How to Set Up an Apple Developer Account: Step-by-Step

TL;DR: Publishing a native iOS app built with Bubble requires an active Apple Developer Program membership ($99/year): an Apple Account with two-factor authentication, your legal name, and (for organizations) a D-U-N-S Number. Individual enrollment is faster; organizations take longer since Apple verifies legal entity status manually. Before submitting your first app, create an app record in App Store Connect with a permanent bundle ID. If you’re monetizing, also complete the Agreements, Tax and Banking section with your tax forms and bank details.

After you’ve built a native iOS app on Bubble, it's time to get it in front of users. Before Apple will let you do that, you need your own Apple Developer Program membership, separate from your Bubble account.

This guide walks through what you need before you start, how the individual and organization paths differ, and how to configure App Store Connect once you’re approved.

What you need before you start enrollment

Have these ready before you start, since missing or incorrect details are the most common reason Apple pauses or rejects an enrollment.

• An Apple Account with two-factor authentication enabled: Apple requires this on every developer account. It confirms your identity with both your password and a trusted device like your iPhone. Turn it on in your Apple Account settings before you start if you haven’t already.
• Your legal name: This becomes your seller name on the App Store, so it needs to match your identity documents exactly. Mismatches are a common cause of verification delays.
• A valid payment method: Apple Developer Program membership costs $99 per year, payable by credit card or Apple Pay. Nonprofits, accredited educational institutions, and government entities can often get a fee waiver, though individuals and businesses selling paid apps or in-app purchases generally don’t qualify.
• D-U-N-S Number (organizations only): This nine-digit business identifier from Dun and Bradstreet is how Apple confirms your company legally exists. Your organization may already have one — check Apple’s lookup tool first. Requesting a new one is free and takes up to five business days.
• Company website (organizations only): Apple checks that it reflects your registered company name, so a personal site or a mismatched domain can get your enrollment rejected.
• Work email and binding authority (organizations only): Whoever enrolls needs the legal authority to bind the organization to Apple’s agreements. Apple may reach out directly via your work email to confirm that before approving you.

How to set up an Apple developer account

Here’s the full process, from creating your free developer account to activating your paid membership. It differs slightly depending on whether you’re signing up as an individual or an organization.

Enroll as an individual

Individual enrollment is for individuals, sole proprietors, and single-person businesses. Apps are listed under the developer’s personal legal name, so this path won’t work if you want a company name displayed publicly.

1. Go to developer.apple.com and click Account in the top right corner. Sign in with your Apple Account (the same Apple ID you use for iCloud, the App Store, or other Apple services).
2. Accept the Apple Developer Agreement to register as a Apple developer for free. This gets you documentation, sample code, forums, and beta software. App Store publishing and App Store Connect come later, once you join the paid program.
3. Follow Apple’s current enrollment flow to join the paid Apple Developer Program, which may include the Apple developer app in supported regions. Check Apple’s enrollment page for the options available for your account and region.
4. In the enrollment flow, tap Enroll and follow the prompts to enter your personal information. You’ll need to provide your legal name, mailing address, and phone number exactly as they appear on your government-issued ID.
5. Complete identity verification by following the prompts to scan your government-issued photo ID.
6. Pay the $99 annual membership fee to activate your membership. Your membership renews annually unless canceled according to Apple’s renewal terms.

Enroll an organization

Organization enrollment is for companies, partnerships, and other legal entities. Your organization’s legal name appears as the seller name in the App Store rather than an individual’s name. Apple doesn’t accept DBAs, trade names, or branches as legal entities for enrollment. The person enrolling must be authorized to legally bind the company to agreements.

