Application Verification Program

  1. The Program
  2. How to Participate
  3. Verification Benefits
  4. Verification Fee
  5. Data Required for Verification
  6. Evaluation Criteria
  7. The Process
  8. Questions?

The Program

Facebook's Application Verification Program is an optional program designed to provide applications with a way to stand out and reassure users that they will provide a good experience. Users of verified applications can feel confident that these applications strive to be transparent about how they work and respect social expectations between friends. Verified applications will prominently appear in the Application Directory where a green check mark will signal to users that an application has been verified.

How to Participate

To submit your application to the Verification Program, go to the Developer application, navigate to your application and click the "Submit Application for Verification" link. Complete the submission form and the appropriate fee to begin the review.

Be sure to first review the program details here and begin to make sure your application will meet the evaluation criteria.

Verification Benefits

After your application has been verified, you and your application will receive a number of benefits, including:

Exposure in the Application Directory

  • A green verification check mark icon will be displayed next to your application in listings within the Application Directory.
  • Prioritized ranking, where appropriate, above applications not yet verified in the Application Directory.
  • A verified badge graphic (see screenshot to the right) displayed on your application's profile page indicating that it has been verified by Facebook.

Distribution

  • Verified applications receive a two-bucket boost in their requests and notification allocations. These continue to be subject to the application reputation system which algorithmically adjust allocations based on various user response metrics.

Advertising

Events

Verification Fee

For each application submitted for verification, the fee is $375. This fee is intended to cover costs associated with the application review process. The verification fee is due at the time that the application is submitted.

Our goal is to help developers who want their applications verified to successfully complete the process. In order to be verified, applications must be in compliance with our policies and verification expectations. If an application does not pass verification, we will tell you why and the next steps available to you.

Current students and registered non-profits who provide official documentation will receive a discounted per application fee of $175.

Data Required for Verification

The verification form is comprised of the following elements:

  • Business information: Your name and basic contact information for your business.
  • Corporate status: Status indicating your legal status, including whether you are a non-profit or a student. Relevant documentation will be required.
  • Payment information: Payment source, i.e., a valid credit card number.
  • Explanation of data requests: Data privacy is something we take seriously at Facebook. We will require an explanation for all of the data that your application calls, and use cases for that data. We will verify this information and ensure that you are pulling the data that you need to create the best experience possible, and no more.
  • Screenshots: Screenshots of all of the major features and key flows within your application. By providing this we can quickly orient ourselves to what your application does and understand your intentions. Screenshots will need to be uploaded to a Facebook photo album with relevant commentary to explain flows. Please review this sample gallery for a sense of the level of detail we expect.

Note: Verification form submissions that are the most thorough, complete and organized (especially including screenshots) will receive preferential treatment, including being reviewed and receiving feedback faster.

Evaluation Criteria

To obtain verified status, you application must comply with our policies and verification expectations. While reviewing your request for verification, we will evaluate your application based on the following criteria:

Principles

We want to make sure the user experience across verified applications is high. While we try to articulate the Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and Platform Guidelines as criteria, we will also check that your application meets the guiding principles of trustworthy applications.

Terms and Policies

Are you currently abiding by all Facebook Platform Terms and Policies? These include the Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and the Platform Guidelines.

If your application is found to be in violation of our Terms and Policies during the review process, we may take standard enforcement actions (for example, a moratorium on using our communication and distribution channels for a set period of time). In addition, you may not be eligible to re-submit your application for verification for at least three months.

Integration Points

Does your application use all of Facebook's integration points (e.g., user-to-user notifications) in the way they are intended to be used? Review the checklist of integration point questions to get an idea of the types of things we will check for during verification.

The Process

Timing

Once we receive the verification submission form in our system, we will process it as soon as possible.

When your application passes verification, we will notify you with specifics, including:

  • Timing of when verification benefits such as increased allocations for requests, notifications and emails will take effect. Details of where and when you can expect to see the verification badge next to your application on Facebook. We will also provide you with guidelines on how to use this badge appropriately off of Facebook.
  • Information about how to redeem your advertising credit.

If your application does not pass verification:

  • If your application does not pass verification due to a policy violation, Facebook will take standard enforcement action, and you may be ineligible to re-submit your application for verification for at least three months. Your verification fee will not be refunded; if you choose to re-apply, you must pay the fee again.
  • If your application does not pass verification due to minor issues, Facebook will tell you why and the next steps available to you.

Post-verification

  • Continue to innovate: At Facebook we are constantly and quickly improving our product, and we understand that you are doing the same with yours. We encourage you to continue to innovate after your application has been verified; we do not want to hinder your continued development process.
  • Abide by policies: After becoming a verified application, you are still subject to Facebook Platform Terms and Policies verification expectations and should proactively stay compliant. Future violations of Terms and Policies will result in a loss of verification for a minimum of three to six months (depending on the nature of the violation). Your fee will not be refunded, and should you wish your application to become verified again, you must re-apply.
  • Renew every twelve months: Verification will expire at the end of twelve months, and your application will need to be re-reviewed to maintain verified status. We will reach out to you at the end of your verification time period to remind you. At that point you will need to submit another verification fee, and the verification process will repeat.

Questions?

If you have further questions, please check our Frequently Asked Questions or submit your question via our Developer Help Contact Form.