Submission in Progress = You need to click the Submit button (or click it again!) to finish the submission.

Ready for Testing = The app has been submitted, but hasn't been placed "in the queue" for testing.

Testing in Progress = The app is in the queue and the next tester available will get to work testing it. The app will usually stay in this status until it is ready for signing or has failed certification.

Ready for Signing = The app has passed certification and is awaiting the next signing batch so it can be published.

Ready for Publishing = The app has been certified and signed, but you did not select the auto-publish option when you submitted it. You need to go into the app's detail page and publish it yourself!

Published to Marketplace = The app has been through the entire process and is now "published". The app will not be pushed to the marketplace until the next batch update occurs. Sometimes a "published" app will not show up in Zune or the phone Marketplace for 24 hours after being published.

Certification Failed = The app has failed certification and you will need to change it before you submit it again. There should be a failure report that can be downloaded from the app’s detail page. (hint: The download is accessed from the Action dropdown.)

None = It is unknown what this means. Apps with a status of None are sometimes delayed for several days. If your app has a status of “None” for more than 48 hours I would put in a support request.


This is the complete list of certification status messages that I am aware of. If you know of any more or if you know the real meaning of the status "None", please add it to this thread!

@James

thanks for posting this.

How long would 'testing in progress' take?

JabberWorx:

How long would 'testing in progress' take?

They aim for five business days, but in reality it is "as long as it takes".  Some people have seen it happen in a few hours.  For others it has taken longer than five business days.  It is not something that anyone can put a definite answer to yet.

Just publishing my first app, thanks for this detail.

I'm getting a "Package Verified" status, anyone know what this means? I'm stuck in this status for several days after waiting for nearly a month of "Testing in Progress"...

kesteve production:

I'm getting a "Package Verified" status, anyone know what this means

Oh really?? But I think I have submitted successfully because the status is "Testing in Progress" previously. I'll try to resubmitting it again then. Thanks~!

Just tried to upload my first app and it's in testing phase hoping I don't have to wait for days, but oh well. quick question i upload by full paid version but if I want to have a trail and an ad supported to i upload the full version and the ad version then get them approved get there links and then add that link to my trail version and upload that last.

digital perfection:

Just tried to upload my first app and it's in testing phase hoping I don't have to wait for days, but oh well. quick question i upload by full paid version but if I want to have a trail and an ad supported to i upload the full version and the ad version then get them approved get there links and then add that link to my trail version and upload that last.

You seem to think that the trial version will be a separate upload.  Trial mode is coded into the paid version, as per the documentation.  I'm not sure what these links are that you refer to, but you don't need anything like that for a trial mode.

Hi...thanks for these status definitions. We submitted our free app yesterday and soon after submission it said "Testing in Progress". Now when I checked today morning the status has changed to "Signing in progress". What does this status mean? Btw, I have added my bank details but yet to fill up the W8 form. Is it mandatory to furnish your tax details even if you are submitting a free app?

Qwerty Solutionz:

Hi...thanks for these status definitions. We submitted our free app yesterday and soon after submission it said "Testing in Progress". Now when I checked today morning the status has changed to "Signing in progress". What does this status mean? Btw, I have added my bank details but yet to fill up the W8 form. Is it mandatory to furnish your tax details even if you are submitting a free app?

@Qwerty Solutionz

Signing in progress means the app passed and will be ready for publishing soon. For your W8, you don't need to fill that out and send it in since you are only submitting Free Apps.

Best Regards,
Ben

Thanks for a prompt reply Ben...may I please know what is the average time for an app to get published once it has passed testing and status is "Signing in Progress". Would we receive any intimation on the Windows Live ID email address when the app is published?

Qwerty Solutionz:

Thanks for a prompt reply Ben...may I please know what is the average time for an app to get published once it has passed testing and status is "Signing in Progress". Would we receive any intimation on the Windows Live ID email address when the app is published?

Sorry I didn't get a change to reply sooner. Once the app passes certification and you see "Signing in Progress", it should reach the Marketplace within 24 hours if you selected auto-publish. It can take a little longer on the weekends though.

Best Regards,
Ben

are you really sure???

Mukul Verma:

are you really sure???

because just like kesteve said it appeared "testing in progress" earlier.

and if testing was in progress earlier then it also means that your app has been submitted....

isn't it .. ?

Signing comes after Testing in the certification process. Package Verified is the first message.

Best Regards,
Ben

So, just to be clear, the 'Package Verified' means that testing has commenced and the developer (me) doesnt need to do anything else until the 'signing' phase or a certification has failed?

Hokushin Publishing:

So, just to be clear, the 'Package Verified' means that testing has commenced and the developer (me) doesnt need to do anything else until the 'signing' phase or a certification has failed?

