% complete, or 90% for profiles brought over from Elance | The 90% applies only to imported profiles |
| Earnings | 12-month earnings of at least $1,000 | A rolling 12 months, not lifetime earnings |
| Availability | Up to date; if unavailable now, set a date estimate | A date estimate is needed when you are unavailable |
| Standing | Good standing, with no recent account holds | Upwork does not define how recent is recent |
| Activity | A proposal, accepted invitation or earnings in the past 90 days | Any one of the three counts |
Agencies with two or more members get a parallel list on the same page. The differences that matter: the agency score needs 90% or higher, the owner's score needs 90% or higher unless none has been earned yet, member profiles must average 60% complete, and 12-month agency earnings must reach $10,000.
Availability is the row that catches people out: an out-of-date setting can hold back an account that passes every number.
Can you reach Top Rated without 13 weeks above 90%?
Yes, because Upwork accepts Rising Talent status in place of the 13-week score history. That is the one shortcut in the list.
Upwork's How to become a Rising Talent on Upwork page says you need either an invitation from Upwork, or an average star rating of 4.8 or above with at least $250 earned in the past 12 months. Then a 100% complete profile, a proposal or work in the past 90 days, no account holds, no negative public or private feedback, identification verified, and a valid withdrawal method. The page says you can qualify before earning a score.
Read the Top Rated list carefully, though. Rising Talent substitutes only for the history row; the separate "current Job Success Score of 90% or higher" row still applies. The shortcut saves the 13-week wait, not the score.
How does Upwork calculate the Job Success Score?
Daily, and it shows you the best of three rolling windows. Upwork's All about your Job Success Score page says the score takes into account client feedback, the reasons past contracts ended, higher-value projects and long-term client relationships, then states the arithmetic: "We calculate JSS daily based on your 6-, 12- and 24-month history in the marketplace, calculating a score for each timeframe, and display the best of these scores on your profile."
That best-of-three rule explains most of the confusion. A bad month can stay invisible while a better window is winning, then surface later as that window rolls forward. The same page adds four points:
- Long-term relationships can lift the score, and not having them does not count against you.
- Jobs with higher earnings have a bigger effect on the score.
- Contracts with rate changes can have a greater overall effect, whether the outcome is positive or negative.
- Feedback from clients Upwork has flagged for poor collaboration, or suspended for Terms of Service violations, does not count against your score.
What raises and lowers your Job Success Score?
Finished, well-paid, well-reviewed contracts raise it; disputes, poor client experiences and bad feedback on high-value work lower it. Upwork sets this out as two lists on its What factors affect my Job Success Score page.
| Direction | What Upwork lists |
|---|---|
| Raises the score | High client satisfaction and good feedback; long-term client relationships, meaning clients who make payments over 90+ days; completing contracts successfully with positive ratings; higher-value projects |
| Lowers the score | Negative client feedback; disputed contracts and poor client experiences; a lack of long-term contracts; higher-earning jobs that get bad reviews, which weigh more heavily |
| Contracts with no payment | A contract with no payment but with negative feedback can still affect the score. A contract with no payment and no feedback does not affect it |
That last row is the practical one: a contract that closes with nothing paid and nothing said is neutral, but the same contract closed with an unhappy comment is not.
When do you get a Job Success Score, and why can it vanish?
You get one after two contract outcomes with two different clients. Upwork's When will I get a JSS page states it directly: the score appears once you have two or more contract outcomes within 24 months and outcomes with two or more clients during your time on Upwork.
The Why did my JSS disappear page gives three reasons a score stops showing: fewer than two completed jobs with two different clients in the past 24 months, no new contracts completed in the past 24 months, or completed contracts that are not eligible, for example because they carry no earnings or feedback. A missing score blocks Top Rated outright, since the badge needs a current score of 90% or higher.
What is the difference between Top Rated and Top Rated Plus?
Money and contract size. Upwork's Understand freelancer talent badges page repeats the same score, profile and availability criteria for both, then adds earnings over $10,000 in the past 12 months, or over $20,000 for an agency. Its second badges page adds one more condition: a large contract in the past 12 months without negative outcomes.
| Badge | Share of talent | Extra requirement beyond Top Rated | How it is decided |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rising Talent | Not published | Not applicable; a separate entry route | Automatic, no action needed from you |
| Top Rated | Top 10% | Freelancer: $1,000 earned in 12 months. Agency: $10,000 | Eligibility updated every two weeks |
| Top Rated Plus | Top 3% | Over $10,000 earned in 12 months (agency: $20,000), plus a large contract without negative outcomes | Eligibility updated every two weeks |
| Expert-Vetted | Top 1% | A screening process with Upwork's Talent Managers | By Talent Managers; badge visible only to Business Plus and Enterprise clients |
Expert-Vetted is not a higher tier you earn by stacking numbers: Upwork says it covers only certain work categories and screens for technical expertise and soft skills.
How do you lose an Upwork Top Rated badge?
