How to transfer an app to another developer account

You may need to transfer an app to another developer account because you sold it, moved from a personal account to a company account, merged two studios, or handed a client project back to its owner. Both stores support this, and on both the listing keeps its users, ratings and reviews. Done wrong, the same move can break sign-in, push notifications or subscriptions for every existing user.

This guide walks through the App Store and Google Play transfer processes step by step, using Apple's and Google's own help pages, and lists what moves with the app, what stays behind and what the new owner has to rebuild. It also covers the App Replacement Entitlement that Apple added to its developer agreement on October 13, 2026, which matters when a transfer is not possible.

Key takeaways

• A transfer keeps the same store listing, so ratings, reviews, users and update delivery carry over. Publishing a new app starts all of that from zero.
• On the App Store, the Account Holder starts the transfer in App Store Connect and the recipient's Account Holder accepts it within 60 days.
• On Google Play, you submit a transfer request with both accounts' registration transaction IDs, and Google replies within 2 business days.
• Sign in with Apple, push, keychain sharing, Play App Signing and ad SDKs all need work before or after the move.

Why transfer an app to another developer account instead of republishing#

Apple's overview of app transfer says you can transfer an app "while keeping it available for download on the App Store," and that "during and after the transfer, the app retains its reviews and ratings, and users continue to receive updates." The app also keeps its bundle ID.

Google's transfer guide is just as direct: "your apps' users, download statistics, ratings and reviews, content ratings, and store listing information are all transferred to your new account."

That is the whole case for a transfer. A new listing has no ratings, no reviews and no install history, and existing users would have to find and install it themselves. If you have spent months building search visibility, a transfer is the way to keep it.

How to transfer an app on the App Store#

Step 1: Check the transfer criteria#

Apple lists the app transfer criteria in App Store Connect Help. The ones that block most transfers:

• Both accounts must not be "in a pending or changing state," and both parties must have accepted the latest Paid and Free Apps agreements.
• The app "must have at least one version that was released to the App Store." An app that was never released cannot be transferred.
• It cannot be available for pre-order anywhere.
• It cannot be in Processing for Distribution, Waiting for Review, In Review, Accepted, Pending Developer Release or Pending Apple Release.
• In-App Purchase product IDs cannot match product IDs on any app in the recipient's account.
• Apple Arcade apps cannot be transferred.

Older forum threads say apps with subscriptions or iCloud cannot be transferred. That is out of date: Apple's current overview has dedicated sections for both.

Step 2: Prepare the app before you start#

Apple's overview lists several things to do before the transfer, depending on what the app uses:

1. Back up everything. The app disappears from your account after the transfer. Apple suggests keeping a record of metadata, pricing, availability dates, and sales and download information.
2. Turn off TestFlight. Remove all builds and testers and clear the Test Information fields for every localization. If you rely on a public beta, our guide to the TestFlight public link explains what the new owner will need to set up again.
3. Remove Xcode Cloud data from the Xcode Cloud tab in Settings.
4. Share an app-specific shared secret if the app sells auto-renewable subscriptions, so the recipient's servers can keep verifying receipts.
5. Ungroup Sign in with Apple if the app is grouped with other apps, and generate transfer identifiers for your users (see below).
6. Record your featuring nominations. Apple says nominations "can't be transferred." If you had one in progress, give the details to the recipient so they can resubmit; our guide on how to get featured on the App Store covers the nomination form.

Step 3: Initiate the transfer#

Only the Account Holder can do this. From Apple's initiate an app transfer page:

1. In Apps, select the app.
2. Click App Information under General and scroll to Additional Information.
3. Click Transfer App and enter a two-factor code if asked.
4. If the criteria are met, click Continue.
5. Enter the recipient Account Holder's Apple Account and the recipient's Team ID, then click Continue.
6. Accept the terms and click Request Transfer.

The app then shows a Pending App Transfer status. While it waits, you cannot edit metadata, pricing, availability or In-App Purchases, and open App Review conversations are closed. If the recipient does not accept within 60 days, the request expires.

Step 4: Accept the transfer#

The recipient's Account Holder goes to Business in App Store Connect, clicks Review under App Transfers, and enters new metadata: support URL, marketing URL and privacy policy URL (required if the app had them before), App Review contact and App Store contact details. They also review the existing App Privacy answers before accepting. Apple says on its accept an app transfer page that it "can take up to two business days for the app transfer to complete," during which the status is Processing App Transfer.