1. Go to developer.apple.com, click Account in the top right, and sign in with your Apple Account.
2. Accept the Apple Developer Agreement to register as a developer for free, which lets you access documentation and forums while you prepare your enrollment.
3. Follow Apple’s current organization enrollment flow, which may be available through the Apple Developer website or Apple Developer app depending on region and account eligibility.
4. Select Organization as your enrollment type when prompted.
5. Enter your organization’s legal name, headquarters address, work email address, and D-U-N-S Number in the fields provided. Apple uses your D-U-N-S Number to verify your legal entity automatically, so make sure everything matches your Dun and Bradstreet record exactly. Mismatches are the most common cause of enrollment delays.
6. Complete identity verification and submit your enrollment. Apple reviews organizations by hand to confirm legal entity status and binding authority, so don’t expect instant approval — build extra time into your launch plan.
7. Once Apple approves your enrollment, you’ll receive an email with a link to pay the $99 annual membership fee. Your membership activates immediately after payment.

How to verify your identity

Apple requires identity verification to confirm you are who you say you are and to prevent fraud. For individuals, this means scanning a government-issued photo ID like your passport or driver’s license. For organizations, Apple may also contact the account holder directly by phone or email to verify legal binding authority.

Follow the verification prompts in Apple’s enrollment flow. Apple will send you an email once the review is complete.

Accept terms and pay

Once Apple approves your enrollment, you’re ready to activate your membership. Pay the $99 annual fee through the payment method you entered when you enrolled; it renews automatically each year unless you cancel.

Keep your membership active, since lapsing affects your access to App Store distribution and account services. Check Apple’s current expired-membership policy for what happens if it does.

Configure App Store Connect basics

App Store Connect is where you manage your apps and submit builds to the App Store. Once your membership is active, log in at appstoreconnect.apple.com with your Apple Account and take care of two things before you submit your first app.

• Add team members: Head to Users and Access to invite collaborators. Assign roles carefully — the account holder gets full access to apps, billing, and agreements, while roles like Developer or App Manager are more limited. Only one person can hold the account holder role, and switching it later means going through Apple’s transfer process.
• Register your app: Create an app record with your app’s name, primary language, bundle ID, and SKU before you upload anything. Double-check the bundle ID (something like com.yourcompany.appname) before you save, since Apple won’t let you change it later.

Set up tax and banking for paid apps

If your app will charge users through paid downloads, in-app purchases, or subscriptions, you’ll need to complete the Agreements, Tax and Banking section in App Store Connect once your membership is active. Here’s what’s involved:

• Agreements: Accept the Paid Apps Agreement in the Agreements, Tax and Banking section of App Store Connect. This step establishes your terms for selling digital goods and must be completed before you can charge users.
• Tax forms: Complete the relevant US tax forms and any country-specific forms if you’re distributing internationally. Apple provides guided forms within App Store Connect that walk you through each required field. You can save your progress and return later if needed.
• Banking: Add a bank account for Apple to deposit your paid app and in-app purchase revenue into. This has to be verified before your first transaction, and the Paid Apps Agreement won’t go active without it.

Once all three are done, you’re set to start processing paid transactions. Apple’s processing times can vary. If you’re selling to users in the EU, check Apple’s current documentation on Digital Services Act (DSA) requirements, since those add separate obligations on top of the Agreements, Tax and Banking setup.

Quick checklist and timelines

This table gives you a practical reference for how long each part of the process takes so you can plan toward a launch deadline.

What to set up with Apple and Google before you publish your first app

Publishing a native mobile app with Bubble requires an active developer account for each store you plan to use: Apple for iOS and Google for Android. Bubble supports publishing web, iOS, Android, or any combination from one editor, but each app store has its own setup and review requirements. Treat this as a pre-launch checklist. Everything listed below should be complete before you submit a build.

Apple pre-publishing setup

• Active Apple Developer Program membership: Keep your $99/year membership active. You can’t submit builds or use App Store Connect features without it.
• App record in App Store Connect: Set up your bundle ID, app name, and primary language before you upload a build (see Configure App Store Connect basics above).
• Agreements, Tax and Banking (if monetizing): Charging users through paid downloads, in-app purchases, or subscriptions means accepting the Paid Apps Agreement and getting your tax forms and bank account on file first. If you skip this, none of it will process.
• Push notification setup (if using push notifications): Enable the Push Notifications capability on your app’s identifier in Certificates, Identifiers and Profiles, then generate an APNs key (Apple’s current recommended method) to authenticate your server. Adding push later means updating your app’s capabilities and submitting a new build.
• Privacy policy URL: Every app needs a privacy policy link in App Store Connect and in the app itself. If you collect data (through analytics, crash reporting, or third-party SDKs), your App Privacy responses and privacy policy need to reflect that. A 2026 developer survey found that among developers who’d faced App Store rejections, 21% pointed to privacy or data issues as the reason.

