Apple Waives $99 Developer Fee for Government and Non-Profits

Apple announced on Wednesday that it is now officially waiving its US$99 annual membership fee for the Apple Developer Program for eligible nonprofits, educational institutions, and government entities. But note that this program is specifically for those organizations who plan to distribute only free apps on the App Store. Here’s how Apple says:

“Apple Developer Program membership is now available at no cost for eligible organizations. Nonprofit organizations, accredited educational institutions, and government entities based in the United States that will distribute only free apps on the App Store can request to have their annual membership fee waived.”

The plan was announced when the App Store guidelines were updated in December 2017. Nonprofit app developers are not eligible to this plan. Currently it is limited to the United States, but Apple says the fee waivers will be added for other countries.

The Apple Developer Program annual fee is 99 USD and the Apple Developer Enterprise Program annual fee is 299 USD. To purchase the membership, you have to sign in to your Apple ID account on the developer website, complete the enrollment with the account, and then agree to the associated program license agreement.

After signing up for the Developer Program, eligible organizations can submit a fee waiver request with an enrollment ID, which will require EIN/tax ID, D-U-N-S number, legal entity status and legal binding authority. All waiver requests will be reviewed before being accepted. Apple notes that any party that receive the fee waiver, will have to resume paying fees if they subsequently offers paid App Store purchases.

Existing organizations can submit a fee waiver at any time before their membership expires, which allows them to waive the fee when the annual renewal comes. But no refund – full or partial – will be offered, says Apple.

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