An app status in App Store Connect says where a version is in the review and release process. Apple colors it: red means you must act before the app can be distributed, yellow means a process (yours or Apple's) is still running, green means Ready for Distribution. The statuses you will meet most are Prepare for Submission, Waiting for Review, In Review, Pending Developer Release and Ready for Distribution; the ones that need you are Invalid Binary, Rejected, Metadata Rejected and Developer Rejected. If you read statuses from code, the App Store Connect API has an appVersionState attribute on an App Store version, and the older appStoreState is typed with a deprecated list; both are mapped below.
Two other posts go deeper on neighbouring topics, so this page does not repeat them: what to do while an app sits in Waiting for Review (review times, expedited review, contacting App Review) and build statuses such as Processing and Missing Compliance. A build status and an app status are different things, and mixing them up is the most common confusion.
App statuses
These are the statuses on Apple's help page "App and submission statuses", in the order Apple lists them. A status Apple marks as editable lets you change the version's metadata.
| Status | What it means | What you can do next |
|---|---|---|
| Prepare for Submission | You created the app record and are still filling in information. | Finish the metadata, choose a build, submit. |
| Ready for Review | All required metadata is entered and you said you intend to submit, but have not submitted. You can submit the app alone or with items such as In-App Events or custom product pages. | Submit. Images and videos are not editable in this state. |
| Invalid Binary | You submitted, but the build does not meet the current binary requirements. | Upload a new build, or select one that meets all current requirements. |
| Waiting for Review | Apple received your submission and has not started. | Edit certain app information or remove the build from review. You cannot upload or edit screenshots or app previews. |
| In Review | App Review is reviewing the app. | You can remove the build from review. |
| Accepted | This item was accepted, but one or more items in the submission were rejected. | The app only publishes when all items are accepted: fix the rejected items and resubmit, or remove them to go ahead with the rest. |
| Waiting for Export Compliance | Your CCATS file is in Apple's export compliance review. | Wait for that review. |
| Pending Developer Release | The app was accepted, but you still have to release it. | Release it in App Store Connect. |
| Processing for Distribution | The app is processing and will be ready within 24 hours. | Wait. |
| Pending Apple Release | Apple is holding the version until the matching Apple operating system version is public. | If it should ship on current OS versions, check the deployment target of the build. If you rebuild with a different one, reject the build for this version and submit the new version. |
| Pending App Transfer | The transferor started an app transfer and the recipient has not accepted. Either side can cancel. | Only price changes are possible until it is settled. |
| Processing App Transfer | The recipient accepted the transfer. | You cannot cancel or change the app until the transfer finishes. |
| Ready for Distribution | Accepted and ready. | Your agreements must be in effect; the Account Holder can accept the latest ones in the Business section. |
| Rejected | The app was not accepted. App Review sends the issues to users with the Admin, App Manager or Developer role. | Read the message in App Review, then reply or fix. |
| Metadata Rejected | App Review did not accept your metadata. | Read the message, edit the metadata and reply to App Review. |
| Developer Rejected | You removed the app from review. | When you are ready, resubmit the build or submit a new one. |
Apple's page also describes webhooks: you can have App Store Connect notify your web server whenever an app's status changes, instead of polling.
Some names people expect are not on the page today: Ready for Sale, Removed from Sale, Developer Removed from Sale and Replaced with New Version. They show up as values in the App Store Connect API (next section), but Apple's status page gives no description for them, so we do not guess what they mean.
Submission and item statuses
Since you can send an app version together with other things, App Store Connect also shows a status for the submission and for each item in it. Once every item is accepted, the submission moves from In Progress to Completed on the App Review page.
- Submission statuses: Waiting for Review, In Review (you can cancel the submission to remove it), Processing (you removed it and the action is being processed), Unresolved Issues (App Review rejected one or more items) and Rejected (for an app bundle or a TestFlight submission; for TestFlight you must submit a new build before inviting external testers).
- Item statuses: Ready for Review (added to a submission, not sent yet), Waiting for Review, In Review, Accepted (but another item was rejected, and all items must be accepted before any can be published) and Rejected (edit and resubmit the item, or take it out of the submission).
