Google Play launch checklist: what Play Console requires before a new app goes live

1 Developer account

• Register a Play Console developer account and pay the one-time US$25 fee by credit or debit card.

  Google charges the fee once per account and does not accept prepaid cards.

  Official source

• If a company publishes the app, open an organisation account and get the company's free D-U-N-S number first.

  Google will not create an organisation account without a D-U-N-S number and grants no extensions. It also advises organisation accounts for financial, health, VPN and government apps.

  Official source

• Complete developer identity verification before the first submission.

  You cannot submit apps until the account is verified; personal accounts verify a legal name and address with an official government identity document.

  Official source

• On a new personal account, verify a real Android phone through the Play Console app.

  Google requires it before an app can be made available: any non-rooted physical device running Android 10 or later.

  Official source

• Check that the app's package name is registered for Android developer verification in Play Console.

  From 30 September 2026, installs from participating stores in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand on certified devices need registered apps, with global expansion in 2027. Google says Play registers 99% of apps automatically, so check rather than assume.

  Official source

2 The release build

• Target Android 16 (API level 36) or higher.

  Required for new apps and updates since 31 August 2026, with extensions available to 1 November 2026. Wear OS and Android Automotive apps need API 35; Android TV and XR need API 34. Google's blog says API 37 becomes mandatory in August 2027.

  Official source

• Upload an Android App Bundle (.aab), not an APK.

  New apps have had to publish as App Bundles since August 2021.

  Official source

• Enrol in Play App Signing and store your upload key and its passwords where your company controls them.

  Play App Signing is required to distribute through Google Play for apps created after August 2021; Google holds the app signing key and you sign each upload with your own upload key.

  Official source

• If the app ships native libraries (.so files, including inside SDKs and React Native itself), confirm they support 16 KB memory page sizes.

  Google requires 16 KB support for apps targeting Android 15 and higher on 64-bit devices, and says updates without it cannot be released from 1 February 2027. Apps written only in Java or Kotlin already comply.

  Official source

• Use the system photo picker unless broad photo or video access is the app's core function.

  Apps targeting Android 13 or higher may request READ_MEDIA_IMAGES or READ_MEDIA_VIDEO only when system pickers are not enough for core functionality, and must then file a Play Console declaration.

  Official source

• Declare every foreground service type the app uses, with a video for each.

  Required when an app targets Android 14 or above.

  Official source

• Sell digital subscriptions and unlocks through Google Play's billing system; take payment for physical goods and services through your own gateway.

  Play's Payments policy requires its billing system for in-app purchases of digital content and says it must not be used for physical goods or services, with transport and food delivery among the examples.

  Official source

• Before uploading, confirm the build points at the production API and is signed with the right certificate, and record its version, commit and checksum.

  A build that says BUILD SUCCESSFUL can still carry a cached bundle pointing at a development machine. A release record lets you prove what was shipped.

3 App content declarations

• Link a privacy policy in Play Console and inside the app.

  Every app needs one, whether or not it collects data, and the data safety form cannot be completed without it.

  Official source

• Complete the data safety form, including data collected by third-party SDKs.

  Required for every app on any testing or production track, even one that collects no user data.

  Official source

• If users can create an account, offer deletion of the account and its data inside the app and through a web link entered in Play Console.

  The web page must name the app or developer as on the store listing and work without sending the user back to the app. Deactivating or freezing an account does not count as deletion.

  Official source

• Answer the content rating questionnaire.

  Every new app needs an IARC rating, and Google removes apps without one.

  Official source

• Declare the target age group, and whether the app contains ads, including ads from third-party SDKs.

  Both are required for new apps and updates; an app that includes children must meet the Families policy.

  Official source

• Complete the financial features declaration, even if the app has no financial features.

  Google requires the form from every app on a testing or production track, with an option for apps that offer none.

  Official source

• Complete the health apps declaration, even if the app has no health features.

  Google has required an accurate health apps declaration from every published app since 31 August 2024.

  Official source

• Answer the remaining App content questions: government apps, news apps and any permission declarations the app triggers.

  They sit on the same App content page and block publishing until answered.

  Official source

4 Testing, review and listing

• If the app is on a personal account created after 13 November 2023, run a closed test with at least 12 testers opted in for 14 days in a row, then apply for production.

  Production access stays locked until then. Google says it usually reviews the application within seven days. The page names only personal accounts and does not say the rule applies to organisation accounts.

  Official source

• Give reviewers working access: an active demo account and anything else needed to reach gated parts of the app.

  Required whenever any part of the app sits behind a login, membership or location.

  Official source

• Break-test the release build on a current Android version before submitting: back gestures, killing the app mid-flow, double taps, airplane mode and a stopped server.

  Store reviewers and first users find these failures in minutes; a crash or a stuck screen in review costs days.

• Prepare the store listing graphics: a 512×512 icon, a 1024×500 feature graphic and at least two screenshots.

  Play will not publish a store listing without them.

  Official source

• Leave time for review in the launch plan.

  Google says some apps get extended reviews of up to 7 days, or longer in exceptional cases.

  Official source

What did these checks catch in our own builds?

Questions about this checklist