Certification

1. What is certification?

Certification is the process of testing your application for compliance with the policies and requirements specified in Windows Phone Application Certification Requirements. All applications must comply with the policies and requirements before they are eligible to be published in Windows Phone Marketplace.

2. Do I need to code sign my application before submitting it to App Hub?

No, you are not required to code sign applications in order to submit them to App Hub for certification testing. When your application passes Certification, it will be code signed for you.

3. What is a technical exception?

You can request a technical exception if your application needs a waiver of a test case or test cases. Submitting a technical exception will add several days to the certification approval process. Exception requests aren't guaranteed to be approved, and should only be used in very rare circumstances. If you require a technical exception, download the Technical Exception Request form. Fill in the fields on the form and upload it with your app submission on the upload page.

4. How do I file a technical exception?

Step	Additional Notes
1. Download the Technical Exception Request form.
2. Fill in all fields in the Application Submission Information section.	The Technical Exception Request Approval ID field is optional. Only fill this field in if you already have an approval ID. The Windows Phone 7 Application Certification Requirements Version Number field is optional. It is a legacy field that is not used in conjunction with the current certification requirements.
3. Fill in the Technical Exception Request Details sections.	You can fill in a maximum of 7 sections, which are included in the form. For Test Case Number, and Test Case Name, use the corresponding information in the Application Certification Requirements for Windows Phone. For Justification, fill in the reason why your application needs an exception. For example, if your application requires third-party hardware, as described in requirement 5.1.4 in Technical Certification Requirements, you would describe your application's functionality and describe the third-party device.

5. Once my app is submitted for Certification, can I cancel or change it?

No. Once the app has been submitted, it is sent to the testing queue. Once Testing is completed, you may make changes and resubmit it for an update, if necessary.

6. What happens if my app fails the certification testing?

A Test Summary Report will be provided that lists the associated tests and/or policy rules that failed testing. Additionally, steps to reproduce the failure are provided. You can ask questions regarding the failures in the App Hub forums or for further clarification, submit a Support e-Form from the Windows Phone Dashboard of your account.

When your app has completed Certification, the status of your app will be updated in the Windows Phone Dashboard of your account.

7. Will I get a test report if I pass certification?

Test Summary Reports are most often provided only when an application fails certification testing. In some limited cases, a test summary report may be provided for passing applications. In these cases, it is to give additional information regarding issues discovered during the testing that were potential issues. The goal is to provide more transparency to help reduce the number of times an application needs to be submitted to pass certification and ensure a high quality standard.

8. Where can I find the Application Provider Agreement and Terms of Use?

Windows Phone Marketplace Terms of Use.

The Application Provider Agreement.

9. Where can I find the Testing Requirements for Certification?

Read the Application Certification Requirements for Windows Phone.

10. If I need to make a change to my app, does it have to go through Certification again?

It depends.

If you want to change only the price of your app, then you do not need to resubmit it for Certification. The price change will be applicable to all new purchases only.

If the change you want to make impacts only the metadata, then you can submit it for a metadata-only update. This will require a reduced Certification review to ensure that the changes do not conflict with the Windows Phone Marketplace Content and Policies, found here.

For binary changes to your app, you will need to resubmit it for Certification. This is to ensure that the updated functionality changes meet the content policy guidelines and works as designed.

Note:
To change an app from Paid to Free requires a submission for Certification and will use a submission credit from the account.

11. What do the different app statuses mean?

Status	Windows Phone OS 7.0 submission	Windows Phone OS 7.1 submission	Beta submission	Metadata submission	Description
Submission started					App submission was started but has not been completed. Apps are not sent for testing until this step is completed.
Package verified				Not applicable	The XAP file has been tested to ensure that it is properly formatted, and that it contains the information needed for certification and publication.
Submission complete					All information for the submission has been successfully received.
Certified			Not applicable		Application has successfully passed through testing. The app is ready to be made available to users. Note: If your application fails to meet the certification requirements, its status will change to Certification failed. In that case, Microsoft will send you an email about steps you can take to pass certification.
Signed and encrypted				Not applicable	The app will be code signed to make sure it’s a secure and trusted package.
Ready to publish			Not applicable	Not applicable	If the developer has opted to publish the app manually, the app will have a status of ready to publish. It is ready for the developer to choose a publication method.
Published					The app has been made available in Windows Phone Marketplace. Note: It may take up to 24 hours for the app to show up in the catalog.
Completed	Not applicable	Not applicable		Not applicable	The beta period for the app is over.

12. How long does Certification usually take?

Certification takes an average of five business days. If it has been longer than seven days since you submitted your app for Certification, contact support using the online form found on the Windows Phone Dashboard. You must log on to your account on App Hub to access this form.

13. What should I do if certification is taking more than seven days?

If it has been longer than seven days since you submitted your app for Certification, contact support using the online form found on the Windows Phone Dashboard. You must be log on to your account on App Hub to access this form.