By slipping under any criterion at a two-week check, or in one specific case by breaking the payment rules. Upwork's Top Rated page is blunt about the second: "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. You won't be eligible to earn them again for a period of six months."
| What happens | Effect on the badge |
|---|---|
| Job Success Score falls below 90% | Fails the current-score criterion at the next update |
| No proposal, invitation or earnings for 90 days | Fails the activity criterion |
| 12-month earnings drop under $1,000 | Fails the earnings criterion as older contracts roll out |
| Payments taken off the platform, or repeated off-platform contact before a contract | Badge removed, no eligibility for six months |
Only the last row cannot be fixed by a better month, which is why I keep calls, files and payments inside whichever platform the contract lives on.
What should you check before Upwork's next two-week update?
The eight criteria turned into things you can act on today.
- Read the current Job Success Score and the 12-month earnings figure on Stats and trends.
- Open Job Success insights, where Upwork explains how the score is calculated and what affects it.
- Count back 90 days. With no proposal, accepted invitation or payment in that window, send one this week.
- Agree the ending of a shaky contract in writing before you close it.
- Keep messages and payments on Upwork until the contract is over.
Are you on track for Upwork Top Rated?
Work through these five questions in order against your own numbers.
- Is your Job Success Score 90% or higher today? No: raise the score before anything else.
- Have you held 90% or higher for 13 of the last 16 weeks, or kept Rising Talent status? No: hold the score and wait out the weeks.
- Was your first Upwork project more than 90 days ago? No: you are too new, so keep finishing contracts.
- Have you earned at least $1,000 in the last 12 months? No: build the earnings figure first.
- Is your profile 100% complete with current availability? Yes: you should be eligible at the next two-week check. No: finish the profile fields and the availability date.
Two criteria sit outside the flow because they are pass or fail: no recent account holds, and activity in the past 90 days.
When is Top Rated the wrong thing to chase?
When clearing the numbers would mean work you do not want, or when you treat the badge as a promise of more work. Upwork describes the badge as something that "may increase your chances of being invited to interview."
- The benefits are modest. A badge, the Job Digest email, faster payments on hourly contracts, and consultations. No fee discount.
- The score punishes size. Higher-earning contracts weigh more in both directions, so one unhappy large client can cost more than several happy small ones.
- It is rechecked forever. Eligibility updates every two weeks against a score recalculated daily. This is a status to hold, not an asset you win once.
- It measures a platform record, not skill. If you are hiring, the badge says a freelancer kept clients happy on Upwork, not whether they can build what you need.
What else do freelancers ask about Upwork Top Rated?
How long does it take to become Top Rated on Upwork?
Upwork publishes no timeline, only gates: a first project more than 90 days ago, and either 90% or higher for 13 of the last 16 weeks or Rising Talent status instead. Those two run in parallel, so the arithmetic floor is about 90 days on an account that never slips. Earning a score at all takes two contract outcomes with two different clients first, and the $1,000 earnings gate can push the real date out. Anyone quoting an exact number of weeks is estimating.
What is a good Job Success Score on Upwork?
Upwork's own answer is that 90% or above is excellent and puts you on track for Top Rated, and that below 79% you may find it difficult to connect with new clients or win new projects. Its client-facing page adds that small differences, such as 91% against 93%, matter far less than large ones.
Does a canceled contract hurt your Job Success Score?
It can. Upwork lists disputed contracts and poor client experiences among the things that lower the score, and a contract with no payment but with negative feedback can still affect it. How a cancellation ends matters more than the cancellation itself.
Does the Top Rated badge lower Upwork's fees?
No. Its benefits list covers the badge on your profile, proposals and Project Catalog projects, the Job Digest email, faster payments on hourly contracts, and consultations. A reduced service fee is not among them. I cover what each platform charges, with figures, in Fiverr vs Upwork for developers.
Can you get Top Rated without a Job Success Score?
No. Rising Talent status can replace the 13-week score history, but the separate requirement for a current score of 90% or higher still stands.
Is Upwork Top Rated harder to earn than Fiverr's?
They are hard in different ways. Upwork's gates are a sustained score and a modest $1,000 in annual earnings, with no human review named. Fiverr's freelancer levels page sets six performance thresholds for Top Rated, including $10,000 earned, and adds a manual evaluation on top. I go through those in Fiverr Top Rated seller requirements.
If you would rather hand the development work to someone than manage it through a marketplace profile, see how I work and my page as a Claude Code developer for hire: a free scoping call of about 30 minutes, then a written quote within one business day at $55-$65 per hour or a fixed price per scope.
Last reviewed 27 October 2026. Disclosure: I freelance on Upwork and Fiverr myself, so I am not neutral, and I am not affiliated with either platform; no link here is an affiliate link. I am CTO at ElySpace, a freelance developer for Marmaids LLC, and founder of WHMCSPilot and MagizAI. Every criterion, quote and figure above comes from Upwork's or Fiverr's own help pages as I read them on 27 October 2026, and both change these programs often, so open the linked page before you rely on a number here.
