"Your first in-app purchase must be submitted with a new app version"

Why it happens

Apple reviews the first purchase together with the build that sells it, so the reviewer can buy it in the app. After the first one is approved, later items can be submitted on their own, and those are fast: our five in-app-purchase-only submissions on October 8 were all approved in 11.7 to 13.4 hours.

When we hit it

On September 25 we submitted Chain 1.1 and Clear the Strait 1.1 with their new Pro purchase still "Ready to Submit": the review submission held only the app version, and the purchase was never attached. Our scripts could not attach it because the App Store Connect API refused a first in-app purchase outside the web UI. We attached it by hand on the version page for the next submissions; since then every new app goes to review with its purchase attached.

Fix, step by step

1. Create the in-app purchase and fill every field until it shows "Ready to Submit" (price, localization, review screenshot, review note).
2. Open the app version page (not the In-App Purchases page).
3. In "In-App Purchases and Subscriptions", click the + and select the item.
4. Add for Review, then Submit for Review.
5. Later items can be submitted alone from the In-App Purchases page.

Related

• guideline/3-1-2
• guideline/2-1
• App Store Connect error 409 ("not in valid state")
• Every guideline and message we hit

Sources

• App Store Connect Help: developer.apple.com/help/app-store-connect/ (read Oct 24, 2026)
• App Store Connect API: developer.apple.com/documentation/appstoreconnectapi
• Our notes from the October 2026 submission rounds: tensorust.com/reports/app-store-review-times/2026-10/