Paid Applications Agreement readiness checklist
The paid agreement is a business control that affects every paid download, IAP, and subscription plan.
Assign an owner and release gate for the Paid Applications Agreement before enabling paid products. Apple documents viewing and accepting the Paid Applications Agreement. AppReviewReady interpretation: agreement acceptance should be tied to finance, product, support, and App Store Connect role governance.
Assign agreement ownership
Name who can review, accept, and escalate the agreement. Do not leave the decision to whoever happens to have the right App Store Connect access during launch week.
The owner should understand which apps, products, storefronts, and revenue forecasts depend on the agreement state. A legal or finance action can become a product blocker.
AppReviewReady interpretation: contract ownership protects profit because paid launch plans need a responsible person who can connect legal status to release decisions.
Map agreement dependencies
- Paid app pricing and availability.
- In-app purchase and subscription launch timing.
- Custom app paid business models.
- Banking, tax, and proceeds reporting readiness.
- Support answers for paid access and refunds.
Connect agreement to release
If the agreement is pending, the release plan should say whether paid features are delayed, hidden, replaced with a free path, or blocked entirely. Silence creates inconsistent product and support behavior.
Review agreement state before enabling marketing copy that promises paid features. A pricing page, screenshot, or launch email should not lead users toward a product the business setup cannot support.
Separate agreement acceptance from product approval. App Review can assess the app, while business agreement status controls whether monetization can operate as expected.
Audit access and changes
- Review who can manage agreements in App Store Connect.
- Record agreement status before paid release decisions.
- Notify finance and product when status changes.
- Update launch checklists for every paid app or product.
- Review agreement state during account transfers or entity changes.
Paid agreement record
The record prevents paid launch decisions from depending on memory. It also helps new operators understand why a product was delayed or released with a temporary free path.
Review the record when adding subscriptions, paid custom apps, or external buyer contracts. One agreement state can influence multiple revenue paths.
After paid launch, keep the agreement record with finance artifacts. It becomes part of the audit trail if payout, tax, or contract questions appear later.
If multiple teams share the account, include a communication rule. Product, finance, legal, and support should learn about agreement changes before a customer-facing price, product, or availability promise changes.
Do not make agreement acceptance an invisible launch-day task. The owner should review dependent products, confirm no unexpected account-state warnings remain, and record the decision before marketing traffic is sent to paid surfaces.
For small teams, write down the backup owner as well. Paid launches should not depend on one account holder being online at the exact moment a contract or account-state question appears.
Paid agreement record: Agreement state: [status] Owner: [person/team] Apps/products affected: [list] Launch dependency: [yes/no] Fallback: [plan] Finance notified: [yes/no] Review date: [date]
Primary references checked for this guide
Policy statements above are grounded in the linked Apple documentation. Operational recommendations are AppReviewReady's interpretation and should be tested against your app and the current guideline text.
Check paid agreement risk
Review agreement ownership, paid-product dependencies, access, and release fallback.
Open the tool