What the new owner has to rebuild#

The transfer moves the App Store record. It does not move the source code, signing assets or every capability. From Apple's overview:

• Provisioning profiles must be created again in the recipient's account.
• Push notifications: the old APNs certificates keep working until they expire. After that, or if you use keys, the recipient generates their own and updates the push server.
• Keychain sharing keeps working only until the next update. After the recipient ships a build with their own keychain group, users "must re-login once."
• Apple Pay: the merchant ID does not transfer, and a new one is needed at the first update.
• App Groups can be deleted from the old account and registered in the new one without affecting availability.
• Webhooks transfer with the app, so delete them first if you do not want events going to your server.
• Data: you lose App Analytics access for the app, and the recipient sees analytics from April 1, 2015 or the app's first release, whichever came later. Sales and payment reports stay split by date.

Moving Sign in with Apple users#

Sign in with Apple identifiers are scoped to a team, so the old team must generate a transfer identifier for each user. Apple's Sign in with Apple transfer guide describes two calls: one to get an access token with the user.migration scope, and one to usermigrationinfo for each user. A minimal Node.js version, assuming you already create the Sign in with Apple client secret (a signed JWT) for your server:

// migrate-siwa.mjs: prints "old_sub,transfer_sub" for each user ID in users.txt.
import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';

const { CLIENT_ID, CLIENT_SECRET, RECIPIENT_TEAM_ID } = process.env;
const form = (data) => new URLSearchParams(data).toString();
const headers = { 'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded' };

const tokenRes = await fetch('https://appleid.apple.com/auth/token', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers,
  body: form({ grant_type: 'client_credentials', scope: 'user.migration', client_id: CLIENT_ID, client_secret: CLIENT_SECRET }),
});
const { access_token } = await tokenRes.json();

for (const sub of readFileSync('users.txt', 'utf8').split('\n').filter(Boolean)) {
  const res = await fetch('https://appleid.apple.com/auth/usermigrationinfo', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { ...headers, Authorization: `Bearer ${access_token}` },
    body: form({ sub, target: RECIPIENT_TEAM_ID, client_id: CLIENT_ID, client_secret: CLIENT_SECRET }),
  });
  const { transfer_sub } = await res.json();
  console.log(`${sub},${transfer_sub}`);
}

Send the recipient only the transfer_sub values with the user data, never your team-scoped IDs or private relay emails. Apple says the recipient must exchange the transfer identifiers "within 60 days of accepting the app transfer," and you can generate them before acceptance or up to 60 days after it.

How to transfer an app on Google Play#

Step 1: Check policy and download your reports#

Google requires that "the original account and all apps being transferred must comply with all policy guidelines." Bulk export, payout and earnings reports do not move, so download what you need first. If the accounts are in different account groups on the 15% service fee tier, the app's earnings for the year count toward both groups' first $1 million.

Step 2: Make sure both accounts are active#

The original account must be able to sign in, and the target account's registration must be complete. A new target account costs the US$25 registration fee; Google says support can refund the fee of the original account if you close it after the transfer.

Step 3: Find both transaction IDs#

You need the registration transaction ID of both accounts. Search the owner's inbox for "developer registration fee," or open Google Payments, go to Activity and find the Google Play Developer transaction. Google lists formats such as 0.G.123456789012345 and tells you to drop the prefix (for example 0.G.) when you enter it.

Step 4: Handle signing, payments and integrations#

• Play App Signing: if either side is uneasy about sharing keys, the target account can request a new upload key, or a new app signing key through key upgrade for new installs.
• Paid apps and in-app products: the target account needs an active payments profile. If its default currency differs, an app with in-app products is unpublished after the transfer until you check prices and publish again.
• Firebase, Google Analytics and Cloud projects: give the target account access, and relink Firebase projects to the new Play Console account.
• AdMob and other ad SDKs: update the integration in the app so ad revenue goes to the right account.

Step 5: Submit the request#

Submit the form on the app transfer page in Play Console. The target developer reviews and approves the request, and Google's support team "reviews and replies to transfer requests within 2 business days."

What moves with a Google Play app, and what does not#

• Moves: users, statistics, ratings, reviews, subscriptions, policy declarations from the App content page, and the registered package names and keys tied to Android developer verification.
• Stays: orders created before the transfer (refund them from the old account or the API), bulk and earnings reports, and integration permissions.
• Does not transfer: testing tracks. Open, closed and internal test groups must be recreated, and testers may have to opt in again. If the new account is a personal account still waiting for production access, read our guide to Google Play's 12 testers for 14 days first.
• Promotions: they do not move, but "previously issued Promo Codes should still work." Our guide to Google Play promo codes explains how to create new ones in the target account.

