How to request an expedited app review

When an expedite is appropriate

Standard App Store review is already fast, often finishing within about a day, which is covered in how long App Store review takes. An expedite is for the cases where even that is too slow. Apple generally considers two kinds of situations:

• A critical bug fix. Your live app has a serious problem, such as a crash on launch, a security issue, or broken core functionality affecting real users, and you need the fix out quickly.
• A time-sensitive event. Your release lines up with an event you are directly associated with, such as a conference, a televised moment, or a dated launch that cannot move.

What usually does not qualify: a routine first launch, a marketing date you set yourself, or general impatience. Apple uses its own judgment, and a weak reason is more likely to be declined.

How to file the request

The request comes after the normal submission, not instead of it:

1. Submit your build for App Review the usual way, so there is something in the queue to expedite.
2. Open Apple's expedited review request form, available from the App Review pages, or in App Store Connect under Support and Contact, then App Review, then Request Expedited Review.
3. Provide your app name, App ID, and platform.
4. Write a short, specific explanation. State plainly what is wrong or what the event is, who it affects, and why the timing matters. Keep it factual and brief.
5. Submit and watch your email. Apple typically responds within roughly 24 to 48 hours, and if granted, the review itself often follows quickly.

Be precise rather than dramatic. Reviewers respond to a clear, valid reason, not urgency for its own sake.

Use it sparingly

Expedited review is a limited courtesy, and Apple notices patterns. A few guidelines keep it useful:

• Save it for true emergencies and genuine events. If you expedite routinely, Apple may decline future requests.
• Make sure the build is actually ready. An expedite that then fails review wastes the favor and your time.
• Do not rely on it as part of your normal release plan. Build a schedule that assumes standard review timing, and treat expediting as the exception.

A granted expedite speeds the queue, but it does not change the outcome. The app still has to pass review on its merits, so submitted is not approved.

Where AppFlight fits

The expedite request is a direct, situation-specific appeal to Apple, so you file it yourself. Where AppFlight helps is reducing how often you need to: it builds, signs, and submits the app, and when Apple rejects a build it reads the cited reason, works on a fix, and resubmits, which keeps small problems from turning into urgent ones. If a real emergency does come up, AppFlight has already gotten the corrected build submitted, and the expedite request is the short note you add on top.