App Store Developers Can Now Transfer Apps While Part of the Small Business Program

Apple emailed developers to tell them that being part of the Small Business program no longer prevents them from transferring or receiving apps.

Apples Small Business Program allows developers earning less than $1 million per year to benefit from a reduced commission of 15% on the App Store, compared to the usual 30%. However, developers quickly discovered after the program launched in 2021 that they weren’t allowed to transfer apps between accounts or they’d be kicked out of the Small Business program and barred from applying.

Apples Documentation made the point quite clearly:

Application transfers are not permitted while participating in the program. If you initiate an application transfer after December 31, 2020 or if you accept the transfer of an application that was initiated after December 31, 2020, you will no longer be eligible to participate in the program.

However, Apple is now emailing developers to let them know of a change of heart – apps can now be transferred between accounts without penalty.

We are contacting you to inform you that the Paid Applications Agreement (Appendixes 2 and 3 of the Apple Developer Program License Agreement) has been updated with the following changes:

• Section 3.4 updated to remove ban on app transfer for participation in the App Store Small Business program.

This is great news for developers looking to sell or buy apps that would otherwise be barred from being part of the App Store Small Business program, regardless of income.

Apple was presumably concerned that developers would have more apps between accounts trying to game the system, which would make it look like they were making less money. For some reason, that concern now seems to have disappeared.