Guide

Leaving the Enterprise Program

Apple says in-house apps keep running for 90 days after expiry, and nothing carries over. Here is how to move them in time.

Updated

What Apple’s notice means

Last checked: 21 October 2026, against the Apple pages listed under Primary sources at the end of this guide.

Apple says the Apple Developer Enterprise Program is for “specific use cases that require private distribution directly to employees”. Its eligibility rules start with “Have 100 or more employees.”, and members must pass Apple’s “verification interview and continuous evaluation process”. As the membership expiration date approaches, Apple asks the Account Holder for details about the organisation, its software and how it distributes it.

If your organisation is no longer eligible, or the programme no longer suits you, Apple points you to the standard Apple Developer Program, which lets you keep distributing your apps privately.

The clock matters. If the membership ends, Apple says your software “will continue to run for 90 days after expiration”. Treat that date as the deadline for the whole move.

What cannot move

Apple says there are “no migration paths for the app binary, app identifiers, app entitlements, or app sandbox data” when an app moves from the Enterprise Program to the Apple Developer Program. In practice:

  • A new build: the app is rebuilt, republished and redeployed as a new custom app.
  • A new bundle identifier: Apple says the same identifier “can’t be used in two different developer programs”.
  • Entitlements requested again: entitlements such as critical alerts belong to the developer account, so you ask for them again as an Apple Developer Program member.
  • A fresh start for staff: Apple says people experience it as a new app installation, so they sign in, set up and download local app data again.
  • A different Apple Account: you enrol in the Apple Developer Program with a different Apple Account from the one your Enterprise Program membership uses.

Choose the new route

For most companies, the new route is a custom app. Apple describes one as “an app you’ve created for a specific organization”, including an app for your own organisation’s internal use. You name the organisations that may see it, and once Apple approves it, it appears in the Custom Apps section of their Apple Business account.

A custom app goes through App Review before the organisation can see it. Apple says “Most apps are reviewed within 24 to 48 hours.”

From Apple Business, Apple says organisations can “distribute it through Mobile Device Management or redemption codes”. Redemption codes are Apple’s route, handled in Apple Business. This guide follows the managed route, where the app installs on your enrolled company devices.

If your organisation is still eligible and the programme fits the app, staying in it is an option. The plan below is for apps that have to move. For every other Apple route, see the enterprise iOS app distribution guide.

A 90-day plan, week by week

Start as soon as you know the membership will end, and leave room for a second App Review submission.

  • Weeks 1 to 2: list every in-house app, who uses it and which devices it runs on. Enrol in the Apple Developer Program with a different Apple Account. If your organisation does not use Apple Business yet, sign up now: Apple says verifying a new organisation “can take up to five working days”.
  • Weeks 3 to 6: give each app a new bundle identifier, request its entitlements again, rebuild it, and submit it to App Review as a custom app for your own organisation.
  • Weeks 6 to 8: when Apple approves the app, find it in the Custom Apps section of Apple Business and get licences for the devices that need it. Connect Apps and Books to Vamiq, and the app appears in your catalogue.
  • Weeks 8 to 10: assign the new app to a first group of enrolled company iPhones and iPads, check the status of each install, then add the other groups. The person may be asked to accept.
  • Weeks 10 to 12: remove the old in-house app from managed devices, and remind staff to sign in to the new app before the 90 days are up.

How Vamiq helps

Vamiq keeps the move in one workspace. Connect Apps and Books, and your new custom app syncs in with its licences. Assign it by group and it installs on enrolled company iPhones and iPads; the person may be asked to accept. You see the status of each install.

If Vamiq installed the old in-house app, unassign it and it is removed from managed devices, so nobody keeps opening the version that is about to stop.

With Distribution, or during the 14-day trial, your branded app store lists the new app under your logo, so people can see which version to use.

Devices that are not enrolled are outside this route. Apple’s option for them is redemption codes, which you manage in Apple Business. See how apps reach enrolled devices.

Frequently asked questions

Can we keep the same app?
Not as the same app. Apple says there are no migration paths for the app binary, identifiers, entitlements or sandbox data, so the app is rebuilt and published as a new custom app with a new bundle identifier.
Will people’s data in the app move across?
Not on the device. Apple says people experience the new app as a new installation: they sign in, set it up and download local app data again. Tell staff before the switch.
How long does App Review take?
Apple says most apps are reviewed within 24 to 48 hours. Leave time for questions from App Review and for a second submission if one is needed.
Do we need Vamiq to make this move?
No. The move needs an Apple Developer Program membership and Apple Business. Vamiq helps after approval: it syncs the new app, installs it on enrolled company iPhones and iPads, shows the status of each install and removes old apps it installed from managed devices.

Primary sources

Moving off the Enterprise Program

Talk the move through with us.

Bring your list of in-house apps, and we’ll go through the new route for each one and what your devices need. Or start free: up to 5 devices are free, with no card.

Book a demo · Start free