Publishing an Android app on Google Play from Nepal

You can publish an Android app on Google Play from Nepal. Google lets Nepal-based developers register, the fee is a one-time US$25, and the review process is the same as anywhere else. Two things catch Nepali businesses out. A new personal account must run a 14-day closed test with at least 12 testers before it can go live. And Nepal isn't a supported merchant location, so a Nepal payments profile can't sell paid apps or in-app digital purchases.

The first costs you two weeks if nobody planned for it. The second can break a business model, and it should be checked before a line of code is written.

Which Play Console account should a Nepali business open?

Play Console has two account types, personal and organisation, and the choice decides more than the name on the store listing.

An organisation account needs a D-U-N-S number, a nine-digit business identifier issued by Dun & Bradstreet. Google's account requirements page says applying for one is free. Google notes that many organisations already have one, and Dun & Bradstreet lets you look yours up. The organisation name and address must match your Google payments profile.

A personal account is quicker to open, but it's tied to one person, and since November 2023 it comes with the testing rule described below.

Our advice is simple. If the app belongs to a company, open the account in the company's name, as an organisation, and own it yourself. We say this as a team that publishes apps for clients. When a client asks us to publish under the EK Ra Sunya account to get started faster, we do it, and we transfer the app to the client's own account free whenever they ask. But the cleaner path is the client's own organisation account from day one. Store accounts sit on the ownership list we tell every buyer to check before price (more on that in our post on choosing a mobile app company in Nepal).

What is the 12-tester, 14-day rule?

Google's testing requirements apply to personal accounts created after 13 November 2023. Before such an account can release an app to production, it must run a closed test with at least 12 testers who have stayed opted in continuously for the previous 14 days. Then you apply for production access and answer questions about how the test went.

In practice this means:

• Recruit testers before the build is finished. Twelve real people with Android phones and Google accounts who will stay opted in for two weeks. Staff, friends and a few friendly customers usually cover it.
• Tell them not to leave the test. The 14 days have to be continuous. Someone who opts out on day 10 can break the count.
• Put two weeks in the plan. A launch date set without this test will slip by at least 14 days.

Google's page describes this rule for personal accounts. That's one more practical reason a business app should go out through an organisation account.

Can a Nepali business sell in-app purchases on Google Play?

Not through a Nepal payments profile today. Google's table of supported locations lists Nepal as supporting developer registration but not merchant registration (checked 2 November 2026). Without merchant registration you can publish free apps, but you can't charge for the app or sell through Google Play's billing system.

This matters because of Google Play's Payments policy. Apps that sell digital content or features inside the app, such as subscriptions, premium tiers, course access or in-app credits, are required to use Google Play's billing system unless a stated exception applies. The same policy says Play billing must not be used for physical goods and physical services: groceries, transport, food delivery, event tickets and similar.

So the line falls in a useful place for most Nepali businesses:

What the app sells	Through Google Play billing?	Works from a Nepal payments profile?
Nothing (free app, service portal, member app)	No payment involved	Yes
Physical goods or services (orders, bookings, deliveries, tickets)	No, the policy says not to	Yes, with your own payment gateway
Digital content or features (subscriptions, premium, credits)	Yes, required	No, Nepal has no merchant registration

If your plan is in the third row, settle how you'll take payment before you commission the app. It's a question about your business setup, not about code, and the answer can change the whole product. Take advice on the legal and tax side of any structure you consider. We can tell you what the app needs once that's settled.

What does the app itself need before submission?

Beyond the account, Google checks the build and the listing.

• An Android App Bundle, not an APK. New apps have had to publish as App Bundles since August 2021. Any current Flutter or React Native setup produces one.
• A current target API level. From 31 August 2026, new apps and app updates must target Android 16 (API level 36) or higher, with lower levels for Wear OS, TV, XR and Automotive. An app built a year ago and never touched may need work before its next update will be accepted.
• A privacy policy and a Data safety form. Every app on Google Play must complete the Data safety form, including apps that collect no data, and link a privacy policy. The form has to match what the app and its libraries actually collect. Analytics and crash-reporting SDKs count.
• A store listing that matches the app. Screenshots of the real app, a description that doesn't promise features the app lacks, and a content rating questionnaire answered honestly.

The target API rule is the one that surprises owners after launch. Google raises the level every year. An app nobody maintains slowly loses the right to ship updates, and if it falls far enough behind, it stops being shown to new users on newer phones. Budget for a yearly update even if the app is "finished". A quote that doesn't mention it is leaving something out (see how to read a software development quote).

How long does publishing take, start to finish?

For a business opening its first account, plan in this order:

1. D-U-N-S number (organisation accounts). Check whether you already have one. If not, request it early, because this is the step you don't control.
2. Play Console account and identity verification. Pay the US$25 fee with a card that works for international payments.
3. Closed test. Fourteen days minimum for new personal accounts, and worth doing on an organisation account anyway.
4. Production review. Google reviews the release before it goes live.

Only step 3 has a fixed length that Google publishes. The rest vary, so we don't promise a launch date until the account exists and is verified.

If you're still deciding whether you need an Android app at all, start with website, web app or mobile app: what to build first. Many first versions work better as a web app.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a company to publish on Google Play from Nepal?

No. An individual can open a personal account. A business app should still go out under the business's own organisation account, so the app stays with the company if people leave.

Can I publish a paid app from Nepal?

Not with a Nepal payments profile. Nepal isn't on Google's list of merchant-supported locations, so you can publish free apps only. Payments for physical goods and services can run through your own gateway inside the app, because Play billing doesn't apply to them.

Is the US$25 fee charged every year?

No. Google describes it as a one-time registration fee, and it isn't refunded. Apple's developer programme works differently, and we cover it separately.

Can an app be moved to another Play Console account later?

Yes. Play Console has a process for transferring an app to a different developer account, and the receiving account has to exist first. We transfer client apps published under our account free of charge on request.

Getting an app onto Google Play

Our mobile development team builds Flutter and React Native apps and takes them through the Play Console process, including the closed test. If you have an app in mind, or one stuck before production access, tell us where it stands.