Apple VPP Token: How to Get, Upload and Renew It

An Apple VPP token, now called a content token, is the file that connects your Apple Business (formerly Apple Business Manager) or Apple School Manager account to your mobile device management (MDM) service, so the app licences you buy through Apps and Books can be assigned to devices. To get it, sign in to Apple Business with a role that can manage app and book licences, choose Settings > Organizational Units, select your organization and choose Download next to Content Token. Upload the downloaded file to your MDM. The token expires one year after you download it, or sooner if the password of the Managed Apple Account that downloaded it changes, so renew it before then by downloading a new one and uploading it in the same place.

If you are connecting app licences to an MDM for the first time, or a token just expired, the steps and the troubleshooting list below cover it; the rest explains how VPP works for businesses and schools.

What is an Apple VPP Token?

The Volume Purchase Program (VPP) was Apple's service for buying apps and books in bulk for an organization. It now lives inside Apple Business and Apple School Manager under the name Apps and Books, and the token, which Apple now calls a content token, is a secure link between that account and your MDM. With the token uploaded, the MDM can see the licences you own and assign them to devices or users, and Apple installs the apps without anyone signing in with a personal Apple Account.

The Evolution: From VPP to Apple Business Manager and Apple Business

VPP started as a standalone Apple store for organizations. Apple then folded it into Apple Business Manager for companies and Apple School Manager for schools, where it became Apps and Books. In April 2026 Apple replaced Apple Business Manager with Apple Business, which keeps Apps and Books and adds its own built-in device management. The token works the same way; only the menus moved. For the device enrollment side of the same account, see how to add MDM to Apple Business Manager.

Key features of Apps and Books with a content token:

• Central purchasing: people with the right role buy app licences for the whole organization in one place.
• Licence management: the MDM assigns, revokes and reassigns licences as devices and people change.
• Silent installation: on supervised devices, licensed apps install without the user doing anything.
• App updates: the MDM can keep licensed apps updated.

The Importance of VPP Tokens in App Distribution

• Licences the organization owns: apps are bought by the company, not by employees, and stay with the company when someone leaves.
• Licence flexibility: a licence taken back from one device or user can be assigned to another.
• No personal Apple Account needed: with device-based assignment, apps are licensed to the device, so users do not sign in to the App Store.
• Cost control: you can see how many licences you bought, how many are in use and which are free.

Buying in volume does not usually mean a lower price for businesses. Schools can get a discount on some apps when they buy 20 or more copies, if the developer takes part.

How to Obtain and Use a VPP Token in Apple Business Manager (Now Apple Business)

These steps follow Apple's Apple Business guide. In Apple Business Manager and Apple School Manager the same token was under your account's Preferences or Settings, then Payments and Billing; menu names vary between versions and languages, so look for Content Token if a label differs.

1. Sign in to Apple Business at business.apple.com with a user whose role has permission to get licences for apps and books.
2. Choose Settings > Organizational Units.
3. Select your organization, then choose Download next to Content Token. The browser saves a .vpptoken file.
4. In your MDM, open the Apple Apps and Books or VPP settings and upload the file.
5. Buy or get the apps you need under Apps and Books in Apple Business. Free apps need licences too.
6. In the MDM, sync the licences and assign each app to devices or users. Device-based assignment needs no Apple Account on the device.

Apple recommends downloading tokens with a dedicated Managed Apple Account that has a custom role with only the permission to assign licences for apps and books, so a password change by an administrator does not break the token. For the full app rollout, see how to deploy an application to many devices.

How to Renew an Apple VPP Token

A content token is valid for one year from the day it was created. To renew it:

1. Check the expiry date in your MDM, which usually shows it next to the token.
2. Before it expires, sign in to Apple Business with the same kind of account and download a new content token from the same organizational unit.
3. Upload the new file in the same place in your MDM, replacing the old token.
4. Sync licences and confirm that the assigned count still matches what you expect.

Renewing from the same organizational unit keeps existing assignments in place. Put the renewal date in a shared calendar, because some MDMs do not send a reminder.

Apple Volume Purchase Program for Education

Schools use Apple School Manager, which has the same Apps and Books section and the same content token. For education, it adds:

• Education pricing: developers can offer a discount on volume purchases of 20 or more licences.
• Books: in countries where Apple offers book purchasing, books can be licensed and assigned like apps.
• Student privacy: device-based assignment installs apps on shared and student iPads without a student Apple Account.
• Custom apps: apps built for one school or district can be distributed privately through Apps and Books.

Best Practices for Managing Apple VPP Tokens

• Renew every year, and well before the expiry date.
• Use a dedicated account to download tokens, with only the licence permission, so staff changes and password resets do not invalidate it.
• One token per MDM. If two device management services need licences, create a second organizational unit (called a location in Apple Business Manager), transfer licences to it under Settings > Payments & Billing, and give each service its own token.
• Prefer device-based assignment for company and school devices, so apps do not depend on anyone's Apple Account.
• Audit licences regularly and take back the ones assigned to devices you retired.
• Keep Apple Business details current, including who holds the administrator roles.

Troubleshooting Common VPP Token Issues

• Token expired: download a new token and upload it to the MDM.
• Token suddenly invalid before a year: the password of the Managed Apple Account that downloaded it was probably changed. Download a new token.
• Sync problems: check that the MDM can reach Apple's servers and that the token in the MDM is the latest one.
• Licence assignment fails: check that you have free licences for that app in the same organizational unit as the token, and that the app supports the device's platform and OS version.
• Licences appear in the wrong place: the same token may have been uploaded to two services. Remove it from the one that should not use it.
• Moving to Apple's built-in management: Apple advises removing the token from the external service first, or licence counts and app assignments can go wrong.

What happens when the token expires?

• The MDM stops talking to Apple about app licences, so new assignments fail.
• Apps already installed keep working, but app installs and updates managed through those licences can stop until you upload a new token.
• Licence counts in the MDM stop updating and can drift out of step with Apple Business.

The Role of MDM in Apple VPP Token Management

The token only connects the accounts. The MDM is where the licences are used. It:

• Stores the token and shows when it expires
• Assigns apps to device or user groups, and installs them silently on supervised devices
• Takes licences back when a device is retired or reassigned
• Reports how many licences are assigned and free

Licensing works together with enrollment: company devices enrolled automatically through Apple Business are supervised, which is what allows silent installs. To compare tools that do both, see the best Apple MDM solutions.

Managing this across many devices

Once the Apps and Books token is uploaded, trio.so assigns App Store apps licensed through Apple Business to iPhones, iPads and Macs from one console, with no personal Apple Account needed on the device. The same console enrolls the devices through Apple Business and manages them next to Windows and Android. See Apple device management.

Conclusion

The Apple VPP token, now the content token, is a small file with a big job: it lets your MDM use the app licences your organization owns. Download it from Apple Business with a dedicated account, upload it to one MDM, renew it every year, and keep licences assigned to devices rather than to personal Apple Accounts.

Related reading: add MDM to Apple Business Manager, deploy an application and best Apple MDM.