How to Transfer an App to Your Own Developer Account
Pavlo Rubanovskyi
· 6 min read
To move an app into your own developer account, the current owner starts a transfer and you accept it: on the App Store, between both Account Holders in App Store Connect; on Google Play, via a request from the original account in Play Console. Reviews, ratings and users stay with the app; a few services must be set up again.
Before you start: do you need a transfer at all?
Only if the app lives in someone else's developer account. If the listing already sits in an account registered to your company and the old developer was merely invited as a user, you do not transfer anything — you remove their access and rotate the credentials they could see.
To check, ask who the Account Holder is on the Apple side and who the owner is on Google Play. If the answer is the agency, a freelancer's personal account, or "we're not sure", read on.
What you need on your side
| App Store | Google Play | |
|---|---|---|
| Your own account | An Apple Developer Program membership in your company's name | A Google Play developer account in your company's name |
| Who acts | The Account Holder on both sides | The owner of the original account; you approve |
| What you share | Your Account Holder's Apple Account and your Team ID | Your account's registration transaction ID |
| Agreements | Both accounts have accepted the latest paid and free agreements | Both accounts active, registration complete, in good policy standing |
Set up your own account first. Apple's and Google's verification of a new organisation takes time of its own, and nothing below can start without it.
Transferring an app on the App Store
Apple lets the transfer go ahead only when the app meets its transfer criteria. The ones that most often block it:
- The app must have at least one version released on the App Store.
- The app cannot be in an active review or release status — for example Waiting for Review, In Review, Accepted, Processing for Distribution or Pending Developer Release — and cannot be on pre-order.
- In-App Purchase product IDs cannot clash with product IDs already in your account.
- Apple Arcade apps cannot be transferred.
Then the steps, from Apple's guide to initiating an app transfer:
1. The current Account Holder opens the app in App Store Connect → App Information → Transfer App. 2. They enter your Account Holder's Apple Account and your Team ID, and accept the terms. 3. You accept the transfer in your account. As of October 2026, a pending transfer expires after 60 days.
While it is pending, the old owner cannot edit metadata, pricing or In-App Purchases, and open App Review threads are closed — so finish any release in flight first.
What to prepare before you accept
According to Apple's overview of app transfer, reviews, ratings, the bundle ID and iCloud containers move with the app, and users keep receiving updates. These need work:
| Area | What to do |
|---|---|
| Push notifications | Old certificates work until they expire; create your own APNs key and update the server |
| TestFlight | The old owner removes builds and testers before the transfer |
| Sign in with Apple | Generate transfer identifiers so existing users can still sign in |
| App Groups, keychain sharing | Re-register under your Team ID; users may need to sign in once more |
| Apple Pay, Wallet passes | Create a new merchant ID; reissue passes |
| Subscriptions | Get the app-specific shared secret before accepting, then generate a new one |
| Sales history | The old owner keeps pre-transfer reports; you see sales from the transfer on |
Transferring an app on Google Play
Google handles it as a request rather than a button (Play Console Help: transfer apps):
1. The original account opens the app-transfer request in Play Console. 2. It provides the registration transaction IDs of both accounts. Yours is in the receipt for the developer registration fee. 3. You review and approve the transfer in your account. As of October 2026, Google says support replies within two business days.
What moves: users, statistics, ratings, reviews, subscriptions, the store listing and past declarations such as App content. What does not: earnings and sales reports, promotions, test groups, and linked services. After the transfer you relink Firebase, add your account to Google Analytics and Cloud projects, and check ad SDK settings such as AdMob.
The signing key
If the app uses Play App Signing, Google keeps the app signing key and the transfer carries on as normal; if the old upload key is a concern, request an upload key reset. If the app is not enrolled in Play App Signing and its signing key is lost, the key cannot be reset — settle this before anything else.
If the current owner won't cooperate
Neither store moves an app on your request alone: the transfer always starts from the account the app is in. If the agency or developer refuses, the lever is your contract — what it says about who owns the app, the listing and the accounts. This is general guidance, not legal advice — for a dispute, talk to a lawyer. Keep the conversation in writing, and in the meantime make sure everything you do control — the domain, the backend, the analytics — is in your name. If the old developer has stopped answering altogether, start with what to secure first.
As a last resort, an app can be republished under your account as a new listing. It works, but it starts without the old listing's reviews and installs, and existing users must install it again. That is why the transfer is worth the patience.
After the transfer: a short checklist
1. Remove the old team from both accounts and from every service. 2. Rotate secrets they could see: API keys, service accounts, signing passwords. 3. Make a test release through your own pipeline before the first real one. 4. Note the transfer date — sales and analytics split at that point.
Need someone to run it?
DriveCode builds iOS & Android apps, Flutter-first. A transfer is mostly paperwork, but the details — push keys, sign-in identifiers, linked services — are where updates break afterwards. When we take over an app, moving the accounts, keys and repository into your name comes before any code change; it is the first of the checks we run before taking over an app.
Questions people ask
Do I lose reviews and ratings when the app moves? No. Both stores keep them with the app.
Do users have to reinstall? No. The listing and the app stay the same; users keep receiving updates.
How long does it take? On the App Store, as long as it takes your Account Holder to accept — as of October 2026, the request is valid for 60 days. On Google Play, support says it replies within two business days. Preparing the services around the app usually takes longer than the transfer itself.
Can an app be transferred while an update is in review? Not on the App Store: the app cannot be waiting for review, in review, accepted or pending release. Finish or cancel the release first.