Short answer: if you have a personal Google Play developer account created after November 13, 2023, you must run a closed test with at least 12 testers who stay opted in for 14 days in a row before you can apply for production access. Production stays locked until then. This guide explains what the rule really asks for and how to plan around it.

Who the rule applies to

The requirement is tied to the account, not the app. Personal accounts created after November 13, 2023 get it. If you publish under an organization account, the rule as described in Google's article doesn't apply in the same way, which is why some developers look at registering an organization. That has its own verification steps, so don't switch account types just to skip testing.

A practical check: open Play Console and look at the Dashboard.…