Developer Action Required, sometimes shown as Missing Metadata, on an App Store in-app purchase or subscription means the product is not yet Ready to Submit because some required information is missing, and you cannot submit or fully test it until you complete it. Three gaps cause almost all of these: an incomplete or expired Paid Applications agreement, along with tax and banking details; a missing review screenshot showing the purchase inside your app; and missing localized metadata, the display name and description, which for subscriptions includes the subscription group's own localization. Fill in whichever applies and the product moves to Ready to Submit, at which point you can submit it with your app and test it in the sandbox.
Short answer
This status is a checklist telling you the product is not finished being set up, not a rejection. Per Apple's in-app purchase statuses reference, a red status indicator means you must perform an action before the product can be made available, and Ready to Submit is the state you are aiming for. Per Apple's set-up guidance, each in-app purchase needs its metadata, including a review screenshot and localized text. So complete the missing metadata, confirm your Paid Applications agreement is active, and the product becomes Ready to Submit.
What the status means
In-app purchases and subscriptions have their own statuses in App Store Connect, and Developer Action Required, or Missing Metadata, means the product is incomplete rather than approved or rejected. A red status indicator is Apple flagging that something you control is not filled in, and until you address it the product cannot be made available or submitted. Ready to Submit is the target state, which means everything required is present and the product can go to review with your app.
This is a product-setup status, not an App Review message, so it is different from a Developer Response Required note in the Resolution Center about your app. Here, nothing has been reviewed and rejected; the product simply has not been finished. That distinction matters because the fix is to complete the product's own information in App Store Connect rather than to reply to a reviewer, and the next sections cover the specific pieces that are usually missing.
Cause: the Paid Applications agreement, tax, or banking
The first thing to check is your Paid Applications agreement, because you cannot sell or fully set up in-app purchases without it being active, and an expired or pending agreement blocks your products. In Business, or Agreements, confirm that the Paid Applications agreement is signed and active and that your tax forms and banking details are complete, since Apple periodically updates these agreements and an outstanding update pauses your ability to sell.
So if your in-app purchases show Developer Action Required and the metadata looks complete, an agreement is a likely culprit. This is easy to miss because it lives at the account level rather than on the product, so a single lapsed agreement can leave every in-app purchase stuck. Sign any pending agreement, complete the tax and banking information, and that account-level blocker is cleared, which often resolves products that otherwise appear fully configured.
Cause: the missing review screenshot
Each in-app purchase requires a review screenshot, an image showing the purchase within your app, and a missing one is one of the most common reasons a product sits in Missing Metadata. Apple uses this screenshot to review the product, so it is required for the product to be Ready to Submit, and it is easy to overlook because it is separate from your app's own screenshots. You add it under the product's Review Information.
So open the in-app purchase and confirm a review screenshot is attached, along with any review notes. The screenshot should depict where and how the purchase appears in your app, and once it is present the product loses that particular missing-metadata flag. If you are still building the purchase UI, a representative screenshot of the intended screen is what Apple expects, since the point is to show the reviewer the context of the product.
Cause: missing localized display name and description
Every in-app purchase needs localized metadata, a display name and a description, and missing this leaves the product incomplete. For subscriptions specifically, there is a subtle trap: the subscription group itself needs a localized display name, and if that group localization is missing, every subscription inside the group stays in Missing Metadata even when the individual plans look complete. So the fix for a stuck subscription is often at the group level, not the plan level.
To resolve it, open the product and complete its localization, adding at least one language with a display name and description, and for subscriptions open the subscription group and add a localization there as well. Once each product has its localized text and the group is localized, that source of missing metadata is cleared. This group-level localization is the single most overlooked cause of subscriptions that will not leave Developer Action Required.
Why you cannot test it yet
The reason this status is urgent is that an in-app purchase which is not at least Ready to Submit is not set up enough to sell or to test properly, so monetization is blocked until you clear it. Sandbox testing relies on the product being configured, so a product stuck in Missing Metadata may not behave as expected in testing, and it certainly cannot be submitted to users. Completing the metadata is what makes the product both testable and submittable.
So treat Developer Action Required as the gate between a half-configured product and a working one. Once the agreement is active, the review screenshot is attached, and the localized metadata and group localization are in place, the product reaches Ready to Submit, and from there it can be tested in the sandbox and submitted with your app. Until then, testing problems and submission blocks are expected, because the product is not finished.
Submitting the first in-app purchase with a version
One structural point catches people even after the metadata is complete: your first in-app purchase generally has to be submitted together with a new app version rather than on its own. So a product can be Ready to Submit and still not go live until you attach it to an app version and submit them together, after which later in-app purchase changes can often be submitted separately.
So if your product is Ready to Submit but not yet available, check that you have included it with an app version submission. This pairing is why a brand-new subscription can be fully configured and still require an app update to actually launch. Plan the first monetization release around an app version, and the product goes to review alongside it rather than waiting indefinitely for a separate submission that App Store Connect is not expecting.
Causes and fixes at a glance
Matching the missing piece to its fix clears the status. The table below maps the common ones.
| Cause | Where it lives | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Paid Apps agreement expired | Business or Agreements | Sign it; complete tax and banking |
| Missing review screenshot | Product Review Information | Add a screenshot of the purchase |
| Missing product localization | The in-app purchase | Add a display name and description |
| Missing group localization | The subscription group | Localize the group, not just the plan |
| Not submitted with a version | App version submission | Submit the first product with a version |
Read the group-localization row carefully for subscriptions, since a localized plan can still be stuck when the group is not localized.
Fix checklist
Working through these steps clears Developer Action Required. The checklist below covers them.
| Step | Action | Done? |
|---|---|---|
| Check agreements | Confirm Paid Applications is active | [ ] |
| Complete tax and banking | Fill in the payment details | [ ] |
| Add the review screenshot | Attach it under Review Information | [ ] |
| Localize the product | Add a display name and description | [ ] |
| Localize the group | For subscriptions, localize the group | [ ] |
| Submit with a version | Include the first product with an app version | [ ] |
The step teams skip most is localizing the subscription group, since a stuck subscription is frequently missing the group localization rather than anything on the plan itself.
Where a scan fits
Clearing this status is an App Store Connect setup task, so a security tool has no role in it, but the app that will host these purchases is worth checking before it ships.
A scanner like PTKD.com analyzes your app build for security issues such as exposed keys, over-broad permissions, and risky third-party code, mapped to OWASP MASVS. To be clear about the boundary: PTKD does not configure your in-app purchases or agreements, which are your App Store Connect setup. It reviews the build that offers those purchases, so a monetization release is a natural moment to confirm the app around them is secure, while the product setup stays an App Store Connect operation.
What to take away
- Developer Action Required, or Missing Metadata, means an in-app purchase or subscription is not yet Ready to Submit because required information is missing, not that it was rejected.
- Check that your Paid Applications agreement is active and your tax and banking are complete, since an account-level agreement lapse blocks every product.
- Add the required review screenshot showing the purchase in your app, which is separate from your app's screenshots and often missing.
- Complete the localized display name and description, and for subscriptions localize the subscription group, which is the most overlooked cause.
- Submit the first in-app purchase together with an app version, and use a tool like PTKD.com to scan the app that hosts the purchases.