Google pre-publishing setup

Google Play requires a separate developer account from Apple. Registration is a one-time $25 fee. You can confirm the current amount during the Play Console signup flow at play.google.com/console.

• Active Google Play Developer account: Register at the Google Play Console and pay the one-time $25 registration fee to activate your account.
• Payments profile: To charge for apps, in-app products, or subscriptions and receive revenue, maintain a valid Payments Profile as required by Google’s Developer Distribution Agreement.
• App signing configured: Google Play App Signing is Google’s secure key management service for protecting your app signing key on Google’s infrastructure. Configure app signing according to the current Play Console flow before release.
• Internal testing track set up: Before a public launch, create an internal testing track in the Play Console to distribute builds to up to 100 invited testers. Google states that builds are available to testers within seconds of being added to Play Console, so you can validate your build quickly before it goes through full review.
• Closed testing requirement (new personal accounts): If your Google Play Developer account is a personal account created after November 13, 2023, Google requires you to run a closed test with at least 12 testers opted in continuously for 14 days before you can apply for production access. Organization accounts and personal accounts created before that date are exempt. Start this test as early as possible, since the 14-day window doesn’t begin until you have 12 opted-in testers.
• Privacy policy URL and data safety: Google Play requires privacy and data safety information during the Play Console review and listing process, including a privacy policy URL when required by Google’s policies. Complete the store listing and data safety sections before submitting for review.

How Bubble handles app store publishing

If you’re using Bubble, you can build web and native mobile apps from one editor and move toward App Store and Google Play launches without writing code. You get one visual editor for web, iOS, and Android, and your app shares the same database and workflow logic across all three platforms.

For iOS, Bubble packages your app and sends the build to App Store Connect (your iPhone app build starts in the same editor). For Android, Bubble generates the .aab file for your first upload to Google Play Console. Later uploads can go automatically once you activate the Google Developer API. See our guide to building an Android app for the full process.

Bubble validates your identifiers and credentials, though you’ll still need to handle store-specific setup, like keystore and package name, directly in App Store Connect and Google Play Console.

Bubble also supports TestFlight for iOS beta testing, plus over-the-air (OTA) updates for minor fixes and text changes, which typically go live in 5–10 minutes. Bigger changes, like new features or anything Apple or Google needs to review, still require a new build and store approval.

Start building your native app

Now that you've worked through Apple's requirements and set up App Store Connect, you're ready to run your final checks and submit your first build. If you haven’t started your app yet, Bubble lets you build for web and native iOS and Android from one place, so you can follow these same steps the moment you launch.

Frequently asked questions about Apple developer account setup

What is required to create an Apple developer account?

You need an Apple Account with two-factor authentication enabled, your legal name, and a valid payment method for the $99 annual fee. Organizations also need a D-U-N-S Number and a publicly accessible website on their company’s domain.

Is the Apple Developer Program free?

Registering as an Apple developer (which gives you access to documentation and beta software) is free. Publishing apps on the App Store requires joining the Apple Developer Program, which costs $99 per year. Fee waivers are available for eligible nonprofits, accredited educational institutions, and government entities that meet Apple’s requirements.

How long does Apple developer account approval take?

Timing varies. Organization enrollments typically take longer than individual ones because Apple manually verifies the legal entity. Gathering your D-U-N-S Number in advance is the most common way to avoid delays.

Can an Apple developer account display a company name instead of a personal name?

Individual accounts display the enrollee’s legal name as the seller name in the App Store. To display a company name, enroll as an organization using your company’s legal entity name.

What happens if an Apple Developer Program membership lapses?

If your membership expires, your App Store distribution and account capabilities may be affected. Keep the membership active and consult Apple’s current expired-membership policy for app availability and reinstatement details.