Statuses per country or region
Separately, the App Store status says whether the app can be downloaded in one country or region. Red means it is not available there, yellow means it needs action from you or is processing, green means available. Apple lists these:
| Status | Plain meaning |
|---|---|
| Available | Live in this country or region. |
| Available on App Release | Will go live after your scheduled date or manual release; only shown if the app never released anywhere. |
| Pre-Order Pending Developer Release | A pre-order that goes live after you release a version. |
| Pre-Order (Scheduled Release [date]) | Pre-order is live; release on the date shown. |
| Processing to Available / Not Available / Pre-Order | Changing within 24 hours; contact Apple if it takes longer. |
| Not Available | You chose not to distribute there. |
| Missing App Rating | No age rating set. |
| Missing Tax Form | Brazilian tax information not submitted. |
| Missing Game registration number | China mainland approval number and documents missing. |
| ICP Filing Number Missing / Invalid | China mainland ICP number missing, or it does not match what you filed with MIIT. |
| Cannot Sell App | Not available; hold the pointer over the status to see why, or contact Apple. |
The same states in the App Store Connect API
An App Store version (appStoreVersions) has two state attributes. appVersionState uses the type AppVersionState. appStoreState uses AppStoreVersionState, which Apple's documentation marks as deprecated. Apple's pages list only the names, with no per-value descriptions, so the table matches them to the help page by name. Two pairs are matched by closest name only, and the table says so.
| App Store Connect status | appVersionState | Deprecated appStoreState |
|---|---|---|
| Prepare for Submission | PREPARE_FOR_SUBMISSION | PREPARE_FOR_SUBMISSION |
| Ready for Review | READY_FOR_REVIEW | READY_FOR_REVIEW |
| Invalid Binary | INVALID_BINARY | INVALID_BINARY |
| Waiting for Review | WAITING_FOR_REVIEW | WAITING_FOR_REVIEW |
| In Review | IN_REVIEW | IN_REVIEW |
| Accepted | ACCEPTED | ACCEPTED |
| Waiting for Export Compliance | WAITING_FOR_EXPORT_COMPLIANCE | WAITING_FOR_EXPORT_COMPLIANCE |
| Pending Developer Release | PENDING_DEVELOPER_RELEASE | PENDING_DEVELOPER_RELEASE |
| Pending Apple Release | PENDING_APPLE_RELEASE | PENDING_APPLE_RELEASE |
| Processing for Distribution | PROCESSING_FOR_DISTRIBUTION | PROCESSING_FOR_APP_STORE (closest name) |
| Ready for Distribution | READY_FOR_DISTRIBUTION | READY_FOR_SALE (closest name) |
| Rejected | REJECTED | REJECTED |
| Metadata Rejected | METADATA_REJECTED | METADATA_REJECTED |
| Developer Rejected | DEVELOPER_REJECTED | DEVELOPER_REJECTED |
| Pending App Transfer, Processing App Transfer | no value | no value |
| not on the help page | REPLACED_WITH_NEW_VERSION | REPLACED_WITH_NEW_VERSION |
The deprecated list also has values the new one does not: DEVELOPER_REMOVED_FROM_SALE, PENDING_CONTRACT, PREORDER_READY_FOR_SALE, REMOVED_FROM_SALE and NOT_APPLICABLE. If your code still switches on appStoreState, plan to move to appVersionState and handle the new names, and keep an unknown-value branch either way; Apple has changed these lists before and may again.
You can read the state with a normal request, for example GET /v1/apps/{id}/appStoreVersions?fields[appStoreVersions]=versionString,platform,appVersionState. The same endpoint also takes filter[appVersionState]. Sign the request with a token from our App Store Connect JWT generator. We have not sent that request to Apple from this page, because it needs a live key; the field and endpoint names come from Apple's documentation.
Which status is the one to worry about
- A red status (Invalid Binary, Rejected, Metadata Rejected, Developer Rejected): you have something to do, and the message in App Review tells you what.
- Waiting for Review or In Review for a long time: that is the review queue, not an error; see the Waiting for Review guide.
- Pending Apple Release: not the queue either; it usually comes down to the deployment target.
- Pending Developer Release or Ready for Distribution but nobody can download it: check the release option you chose, your agreements, and the per-country statuses above.
- Processing for Distribution: Apple says it will be ready within 24 hours.
- The build is missing or stuck before you ever reach these statuses: that is a build status, covered in build processing states.
Sources
All read on 1 November 2026.
- App and submission statuses, App Store Connect Help (app, submission, item and App Store availability statuses)
- AppVersionState and AppStoreVersionState, App Store Connect API
- AppStoreVersion and its attributes, App Store Connect API
- List all App Store versions for an app, App Store Connect API
- Generating Tokens for API Requests
Apple's pages and API values change; check the pages above for current details.