Applying for an App in the Riot Games Developer Portal

Registering an app in the Riot Games developer portal is a crucial step in order to verify that your app meets Riot Games' interpretatin of the Terms of Service and their policies. Additionally, it allows you to use Riot Games related assets, as further declared in their Legal Jibber Jabber. Please keep in mind that I am not a lawyer and this is no legal advice!

Which type of API key do I need

First of all, you need to decide on which key to even request.

Personal keys are nowadays usually auto approved (which could be useful) and give you the same rate limits as a development key. However, personal keys do not need to be refreshed every time. Request a personal key, if your product is aimed at a small target audience, e.g. a friend group. Another great reason for a personal key is "personal research", like a bachelors thesis or data analysis. Production keys usually don't get accepted when they are for "personal research".

Request a production key, if your product is aimed at a larger target audience. Unlike the outdated text on the official documentation, the default rate limits DO NOT differ from a development key. You have to ask for a higher rate limit and attach. justification, as to why you require higher limits. Production keys require a valid domain, which is needed in order to verify the apps URL.

How long does an approval take?

Personal keys are automatically approved. Production keys take, depending on the game (League of Legends, Valorant, ...), around 5 to 8 months. Please plan accordingly, when requesting a production key. Due to the long wait time, it is highly advised to put any further requests (e.g. limit increases) directly into the apps description or create a ticket directly after the app was created.

Do I even need a production key?

Most people think, that production keys automatically come with a higher rate limit. That is not the case. With normal limits (100:120), you can still to up to 72.000 requests a day per server. As each region has its own limits, you can easily utilze around 200.000 requests per day to fetch matches or even more to update profiles, ranks or challenges. Especially for smaller projects, a personal key highly outweighs the long wait time and other hurdles that come with a production key.

What do I need to keep an eye on?

Each key comes with a new encryption, which means that the PUUIDs change. You usually can't just replace your keys and expect your database to continue working as expected. When "upgrading" a personal key to a production key, by creating a new production app, ask in the description to link the encryption to the perosnal apps app id.

The GitHub is barely monitored by Rioters and is not going to help you getting your app approved faster.