Age rating questionnaire: capabilities that force a minimum
The age rating comes from a questionnaire in App Store Connect, and it is required. Some things in your app force a minimum regardless of what you would prefer, and several of them are inferable from the project itself.
Why it matters
The values are 4+, 9+, 13+, 16+ and 18+, plus Unrated, which is not eligible for the App Store at all and may only be distributed through an alternative marketplace.
An app must be rated 18+ when it contains any of: gambling at any frequency, frequent simulated gambling, frequent realistic violence, frequent sexual content or nudity, or frequent alcohol, tobacco or drug use.
The questionnaire also covers capabilities rather than just content: unrestricted web access, user-generated content, social media, messaging, advertising, and in-app controls such as parental controls and age assurance.
Several of those are visible in a project. A WKWebView or SFSafariViewController without a URL allowlist implies unrestricted web access, which means at least 16+. A messaging SDK implies messaging and chat. An advertising SDK implies advertising. StoreKit randomised rewards imply loot boxes, which means at least 9+.
Australia, Brazil and South Korea apply their own systems on top. Brazil’s official MJSP rating supersedes a self-rating, and South Korea requires a Rating Classification Number for simulated gambling.
How to fix it
- Complete the questionnaire honestly, including the capability questions, which are the ones people skim.
- Check the capabilities your project implies against what you answered, particularly web access and user-generated content.
- If the resulting rating is higher than you wanted, change the app rather than the answers. A rating that does not match the app is a misrepresentation of the product page.
The guidelines behind it
Read from Apple’s App Review Guidelines as last updated October 16, 2026.
What ReviewAhead checks
Age rating questionnaire. An age rating is required, and some capabilities force a minimum.
- Reads the calculated age rating back from App Store Connect when your account is linked, rather than asking.
- Pre-fills capability answers from project signals: web views without an allowlist, messaging and advertising SDKs, and randomised StoreKit rewards.
Apple’s own documentation for this requirement: developer.apple.com. Where this page and Apple disagree, Apple is right and this page is a bug.