Apple D-U-N-S Number: How to Get It for Free

A D-U-N-S number is a nine-digit company identifier issued by Dun & Bradstreet. Apple only requires it if you enroll an organization in the Apple Developer Program: a company, a nonprofit, an educational institution. If you enroll as an individual or as a French micro-entrepreneur, you don't need one.

If you do need it, you can look it up or request it for free from Apple's lookup tool. Expect up to 5 business days to receive it, then up to 2 business days for Apple to receive your information. This guide walks through every step, how French legal structures fit in, and the mistakes that send your request back to square one.

I publish my own iOS apps with Expo, including Solys and TradaZen. The account price and choosing how to enroll are covered in Apple developer account: price and enrollment. Here, we go deep on the D-U-N-S.

What the D-U-N-S number means for Apple

According to Apple's help page on D-U-N-S, it's a unique nine-digit number that identifies a business at a specific address. It's issued and maintained by Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), a private business data company.

Apple uses it to verify your organization's identity and its status as a legal entity, by reading your company's record in the D&B database. If that record is wrong or incomplete, your enrollment gets stuck, even if your company documents are perfect.

When the D-U-N-S is required

The rule fits in one sentence on Apple's enrollment page: every organization needs a D-U-N-S number, except government entities. Individuals don't need one.

Situation	D-U-N-S	Seller shown
Individual	No	Your legal name
Micro-enterprise	No	Your legal name
Company (SAS, SARL…)	Yes	The company's legal name
Nonprofit, school	Yes	The entity's name
Government	Optional	The entity's name

Micro-enterprise, EURL, SASU: what Apple accepts

English-language guides don't cover this question, yet in France it decides everything.

A micro-enterprise enrolls as an individual

Apple is explicit in its enrollment help: a sole proprietor or a single-person business enrolls as an individual, and their legal name appears as the seller. And Service Public Entreprendre points out that the French micro-enterprise is a simplified tax and social regime for a sole proprietorship. It has no separate legal personality.

So a micro-enterprise can't enroll as an organization, even with a SIRET number and a trade name. If you try, Apple may show you the message "Your organization is not listed as a legal entity". According to Apple, it means the business you entered is listed at D&B with a different status, for example sole proprietorship, or that its legal status hasn't been verified. In the first case, Apple sends you to individual enrollment.

EURL, SASU, SAS, SARL: the organization route

Apple asks for a legal entity that can enter into contracts. The D-U-N-S page gives corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies as examples. Trade names, DBAs and branches are rejected.

Apple doesn't mention any French legal form. My reading of both pages: what matters is that a company exists separately from you. An EURL or a SASU has only one shareholder, but it's a company, and it's the company that will be the seller. For Apple, the key is that the D&B record lists your company as a legal entity, not as a sole proprietorship. If the record is wrong, get D&B to fix it, with your registration documents in hand.

Moving from micro-enterprise to a company later

You enrolled as an individual, then you set up a company? Apple has a request to convert to an organization account. According to the help on updating your account, you must be a founder or co-founder of the company and provide its D-U-N-S number. You may be asked for business documents. Your existing account is the one that gets converted.

Finding or requesting your D-U-N-S number for free

Use Apple's tool rather than D&B's commercial website: it queries the same database and submits your request for free.

1. Open Apple's D-U-N-S lookup tool and sign in with the Apple Account that will hold the membership.
2. Enter your company details. Apple asks for four things: the legal entity name, the headquarters address, the mailing address and your work contact information.
3. Check whether a number already exists. D&B may have already assigned a number to your company without you asking. That's why the tool starts with a search.
4. If not, submit your information to D&B from the tool, for free.
5. Keep your Kbis (French company registration extract) handy. A D&B representative may contact you to verify your type of business or your number of employees.

On price, Apple's D-U-N-S page talks about a free number, "in most jurisdictions" according to its enrollment help. And if someone offers to let you pay to go faster, Apple is clear: expediting the creation of the number doesn't shorten the timeline.

How long the D-U-N-S takes

Apple's timelines are maximums:

• up to 5 business days to receive your number from D&B;
• then up to 2 business days for Apple to receive your information.

If your request goes past two weeks, Apple points you to D&B support for Apple developers. That's also where you correct a record, and the correction again takes up to 2 business days to reach Apple.

To plan ahead, here's a sample calendar: a request started on a Monday, no public holidays, using the official maximums.

Step	At the latest
Request via Apple's tool	Monday, week 1
Number received from D&B	Monday, week 2
Data received by Apple	Wednesday, week 2
Organization enrollment	From that Wednesday

Only then does Apple review your enrollment. So start the D-U-N-S in parallel with development, not the week of launch. The rest of the schedule is in how long it takes to build an app.