After a transfer, users see the same app in the same place; only the developer name on the listing changes. Photo: Andrey Matveev / Pexels

When a transfer is not possible: Apple's App Replacement Entitlement#

Sometimes the problem is not the account but the app record itself: you rebuilt the app from scratch, you are merging two apps into one, or you want to move a paid app to a new free app with subscriptions. Until now, the only option was a new app and a message asking users to download it.

On October 13, 2026, Apple updated the Apple Developer Program License Agreement with terms for an App Replacement Entitlement. The agreement defines it as "the documented entitlement that shows, upon first launch of Your replacement Application, a system sheet that gives the end user a choice to move data and settings from Your original Application that they installed previously, and to delete that original Application."

Section 3.3.8(K) limits it: the replacement app may use it "only if both it and Your original Application are under Your Developer Program membership, and have substantively the same primary purpose and functionality."

What that means in practice:

• It works within one developer account, so it is not a substitute for a sale between two companies. For that, transfer the app first, then replace it later if you need to.
• It is a user choice on first launch, not an automatic migration.
• Nothing in the definition says the replacement inherits the original's ratings, reviews or search position. Plan as if the new listing starts fresh, and weigh that against a transfer.

At the time of writing, we could not find a public documentation page for the entitlement itself, only the agreement terms. Check the Apple Developer documentation and your account's entitlement requests before you plan a release around it.

We found no Google Play equivalent. On Android, keep the same package name whenever you can, because Google's app setup guide says package names "can't be deleted or re-used in the future."

Protect your visibility during the move#

A transfer keeps the listing, but a few things around it can still cost you installs:

1. Do not combine the transfer with a rename. Change one thing at a time so you can tell what moved your App Store keyword ranking.
2. Write clear release notes for the first update from the new account. Our guide to app release notes shows how to tell users what changed without sounding like a takeover.
3. Re-check support and privacy URLs, since Apple asks the recipient for new ones and users will contact whoever is listed there.
4. Update everything that names the old developer: your website, press kit, social profiles and any directories or leaderboards that list the app.
5. Watch reviews for a few weeks. Login or push problems after a transfer show up there first; our guide to responding to app reviews has templates for those replies.

The store link does not change with a transfer, because the app keeps its bundle ID on the App Store and its package name on Google Play. If you list your app on the AppRanker leaderboard, the row keeps linking to the same store page after the move, and its position stays a plain sort on what the listing has paid, not on who owns the developer account.

App transfer checklist#

App Store

• At least one version released, no pre-order, no pending review status.
• Both teams accepted the latest agreements.
• In-App Purchase product IDs do not clash with the recipient's apps.
• TestFlight builds and testers removed, Xcode Cloud data removed.
• Shared secret sent for subscriptions; Sign in with Apple ungrouped and transfer IDs generated.
• Metadata, pricing, sales and analytics data backed up.
• Recipient has their Apple Account, Team ID and new URLs ready.

Google Play

• Both accounts active; transaction IDs found and prefixes removed.
• Reports downloaded; refunds for old orders planned.
• Payments profile and currency checked for paid apps and in-app products.
• Firebase, Analytics, Cloud projects and ad SDKs moved.
• Test tracks recreated in the target account.

FAQ#

How long does it take to transfer an app?#

On the App Store, the recipient has 60 days to accept, and Apple says it can then take up to two business days to complete. On Google Play, Google replies to transfer requests within 2 business days after you submit them.

Does the app stay available during the transfer?#

Yes, on both stores. Apple says you can transfer an app "while keeping it available for download," and users keep receiving updates. One exception on Google Play: an app with in-app products is unpublished if the target account uses a different default currency, until you publish it again.

Will I lose my ratings and reviews?#

No. Apple says the app "retains its reviews and ratings," and Google moves ratings, reviews, users and download statistics with the app.

What happens to the bundle ID or package name?#

Both stay the same. On the App Store, the App ID moves to the recipient's account, and a wildcard App ID becomes an explicit one. On Google Play, the package name moves, including its registration for Android developer verification.

Can I transfer an app that was never released?#

Not on the App Store: Apple requires at least one version released to the App Store. Google's transfer page does not list a release requirement, but both accounts must be active and the app must comply with policy.

Does a transfer cost anything?#

Neither Apple's nor Google's transfer pages mention a transfer fee. The recipient needs a paid Apple Developer Program membership or a registered Google Play developer account, which costs US$25 once.

Image credits#

• Cover, handshake over a laptop: photo by KATRIN BOLOVTSOVA on Pexels, Pexels License. Cropped to 1200x630.
• Android phone with app icons: photo by Andrey Matveev on Pexels, Pexels License. Cropped to 1200x900.