How to enroll in the Apple Developer Program: 7 steps (2026)

By Sigsten Gustavii· 26 October 2026· 9 min read

To enroll in the Apple Developer Program, you sign in with your Apple Account, tell Apple whether you are an individual or an organisation, confirm your legal identity and pay the yearly fee of 99 USD.

The Apple Developer Program is what lets you publish on the App Store and invite testers through TestFlight. Enrolling is not difficult, but small mistakes, like a nickname in the name field or a company without a D-U-N-S number, cause delays. This guide walks through each step with Apple's own rules linked, and says what you can already do without the membership.

What the membership gives you

A free Apple Account already gets you Xcode, the iOS Simulator and installing your own apps on your own devices. According to Apple's program page, the paid membership adds:

• App Store distribution, in 175 regions.
• TestFlight, with up to 10,000 external testers. Our TestFlight glossary entry explains how it works.
• Capabilities a free account cannot use, such as in-app purchases, push notifications, iCloud and Sign in with Apple.
• App Store Connect analytics and sales reports, and code-level technical support from Apple.

Before you start: what you need

• An Apple Account with two-factor authentication turned on. Use the account you want your apps tied to for years.
• Your legal name and address. Apple asks for your legal given name and surname; an alias, nickname or company name in those fields delays approval, and P.O. boxes are not accepted.
• The legal age of majority where you live. If you are younger, a parent or guardian can enroll with their Apple Account and share it with you.
• A payment card in your own name for an individual membership. Apple says a card that is not yours delays enrollment.
• For an organisation: legal authority to sign for it, its exact legal entity name (Apple does not accept trade names or DBAs), a D-U-N-S number, a work email on its domain and a working public website.

How to enroll in the Apple Developer Program: 7 steps

1. Choose individual or organisation

This choice decides the seller name people see under your app on the App Store: your own legal name, or your organisation's. If you are a sole trader without a separate legal entity, you enroll as an individual. If you run a company, enroll the company: it can add team members, and the app stays with the business if people change.

2. Get a D-U-N-S number (organisations only)

A D-U-N-S number is a free nine-digit identifier from Dun & Bradstreet that Apple uses to verify an organisation. Apple's D-U-N-S page lets you look up whether yours already has one and request one if not. Plan for up to 5 business days to receive it, plus up to 2 business days for it to reach Apple. Apple notes that paying to expedite it does not shorten this wait.

3. Start the enrollment

Go to Apple's enrollment page and select Start your enrollment, or use the Apple Developer app on an iPhone, iPad or Mac. In India, enrollment is only available through the app. Sign in with your Apple Account.

4. Enter your details exactly

Type your legal name as it appears on official documents, your phone number and your address. For an organisation, enter the legal entity name exactly as Dun & Bradstreet has it. Mismatches are the most common cause of delays.

5. Wait for verification (organisations)

Apple Developer Support verifies an organisation's details, including that you have the authority to sign for it. Once verified, Apple emails the next steps.

6. Accept the agreement and pay

Review the Apple Developer Program License Agreement and pay the fee: 99 USD a year, shown in your local currency at checkout. Enrolling in the Apple Developer app makes the membership an auto-renewing subscription until you cancel it.

7. Watch for the confirmation

Apple sends a confirmation email once the purchase is processed. Apple's enrollment support page says to contact them, with your Enrollment ID, if it has not arrived within 24 hours. After that, sign in to App Store Connect, where apps, builds and listings live.

What it costs, and how long it takes

Apple also takes a commission on what your app sells: 15% in its Small Business Program for developers with up to 1 million USD in proceeds a year. Our post on what an iPhone app costs to make puts the fee next to everything else.

Can you get the fee waived?

Apple waives the fee for some organisations. According to Apple's fee waiver page, you must be a legal entity that is a recognised nonprofit, an accredited educational institution or a government body, and not an individual, sole proprietor or single-person business. You must also not sell paid apps, in-app purchases or other digital goods through your apps. If that changes later, the waiver is removed and the normal fee applies.

What to do after you are enrolled

Approval opens App Store Connect, and a few things there are worth doing before your app is ready, because each can hold up a release:

1. Sign the Paid Applications Agreement in App Store Connect's Business section if your app will charge anything, including in-app purchases. Free apps do not need it.
2. Add your tax and banking details, so Apple can pay you what your app earns.
3. Join the Small Business Program if you qualify, to pay a 15% commission rather than the standard rate.
4. Invite team members (organisations), each with the role they need.
5. Decide your seller details, such as the support email and website you will list with the app.

None of these need a Mac, and none need code. They are paperwork, and doing it early means the day your app is ready is the day you can submit it.

Common enrollment problems

• A nickname or company name in the name fields. Use your legal given name and surname.
• The organisation's name does not match D-U-N-S. Update the D-U-N-S record, then enroll with the same spelling.
• A website that is not live, or an email on a different domain. Apple checks both for organisations.
• Someone else's payment card on an individual enrollment.
• Enrolling with a throwaway Apple Account. Your apps stay tied to it, so use one you will keep.

How to publish with Borel once you are enrolled, step by step

Once your membership is active, Borel handles the parts of publishing that usually need a Mac. You do not need Xcode, Transporter or a certificate on your own computer.

1. Build the app by describing it to Borel and trying it on the live iPhone in your browser.
2. Check it on your iPhone, on Pro, with Borel Companion.
3. Press Publish. Fill in the name, icon, category, screenshots and description, one question per screen. A checklist shows what Apple still needs.
4. Sign in to Apple. Connect your App Store Connect account; Borel sets your app up at Apple, so there is nothing to do on Apple's website.
5. Send to Apple. Xcode builds, signs and uploads the app on Borel's Mac. It then appears in TestFlight.
6. Submit for review from the same window.

Before I publish, check the app for anything Apple's review might reject, and add a Delete account button in Settings if it has accounts.

Borel also runs its own review check on the build before you send it, looking for what Apple most often turns apps down for. For the whole journey, read how to publish an app to the App Store without a Mac, and the publishing page in Learn.

The bottom line

Enrolling in Apple's Developer Program takes your legal details, an Apple Account with two-factor authentication and 99 USD a year, plus a free D-U-N-S number if you enroll a company. Start early if you are an organisation, and use your legal names exactly. While you wait, you can already build: start free on Borel, try your app on a live iPhone in your browser, and be ready to publish the day Apple's email arrives.

Apple's paperwork is the one part no tool can do for you, so I would start it early. If a step here no longer matches what Apple shows you, tell me and I will update it.

– Sigsten

Make your iPhone app in Borel

Describe the app you want and see its first screens before you pay anything.