iOS Apple no longer taking DBA or ficticious business name to enroll in iPhone Dev Prgrm?

[christall109]

Hey guys,

I've decided to finally become an official iPhone developer member. I would rather enroll as a company than as an individual as many people have suggested. I've gone through the process assuming all they needed was a DBA or fictitous business name statement as many blogs and support documents have said that they will want one of those documents as proof of owning the company name.

However, I got the email to submit these documents and I submitted my ficitious business name statement. Then I got this response from Apple:

Hello Chris,

We are currently in the process of reviewing your iPhone Developer Program enrollment information.

We can confirm that we have received your business documentation, however we do not accept 'DBA' or Fictitious Trade Name documents as a form of identity for the iPhone Developer Program.

In order for your enrollment to be considered, we would require one of the following documents which can confirm your current company information.

- Articles of incorporation
- Business license
- Certificate of Formation
- Registration of trademark
- Charter documents
- Partnership papers
- Reseller or vendor license
- Operating Agreement

Please know that if you are unable to submit the requested documentation we would have to withdraw your company enrollment and you may wish to consider enrolling as an individual.

I hope you find this information useful. Please let us know if you have any further questions.

So what should I do now to be able to distribute names under my company name? I don't have any of those documents which I need. So I'm wondering which of the documents would be the easiest and cheepist to get.

I'm just an individual and the only member of my comany.

 

[gnasher729]

You want to enter a contract with Apple. And Apple insists on knowing who they are entering a contract with, which I think is entirely reasonable since you will learn things that are under NDA, for example, and because you would eventually be able to publish applications on the App Store which could do any kind of damage. So Apple wants to make sure that if you mess up (by posting information that is under NDA, or by using an application to steal information from Apple's iPhone customers), they can get you.

So either you need to enter with your real name and address, or start a real company with a real name and address.

 

[christall109]

You want to enter a contract with Apple. And Apple insists on knowing who they are entering a contract with, which I think is entirely reasonable since you will learn things that are under NDA, for example, and because you would eventually be able to publish applications on the App Store which could do any kind of damage. So Apple wants to make sure that if you mess up (by posting information that is under NDA, or by using an application to steal information from Apple's iPhone customers), they can get you.

So either you need to enter with your real name and address, or start a real company with a real name and address.

It is perfectly reasonable for them to do that. However, I don't understand why they don't accept a DBA or fictitious business name (which for the reasons you outlined above does in fact link my name to the company for liability). I've read many stories of Apple taking a DBA and FBNS before.

There are plenty of companies in the App Store that got enrolled under a fictitious business name or DBA. So why now am I being denied that?

EDIT: This appears to be new a new policy as I have seen NO websites documenting this change. This whole process is becoming very frustrating very quickly.

Even trying to understand and how to get the other documents (and the cost of those documents) is extremely frustrating. All the government websites are EXTREMELY inefficient.

 

[North Bronson]

I actually had this exact same problem. I tried registering a couple of days ago and was sent the same email you were.

A DBA is not a separate entity. Anytime you sign a contract on behalf of your DBA, you just sign as yourself. Apple would have to have your real address and name anyway, so I don't see why the contracts would be a problem.

Your only option might be to just enroll as an individual, and your set your iTunes company "display" name to your DBA name. That's my plan. It still says your name under "seller", that's too bad.

 

[elaydin]

That's odd. I registered with a DBA a couple of months ago.
Did you try emailing them?

Below is the letter I had gotten in October. It would be nice to know if this is an official policy change.

We are currently in the process of reviewing your iPhone Developer Program enrollment information.

Please fax one of the following forms of identity for your business based on your company form. To assist with this process, please ensure your business documents match your Enrollment information. The fax number for submission of this information is +1 (408) 974-1053.

PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR MAIN COMPANY CORPORATE TELEPHONE NUMBER WITH YOUR FAXED DOCUMENTS.

Articles of incorporation
Business license
Certificate of Formation
Fictitious name statement
Registration of trademark
Charter documents
Partnership papers
Reseller or vendor license

 

[run-kmc]

There are plenty of companies in the App Store that got enrolled under a fictitious business name or DBA. So why now am I being denied that?

Although their email is poorly worded, since they tell you how to register with a DBA or a fictitious business name (by submitting one of the listed documents), they will let you do so. The email is worded differently; it doesn't appear the requirements have changed. I would suggest you are not being denied. The suggestion at the end that you consider registering as an individual implies that there are other ways to register.

A business license is usually easy to get. If you are in the U.S., they are usually issued on the county or city level.