Apple Developer: Different Accounts and Guide on How to Open It

Last May, for our first mobile app, we needed to open a developer account in the App Store. This process can be a bit tricky, so we decided to share with you our experience and a simple guide with tips on how to work with Apple Developer Program successfully.

• Apple device (MacBook, iPhone, or iPad)
• Apple ID (you can create a new one or use your current one)

It’s Important! One Apple ID — one person. You don't have to make an ID for the whole company. Apple likes and wants to communicate specifically with people, which we’ll touch upon in the next steps as well.

Next, depending on whether you want the developer to be the company or one individual developer will be enough. For each one, you’ll need a different set of documents.

It’s important! Before creating a corporate account, you should take into account the following points to avoid further difficulties:

• The country in the applicant's Apple ID will become the company's country, which can’t be changed (the only way is to change the Apple ID’s country).
• The applicant has to confirm that they work in your company. But in our experience, Apple doesn't control it too strictly but it's still better to be prepared.
• The card for the payment of the $99 fee must also belong to a person whose Apple ID you use. Still, as with the previous point, it isn’t a strict rule and you just need to prove your right to pay with this card.

So, to create a corporate account, we created a new Apple ID, using one of our work emails. This isn't very complicated, you’ll just need to go through the following steps:

1. Go to https://developer.apple.com/
2. Click ‘Account’ in the menu at the top
3. Then, click on the ‘Create yours now’ button
4. Fill in all the required fields

It’s important! The Name field is highly important. It’s necessary to specify the name of a real person who can provide the needed documents and proof of their relation to the company (if it’s a corporate account). Same with the Country/Region field, it’s essential to specify the country in which this person has documents.

When we created our first account, we specified a name that isn’t related to the chosen country. Thus, we had to start over and create a new account with the appropriate information this time.

Once you’re done with the basic information, you’ll need to verify your email and phone number. After, you’ll proceed to the next page:

We already have Two-factor authentication (2FA) enabled, which is important. If your account doesn’t have it, you need to turn it on.
Getting to the account itself

All the fields are filled in, contacts are verified, and everything is protected by 2FA. Now, it’s time to get to the account itself:

1. Go to https://developer.apple.com/ once more
2. Click ‘Account’ in the menu at the top
3. Fill in your ID and password
4. On the next page, put a checkmark next to the ‘I agree’
5. Congrats! Now you’re on the developer dashboard

But we’re not done yet — the process has just started.

Now, we’re getting to the fun part. You’ll need to click the ‘Enrol today’ button which will allow you to join the Apple Developer Program needed for distributing on the App Store:

On the appeared page, you’ll need to click ‘Continue enrollment on the wed’, located under the gray box in the center:

Next, you need to choose whether will you create a corporate account or assign it to an individual developer.

To create a corporate account, in the ‘I develop apps as’ you need to choose ‘Company / Organization’. Underneath, you’ll see the list of documents required for enrollment.

• Legal Entity Status is a company with legal documents, that is presented in the database, and has no issues. IP and others aren’t accepted (but there is a way to squeeze in, we’ll talk about it later).

If you doubt whether Apple will allow you to create an account or not — try! They are not as strict as they might seem!

• The Authority to Sign Legal Agreements. Here you need to prove that you’re related to the company and can make decisions on its behalf. However, as we have disclosed before, this information may not be requested.
• A Website. It needs to have a phone number and email address. And also, it should be clear that this is your company's website. But no need to worry, there’re no strict requirements for this point.
• A D-U-N-S Number. There’s a lot you need to consider so we’ll look in-depth o what it is and its requirements.

It is needed to confirm to Apple that your company is trustworthy. Since Apple itself can’t check every company that registers each day globally, they ask for help from an intermediary, a company called D&B. They provide these numbers to companies in the US (and all over the world specifically for Apple).

At this stage, of course, we read what the company should be, checked with our management all the information, and got the approval to master Apple.

The first thing I did was click on ‘Learn more’ to get more information on the D-U-N-S number.

To check whether your company is suitable for the Program, Apple suggests using this link: https://developer.apple.com/enroll/duns-lookup/

If you don't have the D-U-N-S number, you will need to get it. What’s really handy is that Apple itself will suggest getting it for you. Here you can agree and all the following information will be sent to you via email.

Here’s the list of documents you will need to send to get this number:

Once you provide all the needed information, within 3-5 days the number will be sent to you.

All documents are ready, time to proceed

Now, when we try enrolling in the Apple Developer Program as a company, click ‘Continue’.

Enter your D-U-N-S number, company name, and verification code from the image.

Ideally, it should take you to the next page. But there may be an error ‘This organization could not be verified as a legal entity’:

We also stumbled upon this issue when creating our account. It was decided to create an account for an individual developer, who was the owner of the company. Next, through the account, we requested a change of the company type.

At this point, we were contacted by a Senior Support Manager. We explained the problem to them, they checked our D-U-N-S and told us to fill out the form for the company.

Next, we were told to reenter the number in the enrolment form, and when the problem occurs contact them — the support manually helped us go through this step and we were able to continue.

The most difficult stage is done, now we just need to go through the last steps. Now you need to fill in the information about your company. As we can see, the Region field is already filled in according to the region of the provided Apple ID.

At this point, you will have an important choice of who fills out the form. The company owner or the employee.

We chose the employee as the provided Apple ID wasn’t from the owner.

Now, wait for the letter from Apple

In 98% of cases, it’ll be a letter saying that Apple wants to talk to you personally on the phone. You’ll need to choose either a time to call (slot) or write them when you can talk in the reply email and specify the phone number to contact.

We write the time and send it in the reply email to Apple.

What does Apple ask during the phone call?

• The full name of the company (you need to say every word from the name!)
• Phone number or even address
• Company operations
• Reason for creating an account and what you will publish with it

The questions were pretty clear and normal. As for Apple, they are very polite and don’t quibble over words during the call.

If the account is created by the employee and not the owner, they ask you to prove that you’re working in the company orally. Still, we didn’t receive this question, but it’s better to be prepared anyway.

What’s more, they strongly suggest enabling 2FA for your account. They’ll say it even if you already turned it on, so don’t be worried that it was disabled.

To be honest, the conversation at first does feel scary and nervous. But, once you get a hang of it, you understand that it’s not as frightening and quite easy-going.

After the conversation, the manager you talked to will send a letter with a link to the contract, which must be signed online (check the box), and a letter of security (again, about the 2FA).

Click on the link, agree with everything you need to agree on, and proceed to pay the required fee.

At this point, there may be payment issues if the card isn’t from the person in whose name the account is created. It’s recommended to get the appropriate card or prove to Apple that the card you’re using is not stolen: they’ll ask you to send the documents of the card owner.

But! If you and the card owner have the same last name, but different first names, it can go past. Still, don’t be way too confident, and be prepared to send the needed proof in advance.

That's all! After payment you need to wait for 2-3 hours and access to App Store Connect will be opened. And you can add your apps to the store.

If you need help with opening an account in Apple Developer Program and developing an ASO strategy for your app — H1 Marketing is where it’s at. We know how to work with them and can help you too!

Here you can check our guide on how to work with ASO.