Hi Apple Developer Team / Community,
I am seeking guidance regarding a difficult distribution issue for our company’s internal iOS application.
Our app, FORTIS HRM, is an internal Human Resource Management application used exclusively by employees of FORTIS GARMENTS LTD. It handles attendance, leave requests, approvals, employee directory access, and other HR-related operations. The app is not intended for general public use.
Background
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We initially submitted the app as a public app on the App Store.
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The app was rejected by App Review for public distribution, since it is intended only for internal employee use and is not suitable for general public users.
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Based on that, we switched to Apple Business Manager (ABM) / Custom App distribution as a more appropriate solution.
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The app was reviewed and approved under the custom app distribution path and marked ready for distribution.
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Unfortunately, our Apple Business Manager enrollment failed repeatedly due to organization verification issues, and our organization was eventually removed from ABM.
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Since ABM became unavailable, we applied for Unlisted App Distribution.
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Apple Developer Support informed us that custom apps cannot be converted to unlisted distribution and instructed us to create a new public app record and submit a new unlisted request using a new Apple ID.
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Following that guidance, we created a new public app record:
- App Name: FORTIS HRM
- Apple ID: 6785417374
- We have submitted a new unlisted app distribution request and are currently waiting for review.
Current Issue
We feel stuck between all available distribution methods:
- Public distribution → rejected because app is internal-only
- ABM / Custom App → blocked due to organization verification failure
- Unlisted distribution → currently under review
This has created a situation where no clear distribution path is available for our employee-only app.
Request for Guidance
We would appreciate guidance on the following:
- Has anyone experienced repeated ABM verification failures, and how was it resolved?
- Is there any recommended path for internal business apps when ABM is unavailable?
- Is there any way to ensure the App Review team understands the full context of this case?
Request to App Review Team
We respectfully request attention from the App Review team.
This application has already been reviewed multiple times under different distribution paths. The app’s functionality remains essentially the same; only the distribution method has changed due to Apple’s requirements.
This app was previously reviewed and approved by Apple under the custom app distribution path and marked ready for distribution. Since the core functionality remains unchanged, we kindly request consideration of this prior review history during the current review process.
We would greatly appreciate any assistance in completing this review as efficiently as possible.
Thank you for your time and support.