Mistakes that block enrollment

Almost every block comes from a mismatch between three sources: your Kbis, your D&B record and what you enter at Apple.

A different legal name

Apple checks the legal entity name, not your brand. Take a made-up example: your company is called "Example Studio" on the Kbis, and your app is called "Zephyr". If you search for "Zephyr", you'll find nothing, or a different company. Enter the exact legal name, as it appears on your Kbis.

Same logic for your Apple Account: the first and last name must be your legal name. A nickname or a company name there delays approval.

An address that doesn't match

The D-U-N-S identifies a business at an address. If your D&B record still has the old headquarters address after a move, the information no longer matches. Fix the record with D&B first, then wait out the transmission time before restarting enrollment.

A branch number

Apple rejects branches. The number must be your legal entity's, not a secondary location's.

A rejected website or email

Two checks often catch people off guard:

• your work email must use your company's domain name, not a Gmail address;
• your website must be public and working, on a domain associated with your company. Apple rejects links to social networks, sites with minimal content and pages shown by a domain registrar.

So an "under construction" page is likely to be rejected. Put a real page online that presents the company and its apps before you enroll.

No authority to bind the company

The person who enrolls the organization becomes the Account Holder. They must be able to bind the company: founder, executive, or an employee who has been given that authority. If you're not the founder, Apple will ask for a reference who confirms it. Apple may also require certified business documents, by a notary for example depending on the region.

What changes on your App Store listing

• As an organization, the seller shown is the legal entity name. As an individual, it's your first and last name.
• The developer name can differ, but only once. According to App Store Connect help, an organization can show a different developer name if it's a registered trade name. You enter it in the Company Name field when you create your first app, it shows under the app name and can't be changed afterward. Individuals don't get this option.
• Renaming the organization later comes at a cost. Apple warns that this change updates the seller name on all your apps and resets the IDFV for existing users at their next update. Your attribution tools may then count them as new installs. The change can't be undone.
• In the European Union, your contact details may be shown. If you declare yourself a trader under the Digital Services Act, your address, phone number and email appear on the listing.

The matching checklist before you request

Before you start anything, check that every row in this table lines up.

Check	Must match
Legal name entered	Kbis, word for word
Headquarters address	Kbis and D&B record
D&B record	Headquarters, not branch
Status at D&B	Company, not sole proprietorship
Email domain	Website domain
Website	Public, real content
Apple Account name	Your legal name
Your role	Authority to bind

If a row doesn't line up, fix it first. It's faster than a back-and-forth with support.

After the D-U-N-S

Once the number has reached Apple, you pick up organization enrollment again. The rest is the same for everyone, from TestFlight to submitting for review. The steps are gathered in publishing an app on the App Store, and the wait on Apple's side in App Store review time. No Mac? Publishing an iOS app without a Mac shows how to do it all with Expo.

If you're preparing your first app

Before you start the paperwork, take the free diagnostic: it tells you where your project stands, which step to tackle first, and sends you my Apple anti-rejection checklist.

To build the app, set up subscriptions and publish it, the iOS & Android Kit follows the four-step path with the starter code from my apps, at your own pace.

Frequently asked questions

Is a D-U-N-S number required to publish on the App Store?

No, only to enroll an organization. An individual or a micro-enterprise enrolls without a D-U-N-S, and their legal name shows as the seller. For a government entity, it's optional.

Does a D-U-N-S number cost money?

No, not for Apple enrollment. You request it for free from D&B through Apple's lookup tool. Paying to expedite doesn't shorten the timeline, according to Apple.

How long does it take to get a D-U-N-S number?

Up to 5 business days to receive the number, then up to 2 business days for Apple to receive your information. Past two weeks, contact D&B support.

Can a micro-enterprise enroll as an organization with Apple?

No. A micro-enterprise is a sole proprietorship with no separate legal personality. Apple asks sole proprietors to enroll as individuals: your legal name shows as the seller.

Where can I find my company's D-U-N-S number?

In Apple's D-U-N-S lookup tool. D&B may have already assigned a number to your company: the search tells you before you submit any request.

What does "Your organization is not listed as a legal entity" mean?

D&B lists the business you entered under a different status, such as a sole proprietorship, or hasn't verified its legal status. Check the exact legal name. If you're a sole proprietor, enroll as an individual. Otherwise, contact D&B with your registration documents.

Can you change the seller name on the App Store?

For an organization, yes, by request to Apple with supporting documents, but the name changes on all your apps and users' IDFV is reset. For an individual, changing your Apple Account name doesn't change the seller name.