Get apps and books in Apple Business
You can get free apps and licenses for paid apps and books through Apps and Books, and use Apple Business to distribute apps to devices or users. You can also get licenses for Custom Apps and Unlisted apps, which are tailored to your organization’s specific needs from developers you work with directly. You can get up to 1,000 licenses for paid apps and assign up to 100 apps per Blueprint.
Note: You need to set up your payment method before you can obtain app licenses, even if they’re free.
Get free apps and books
In Apple Business, sign in with a user whose role has permissions to get licenses for apps and books.
To view roles and permissions, see Intro to roles and permissions.
In your browser, choose Apps & Services > Apps and Books > App Store.
Select Apps and Books in the sidebar, then select one of the following:
App Store
Books
Custom Apps
Search for an app or book in the search field. See How to search.
Select the app or book in the search results list that you want to get.
Select Add, then select the organizational unit for the licenses’ initial assignment.
You can reassign apps to other organizational units at any time.
Select Add.
Get licenses for paid apps and books
In Apple Business, sign in with a user whose role has permissions to get licenses for apps and books.
To view roles and permissions, see Intro to roles and permissions.
In your browser, choose Apps & Services > Apps and Books > App Store.
Select View Store.
Search for an app or book in the search field. See How to search.
Select the app or book in the search results list that you want to get.
Note: Apple Books bought through Apple Business can be distributed only to users, not devices. They can’t be revoked and reassigned. When books are assigned to users, those books follow the same country and region download restrictions as apps.
Select Add, then select the organizational units for the licenses’ initial assignment.
You can reassign apps to other organizational units at any time.
Enter the number of licenses, and if necessary, change the payment method, then select Buy.
Availability of app licenses depends on the amount you get. If you get:
5000 licenses or fewer, they process immediately
5001 to 19,999 licenses, they process daily after 1:00 p.m., Pacific time
20,000 licenses or more, they process daily after 4:00 p.m., Pacific time
Get licenses for Custom Apps
To get Custom Apps, they need to be assigned to your organization. See What are Custom Apps.
In Apple Business, sign in with a user whose role has permissions to get licenses for apps and books.
To view roles and permissions, see Intro to roles and permissions.
In your browser, choose Apps & Services > Apps and Books > Custom Apps.
Select the Custom App that you want to get.
Select Add, then select the organizational units for the licenses’ initial assignment.
You can reassign apps to other organizational units at any time.
View all current app and book license information
In Apple Business, sign in with a user whose role has permissions to get licenses for apps and books.
To view roles and permissions, see Intro to roles and permissions.
In your browser, choose Apps & Services > Apps and Books > Library.
Select Apps and Books in the sidebar, then select Library.
Do one of the following:
Select Apps or Books to view only those items.
View the app or book in the App Store or Books Store.
View by device, category, or organizational unit.
If necessary, search for an app or book in the search field. See How to search.
Select the app or book, then view the following information:
Feature
Manage from library
Add licenses
If the app is a paid app, the number of used and unused licenses
The device management service the apps are assigned to
In-app purchase information
Detailed information about the app or book
Remove the app or book from the library
Get additional licenses for paid apps
In Apple Business, sign in with a user whose role has permissions to get licenses for apps and books.
To view roles and permissions, see Intro to roles and permissions.
In your browser, choose Apps & Services > Apps and Books > Library.
If necessary, search for an app in the search field. See How to search.
Select the app, select View Details, then select Manage.
Select Add Licenses.
Select the organizational unit, select the additional number of licenses you would like to get, then select Review.
Carefully review the information, then select Add.
Transfer unassigned paid app licenses to another organizational unit
In Apple Business, sign in with a user whose role has permissions to get licenses for apps and books.
To view roles and permissions, see Intro to roles and permissions.
In your browser, choose Apps & Services > Apps and Books > Library.
If necessary, search for an app in the search field. See How to search.
Select the app, then select Transfer next to an organizational unit where the app is currently assigned.
Select another organizational unit and the number of licenses you want to transfer, then select Transfer.
Transfer unassigned subscription licenses to other organizational units
If you have more than one organizational unit, you can transfer unassigned licenses to any other organizational unit. If you have only one organizational unit, the transfer process is unavailable.
