App Store Expedited Review: How and When to Request It

What expedited review actually is

Every submission enters the same review queue by default. Expedited review is a request to move your build to the front of that queue. It doesn't change how Apple reviews your app — the same guidelines apply, and it can still be rejected — it only changes when the review starts.

When it's granted, review usually begins within a few hours and the result often comes back in under 24 hours, versus the typical 24–48 hour wait for standard review. (For what standard review timing looks like right now, see our breakdown of App Store review times.)

The important thing to understand up front: expedited review is a favor, not a feature. Apple grants it at its discretion, tracks how you use it, and can decline future requests if you overuse it. It exists for genuine emergencies, not for shipping a day sooner because you're impatient.

What Apple accepts as a valid reason

Apple's expedited review request form asks you to explain why your submission is time-sensitive. In practice, requests that get approved fall into a few categories:

• A critical bug affecting existing users. Your live app is crashing on launch, a payment flow is broken, or a recent OS update broke core functionality. This is the strongest case — you're fixing something that's actively hurting real users.
• A security or privacy issue. A vulnerability, a data-exposure bug, or anything with legal/compliance urgency.
• A time-sensitive event. Your app is tied to a dated event — a conference, a product launch, a holiday, a sports season — and missing the date makes the release far less valuable.
• A legal or regulatory deadline. A court order, a compliance requirement, or a contractual obligation with a hard date.

What generally does not qualify: "I want to launch sooner," "I'm nervous about the queue," "I already told users it's coming today," or a first-time submission with no live users and no external deadline. Those aren't emergencies, and framing them as one is what gets developers on Apple's radar.

How to submit the request

Expedited review is requested through a web form, not from inside App Store Connect:

1. Submit your build for review normally first. The app must already be in the queue (status "Waiting for Review") before you can expedite it — expediting doesn't submit anything, it just reprioritizes an existing submission.
2. Open Apple's Request an Expedited App Review form. Sign in with the Apple ID on the developer account.
3. Fill in the app details and your reason. Be specific and factual. "Version 2.4 fixes a crash on iOS 18.2 that affects all users on launch; current 1-star reviews reflect it" beats "please review my app quickly, it's important." Give Apple something it can verify and act on.
4. Submit and wait. You'll get an email confirming the request. If approved, review typically starts within hours.

You don't get a formal "approved/denied" toggle — you'll usually just notice review beginning quickly (approved) or the app sitting in the normal queue (not prioritized). Apple may also reply asking for more detail.

Realistic approval odds and turnaround

There's no published approval rate, but the pattern developers report is consistent: legitimate, specific, well-documented requests — especially critical bug fixes for live apps — are approved most of the time. Vague or clearly-not-urgent requests are quietly ignored or declined.

When granted, turnaround is fast. Review often starts within a couple of hours and completes well inside 24 hours. That said, expedited review only speeds up the start of review — if your build gets rejected, you're back to fixing and resubmitting (and you generally shouldn't expect a second expedite for the same issue).

Why you shouldn't cry wolf

Apple treats expedited review as a shared, limited resource. Every request you make is associated with your developer account, and the reviewers can see your history. Developers who expedite routine releases — or dress up non-emergencies as emergencies — tend to find later requests declined, including ones that are genuinely urgent.

The practical guidance: budget yourself to a couple of expedited requests a year, reserved for real emergencies. If you're reaching for it on most releases, the actual problem is usually somewhere else — you're submitting too late, or your listing isn't ready when your build is.

The better fix: don't need it in the first place

Most of the time developers scramble for an expedite because something in the listing wasn't ready when the deadline arrived — not because the binary was late. Screenshots are the classic culprit: the build is done, but nobody's made a proper set of App Store screenshots, so the whole submission stalls at the last moment.

That's an avoidable trap. Screenshots are the fastest part of a listing to finish if you're not fighting a design tool. With ezscreenshots you drop your raw captures, pick a preset for each required device size, add captions, and export the full set in a few minutes — no account, no export cap, all in the browser. Getting them done a day before you submit means you enter the normal queue with time to spare, and the expedite form stays where it belongs: unused.

If you're pulling together a full submission under time pressure, our step-by-step App Store submission checklist lays out everything Apple needs so nothing surprises you at the deadline. And if your goal is simply to submit earlier next time, the app launch strategy guide covers building in the buffer that makes expedited review unnecessary.

Summary

• What it is: a request to move an already-submitted build to the front of the review queue — same review, earlier start
• Valid reasons: critical bug affecting live users, security/privacy issue, time-sensitive event, legal/regulatory deadline
• Not valid: "I want to launch sooner," general impatience, or a first submission with no users and no external deadline
• How: submit for review normally, then use Apple's expedited review request form with a specific, verifiable reason
• Turnaround: when granted, review usually starts within hours and finishes inside 24 hours
• Use sparingly: Apple tracks usage and can decline future requests from accounts that overuse it — reserve it for real emergencies
• Best strategy: get the listing (especially screenshots) done early so you rarely need to expedite at all