Put your app on the App Store under your own company name

Before development starts, enroll your own company in the Apple Developer Program and create an organization account on Google Play, then invite the agency into those accounts. Both platforms need a D-U-N-S number for an organization. It is free from Dun & Bradstreet, and getting it takes anywhere from a few business days to about a month, so it is the first thing to start.

Why the name on the account matters

On the App Store, Apple shows your organization's legal name as the seller of the app. On Google Play, an organization account displays the developer name, address, email and phone number publicly. Whoever owns the account is, as far as customers and the platforms are concerned, the company behind the app.

If an agency publishes your app from its account, three things follow. The agency's name appears as the seller. The contract with Apple or Google is the agency's, so platform notices, review results and policy warnings go to them first. And if you part ways, the app has to be moved, which is possible and rarely painless.

What Apple asks for

Apple's enrollment page sets out the requirements for organizations. Your company must be a legal entity that can sign contracts with Apple. Trade names, fictitious business names and branches are not accepted. The person enrolling becomes the Account Holder and must have legal authority to bind the company, such as the owner, an executive, or an employee given that authority by a senior one.

Apple also checks a work email on your company's domain and a public, working website on a domain associated with your company. A social media page or a parked domain will not pass. Membership is 99 USD per year, shown in local currency at enrollment.

The D-U-N-S number is how Apple verifies the company. According to Apple's D-U-N-S help page, many companies already have one, so look it up first. If not, request one free from Dun & Bradstreet, allow up to 5 business days to receive it, then up to 2 more business days before Apple has your details. D&B may contact you, so keep your company registration documents at hand.

What Google asks for

Google Play requires a D-U-N-S number for organization accounts, along with the organization's name, address, phone number and website. Google warns that the process can take around 30 days, that it offers no exemptions or extensions for organization accounts without one, and that applying through Dun & Bradstreet is free. That last point is there because third party services charge fees for the same free registration.

There is a second reason to use an organization account on Google Play. Personal accounts created on or after November 13, 2023 have to run a closed test with at least 12 testers opted in for 14 consecutive days before they can apply for production access. That rule is written for personal accounts. A business app launched from an individual's account picks up this delay, plus the problem of whose name is on it.

Moving an app later

Apple does support transferring an app between developer accounts, and it is worth reading what it involves before you rely on it. Apps using shared keychain access lose the stored login token, so users have to sign in once more. An Apple Pay merchant ID does not move with the app and a new one is needed for the next update. Apps with Sign in with Apple need a transfer identifier generated for every user before the move. Wallet passes that the app updates have to be reissued under the new account.

If your app already sits in an agency's account, there is no need to panic. Plan the move as a small project, with a release window and a support message ready, and to avoid the situation for the next app.

How to work with an agency on your account

Keep the Account Holder role with someone in your company who has signing authority. Apple lets that role be transferred later, but it should start with you. Invite the agency's developers as team members with the access they need to build, test and upload. Do the same in Google Play Console with user permissions.

Put the account ownership in the contract along with the rest of the handover list: source code repository, domains, analytics and the server accounts. Before launch, the platforms will also ask for things your company has to own anyway, such as a privacy policy link inside the app, covered in seven compliance checks before you launch in Japan.

Before the kickoff meeting

Look up your D-U-N-S number this week. Check that your website is live on your company domain and that the person enrolling has a work email on it. Decide who in the company will hold the Account Holder role. With those three done, the accounts are usually ready by the time the first build is.

The same ownership question applies to everything else a vendor sets up for you, from servers to admin accounts. We list the rest in security questions to ask before you hire a web or app vendor.