In Apple Business, sign in with a user whose role has permissions to get licenses for apps and books.
To view roles and permissions, see Intro to roles and permissions.
In your browser, choose Apps & Services > Apps and Books > Library.
If necessary, search for an app in the search field. See How to search.
Select the app, select View Details, then select Manage.
Review the number of available licenses, then select Transfer.
Do one of the following:
Select Organizational Unit, then search for or select a single organizational unit where you want to transfer at least one license.
Select Add Organizational Unit, add a new organizational unit, then select OK.
Select the number of licenses you want to transfer, then select Transfer.
View the pending transfer in the Details section and in the Licenses section.
Reduce unassigned paid or subscription app licenses for an organizational unit
You can reduce the number of unassigned paid or subscription app licenses for an organizational unit. There is no need to reduce the number of free apps licenses, because they are downloaded as necessary.
In Apple Business, sign in with a user whose role has permissions to get licenses for apps and books.
To view roles and permissions, see Intro to roles and permissions.
In your browser, choose Apps & Services > Apps and Books > Library.
If necessary, search for an app in the search field. See How to search.
Select the app, then select Reduce next to an organizational unit where the app is currently assigned.
Select the number of licenses you want to remove from this organizational unit, then select Remove.
Cancel auto-renewal for an app subscription
You can cancel an app subscription. When you do, the app won’t launch on a user’s device after the subscription period expires.
In Apple Business, sign in with a user whose role has permissions to get licenses for apps and books.
To view roles and permissions, see Intro to roles and permissions.
In your browser, choose Apps & Services > Apps and Books > Library.
If necessary, search for an app in the search field. See How to search.
Select the app, then select Cancel Subscription.
Carefully review the information and the date the app subscription will be canceled, then select Cancel Subscription.
Remove an app from your library
When you no longer need an app, you can remove it from any organizational unit. You can remove an app when it:
Isn’t a paid app
Isn’t assigned to a device or a user
Has no active subscription
Is a free app obtained after October 22, 2026
Note: If you removed a free app from an organizational unit that you got licenses for before October 22, 2026, the license count is fixed to the amount previously owned instead of unlimited.
In Apple Business, sign in with a user whose role has permissions to get licenses for apps and books.
To view roles and permissions, see Intro to roles and permissions.
In your browser, choose Apps & Services > Apps and Books > Library.
If necessary, search for an app in the search field. See How to search.
Select the app, select View Details.
If necessary, select Edit, then search for or select the locations where you want to remove the app from.
Select Remove from Library, then select Remove.
Get app codes
In certain cases, you may want to get redemption codes for paid apps. These codes can be redeemed by users to get paid (not free) apps, which are then owned by that user’s personal (unmanaged) Apple Account. Redemption codes can be distributed only to users within the same country or region as your organization. For example, users in Canada are unable to redeem codes provided by an organization that signed up with Apple Business with an address in the United States. Redemption codes aren’t available in South Korea.
Important: Codes, once redeemed, can’t be reassigned to other users.
In Apple Business, sign in with a user whose role has permissions to get licenses for apps and books.
To view roles and permissions, see Intro to roles and permissions.
In your browser, choose Apps & Services > Apps and Books > App Store.
Select View Store.
Search for an app in the search field. See How to search.
Select the app from the list.
Select Redemption Codes from the License Type pop-up menu, enter a quantity, then select Buy.
You can also download redemption codes from your purchase history under Apps and Books in Settings.
Download app redemption codes
In Apple Business, sign in with a user whose role has permissions to get licenses for apps and books.
To view roles and permissions, see Intro to roles and permissions.
In your browser, choose Settings > Payments & Billing > Apps & Services.
Select Apps & Services, then select Purchase History.
Do one of the following:
Search for an app in the search field.
Select Purchase Type, select Apps, then select Apply.
Locate the app that has the redemption codes.
You’ll see App Redemption Code Purchase under the name of the app.
Select the app, then select Download Redemption Codes.
Locate the file where your browser downloads files, then open the file to get the codes.
The file contains information the following information:
The order number
The app name and version
The name and email address of the user who purchased the codes
The number of codes purchased
The codes
Note: If this file is downloaded after codes or code links have been sent to users, the number of codes redeemed and codes remaining is also shown.
URL links to redeem the codes