Correct

The app I submitted monday morning was in "Testing in progress" and has transitioned to "Certified" (which I have also not seen mentioned in this thread before, I think). Is this similar to "Package Verified", i.e. testing did not fail but app is waiting for a next state based on some next batch-like stage in the process?

It's an app that is meant for an event that runs from friday the 22nd until the end of sunday afternoon the 24th, so it would be really helpful to know if having it published and downloadable from marketplace onto actual phones would still be attainable by friday or saturday... (Product ID: 0f8f67de-f1b0-e011-a53c-78e7d1fa76f8)

I'm kind of stuck in an interesting spot as well waiting on "signed and encrypted".  Does this mean now that it was just received?

HobbiSoft:

Does this mean now that it was just received?

No, just received is "Submission completed". "Signed and encrypted" is the last step before publishing (which turns to be "Ready to publish" in case you opted to publish manually, otherwise "Published).

<EDIT>
Sorry, my fault here - pls accept my apologies. "Signed and encrypted" is NOT the last step before publishing, but it's instead the 1st step of the Certification phase, just after having "verified the package" during the Validation phase. This is a change respect the previous version of App Hub, and this way the whole publishing process is faster.
We realized that in our prevoius release it was not possible to know where your application was in the submission pipe-line and what were the next packaging steps before the application would be available to your customers. Having heard the feedback from you;  with this work we aspire to give our developers the most up to date and accurate insight on where their application is in the submission process allowing you to set appropriate expectations around steps involved.

When we looked at doing so we learned that we could optimize the time between certain stage if we were to re-order the submission flow in-turn allowing us to eliminate couple of the temporary states used previously for staging when certification was started and the application was ready to be published; the net result being that the app is available faster post certification process concludes and further streamline application certification testing. 

We hope that these details will allow you to know exactly where your application is in the pipeline and you will enjoy the benefit of the apps being published faster post certification.

NOTE!! Please bear in mind that your App Hub dashboard's Notifications (or the PROGRESS column on the “View all submitted apps” page (https://windowsphone.create.msdn.com/ApplicationList?view=Submission)), even if it reports progress-definitions in the past-tense (such as "certified" or "Package verified" for example), that is to be understood with the color of the arrow (greenish rather than real-green). So, if you see a "greenish Certified" in the PROGRESS, that would mean that you have actions to do in the app page, where in fact you'll see, for example, that the app is in the "Certification" phase and in this phase it's passed the "Signed and encrypted" step but not the "Certified" one.

I hope this would give some more clarity on decisions and on steps involved.
</EDIT>

Please check the following FAQ http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh202928(VS.92).aspx and allow me to copy the table here for archiving purposes:

10. What do the different app statuses mean?

Thanks for the list of status from the FAQ.

Would it be possible to list them in the order that they occur?
It's mostly obvious what the order should be, but I ask because I have a submitted app that shows on the main dashboard page as "Certified", but in the details of its lifecycle it is at stage 2, with "signed and encrypted" checked but "Certified" not checked.

From what I read, "signed and encrypted" comes after "certified", but in my apps case that doesn't appear to be true.

Thanks,

Slightly Confused.

Skiim:

Thanks for the list of status from the FAQ.

Would it be possible to list them in the order that they occur?
It's mostly obvious what the order should be, but I ask because I have a submitted app that shows on the main dashboard page as "Certified", but in the details of its lifecycle it is at stage 2, with "signed and encrypted" checked but "Certified" not checked.

From what I read, "signed and encrypted" comes after "certified", but in my apps case that doesn't appear to be true.

Thanks,

Slightly Confused.

I've been trying to obtain this information with 3 different support tickets and different threads (and please don't anybody say you answered me, because, yes, you answered me every time, but only told me I shouldn't contact you before 5 business days).

After the usual treasure hunt to understand what's changed, it seems to me they either illogically put the order reversed or something else is wrong.

Anyway what happens now is that after you submit an app, on the dashboard it promptly say 'Certified'. Whew, that was fast ! :)

Obviously it's not Certified yet. Instead it's 'Signed & Encrypted' soon afterwards. So, to the best of my knowledge, that means it's certified and ready, right ? No, sir !
It's all upside down. After it's been 'Signed & Encrypted' for the usual random 3-5-10 days, it will go into 'Certified' state.

So, I would advise you not to try to understand it too much, but the "Signed & Encrypted" is now actually the first state of certification after you submit it.

Maybe you will have more luck getting an answer. To this question I got three replies 'certification can take up to 5 business days'

Yes, it did seem a bit too good to be true...

When we edit the catalog (a new functionality) for an already published application, we are allowed to change the description, artwork, price, etc.  But not able to change the binary.

When the binaries have not changed, why does it have to undergo complete Certification Cycle?  If the binaries are the same, why can't it skip certification process?  

It is just wasting time!