Apple Developer account: cost, individual or organization, and D-U-N-S

How much does an Apple Developer account cost?

The Apple Developer Program costs 99 USD per membership year. Apple notes that prices may vary by region and are listed in local currency during enrollment, so a developer in Turkey, India or the UK sees a local amount at checkout. The fee renews yearly; if the membership lapses, your apps are removed from sale until you renew.

What does the membership unlock?

The paid membership is what gives you App Store Connect (where you create the app record, the store page and submissions), TestFlight for beta testing, certificates and provisioning profiles for distribution, and code-level support. With a free Apple Account you can install your own build on your own device through Xcode, use the developer forums and download beta software, but you cannot ship anything to other people.

Individual or organization: which should you choose?

Choose by whose name you want on the App Store and who owns the apps legally. Apple shows the account name as the seller name on every app's product page.

1. Do you have a registered legal entity (a corporation, limited company, partnership)? If not, enroll as an individual. A sole proprietorship or trade name is not accepted as an organization.
2. Should buyers see a company name or your personal name? Individual accounts show your legal name as the seller. Organization accounts show the company name.
3. Will more than one person manage the account? Both types can invite users in App Store Connect, but an organization account is the clean choice for a team that may change over time.
4. Will you sell in the EU? Every developer must declare a trader status under the EU Digital Services Act. If you are a trader, your address, phone and email are shown on the EU product page. For an individual, that is your personal contact data; for an organization, it is the company's.
5. Do you plan to sell or transfer the business later? Apps under a company are easier to move with the company.

If you are unsure and already have a company, enroll as the organization. Moving apps later means an app transfer, which is slower than starting in the right account.

What do you need for an individual account?

• An Apple Account with two-factor authentication turned on.
• The legal age of majority in your region.
• Your legal first and last name in the Apple Account. Apple warns that an alias, nickname or company name in the name fields delays approval.
• A legal name, email, phone and street address you can confirm. P.O. boxes are not accepted.

What do you need for an organization account?

• A D-U-N-S Number for the legal entity (government entities excepted).
• A legal entity status. DBAs, fictitious business names, trade names and branches are not accepted.
• Legal binding authority: the person enrolling becomes the Account Holder and must be an owner or founder, an executive, a senior project lead, or an employee granted that authority.
• A work email on the organization's own domain.
• A public, working website on a domain associated with the organization. Social media pages and parked domains are not accepted.

How does the D-U-N-S Number work?

A D-U-N-S Number is a free nine-digit identifier for a business entity at a specific location. Apple uses it to verify the organization's identity, legal status and address.

1. Look your company up with Apple's D-U-N-S lookup tool. Many registered companies already have a number.
2. If there is none, submit your legal entity name, headquarters address, mailing address and your work contact details through the same flow. The request is free.
3. Wait. Apple's support page says to allow up to 5 business days to receive the number, then up to 2 business days for Apple to receive your record. Expediting the number request does not shorten the second wait.
4. Enroll with the company name exactly as it appears in the D-U-N-S record.

If enrollment says your company is "not listed as a legal entity", the record shows a different legal status (for example sole proprietorship) or an unverified one. Fix the record with the issuer using your registration documents, or enroll as an individual if you are a sole proprietor.

How do you enroll, step by step?

1. Sign in with the Apple Account you will keep as the Account Holder (2FA on). You can enroll on the web or in the Apple Developer app.
2. Choose individual or organization.
3. Enter legal name, address and phone exactly as on your documents (and, for organizations, the D-U-N-S record).
4. Pay the membership fee in the currency offered.
5. After approval, the Account Holder signs the latest agreement in App Store Connect under Business. Apple does not let you add an app until that agreement is signed. Paid apps and in-app purchases also need the Paid Apps agreement with tax and banking details.
6. Declare your EU trader status under Business, Agreements, Compliance, Digital Services Act.

How long does approval take?

Apple does not publish an enrollment approval time. The waits Apple documents are the D-U-N-S ones above. The usual causes of slow approval are avoidable: a nickname or company name in an individual's name fields, a company name that differs from the D-U-N-S record, a personal email for an organization, or a website that is a placeholder.

Common mistakes

• Enrolling a company with a Gmail-type address instead of a domain email.
• Using a trade name instead of the registered legal name.
• Letting an employee enroll with their personal Apple Account, which then becomes the Account Holder for the company.
• Forgetting the yearly renewal: apps leave the store when the membership lapses.
• Skipping the trader declaration and then not being able to distribute in the EU.

What comes after the account?

With the membership active you can create the app record, upload builds and start testing. The full path is in How to publish an app on the App Store, and beta testing is covered in the TestFlight guide. If you ship on Android too, the Google side is a one-time 25 USD account: see Google Play developer account.

Once your first version is live, Uptika's Keyword radar tracks your rank for the searches that matter in every country, and Daily ping sends one morning summary of what moved. The free plan covers one app, one storefront and 10 keywords, no card needed.

Questions

Sources

1. Enrollment (Apple Developer Program)
2. D-U-N-S Number (Apple Developer Support)
3. Choosing a membership (Apple Developer Support)
4. Manage EU Digital Services Act trader requirements (App Store Connect Help)
5. Add a new app (App Store Connect Help)