In July 2023, we announced new verification requirements for anyone creating new Play Console developer accounts — to boost trust and transparency on Google Play, and to ensure that developers comply with the updated Play Console requirements policy.
We're now preparing to roll out these verification requirements to all existing Google Play developers, who created their Play Console account before these changes were announced. This article contains guidance on what you'll need to do, and when.
Timeline information
We anticipate the following timeline for rollout in Play Console. Note that this is subject to change; we will update this article to reflect most up-to-date information in the event of any changes.
| Date | Update |
| July 12, 2023 | We updated the Play Console requirements policy with new account verification requirements. All new developer accounts are required to complete these additional verifications before they can publish apps on Google Play. |
| November 8, 2023–February 29, 2024 | Existing developers who created their Play Console account before these new verification requirements were announced can choose their preferred deadline to complete account verification in Play Console. Go to the Choosing your verification deadline section to learn more about why we're allowing developers to choose their own deadline. |
|
April, 2024–February, 2025 |
Developers can complete verifications in Play Console 60 days before their individual deadline. Developers must complete account verifications before their chosen deadline to prevent their developer profile and apps being removed from Google Play. Go to the How you'll verify your developer account in Play Console section to learn more about the information that you'll need to provide when account verification is available in Play Console. |
Choosing your verification deadline in Play Console
We know that developers of different types and sizes have different priorities and timelines. We also know that it will take some developers longer to verify than others. With this in mind, we tested and refined our verification flows with developers with the aim of making them easier and understandable. We found that developers had a strong preference to choose their own deadline by which to complete account verification.
Starting in November 2023, developers that are required to complete verifications (most accounts created before September 2023) will be able to choose their preferred deadline to complete account verification in Play Console. Here's an illustrative example of how this may look:
Illustrative example of the verification deadline selection wizard in Play Console.
Choose your deadline early to guarantee a timeframe that works for you
Deadlines are available on a first come, first served basis, so choose your deadline early to guarantee a timeframe that works for you. If you don't choose a deadline before February 29, 2024, we'll assign a deadline for you automatically.
What are the benefits of verifying my developer account early?
Verified account information is shown on Google Play for developers who have verified their developer account. This helps users to learn more about you, builds trust, and gives them more confidence to download your apps and games. Learn more about the information that's displayed on Google Play.
Steps to choose your verification deadline
From November 8, 2023, you can take the following steps in Play Console to choose your preferred verification deadline:
- Open Play Console and go to the All apps page.
- You'll see a banner at the top of the page prompting you to choose your preferred account verification deadline now. Click Get started.
- Select a verification deadline. Note the following:
- If an option is disabled, that means it's no longer available.
- You can start account verification in Play Console 60 days before your chosen deadline.
- Click Next.
- Confirm your developer account type and enter any required information. Note the following:
- To help you prepare to verify and to ensure we can provide you with the most helpful information, you will be asked to confirm the type of your developer account as part of selecting your preferred deadline. This will be used to tailor the guidance we give you and the verifications you will later be required to complete. Learn about the two account types.
- If you plan to verify as an organization (business/company, government, academic institution, non-profit), then you will also be asked to share whether you have a D-U-N-S number or not, which is a requirement of verifying an organization account. Developers that do not have a D-U-N-S number are encouraged to apply for one at no cost from the official Dun and Bradstreet website. Learn more about D-U-N-S numbers, and how to get one.
- Click next.
- Review your chosen deadline, and confirm it by clicking Reserve.
Once you've reserved a verification deadline, the account owner and all account admins will receive a confirmation email. The email will also contain information about next steps, including how you can apply for a D-U-N-S number if you need one. If you're not sure whether a verification deadline has been chosen for your account, you can check the Activity log in Play Console.
You will be able to start account verification in Play Console 60 days before your chosen deadline. If you are unable to complete verifications by your chosen deadline, your developer profile and apps will be removed from Google Play.
How you'll verify your developer account in Play Console
When account verification is available in Play Console, you'll be required to provide certain information which helps us to verify your identity. The information you must provide differs between personal accounts and organization accounts.
Required information for verifying a personal developer account
When account verification is available in Play Console, you'll need to provide:
- Legal name (shown on Google Play)
- Legal address (country shown on Google Play)
- Contact email address (verified using one-time password)
- Preferred locale for email communications
- Contact phone number (verified using one-time password)
- Developer email address (shown on Google Play)
Additional information for personal developer accounts:
- Developer website (optional)
Required information for verifying an organization developer account
When account verification is available in Play Console, you'll need to provide:
- Legal name (shown on Google Play)
- Legal address (shown on Google Play)
- Contact email address (verified using one-time password)
- Preferred locale for email communications
- Contact phone number (verified using one-time password)
- Developer email address (verified using one-time password and shown on Google Play)
- Developer phone number (verified using one-time password and shown on Google Play)
Additional information for organizations:
- Organization type
- Company/business
- Non-profit
- Academic institution
- Government
- Organization size
- 1-10
- 11-50
- 51-100
- 101-1000
- Over 1k employees
- Organization phone number
- Organization website
Additional requirements for developers who earn money using Google Play's billing system
If you earn money on Google Play using Google Play's billing system, you'll also need to verify your merchant payment details. Developers with unverified bank accounts will have their developer presence and apps removed from Google Play. This is part of an ongoing effort to keep Google Play users safe. Learn more about managing your merchant account information and verifying your bank account.
Steps to verify your account
We will update this section with detailed steps for verification in Play Console soon.
In the meantime, you may find it helpful to prepare by learning about the verification requirements that were introduced for personal and organizational developer accounts. You can also learn more about the required information for new developers to create a Play Console developer account.