'Mac Can't Verify the Developer' Error? Here's How to Open the App Anyway

You install a perfectly normal utility — say, a printer driver from the manufacturer’s site — double-click, and macOS pushes back: “macOS cannot verify the developer of ''. Are you sure you want to open it?” Or the harsher version: ” can’t be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software.” There’s no Open button on the strict variant. Cancel and Move to Trash are your only options.

Apple offers two official ways to override this, plus several you should know about and avoid. The wording of your dialog determines which method applies.

What Gatekeeper is actually checking

When you launch a downloaded app, Gatekeeper does three things:

1. Verifies the code signature. The app must be signed by a developer registered with Apple.
2. Checks notarization. The signature must include an Apple-issued notarization stamp confirming Apple scanned the binary for known malware.
3. Checks the quarantine flag. Files marked as “from outside” trigger the full check on first launch.

If all three pass, the app launches silently. Failures produce different dialogs:

• “App can’t be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software.” — Notarization missing or invalid.
• “macOS cannot verify the developer of ''. Are you sure you want to open it?” — Signed but with a developer Apple no longer recognizes (revoked or expired).
• ” is not from an identified developer.” — Older Gatekeeper variant for unsigned apps.

The safe override (signed but unverified)

For apps you trust from a known source:

1. Quit any running copy of the app.
2. Right-click (Control-click) the app icon in Finder → choose Open from the context menu.
3. The dialog now offers an Open button alongside Cancel. Click Open.
4. The app launches and macOS remembers the exception for this app going forward.

This is Apple’s documented method. It applies the override only to the specific app you authorized — Gatekeeper still protects everything else.

If the right-click context menu doesn’t show Open, the app might be quarantined to the strict block list. Move on to System Settings.

The Settings panel override

For the strict “Apple cannot check it” dialog where the right-click trick doesn’t work:

1. Try to launch the app and let the warning dialog appear.
2. Apple menu → System Settings → Privacy & Security.
3. Scroll down to the Security section.
4. You’ll see ” was blocked from use because it is not from an identified developer.” Click Open Anyway.
5. Authenticate with your password or Touch ID.
6. Try launching again. Click Open in the new dialog.

The “Open Anyway” button only appears for about an hour after the most recent block attempt. If you wait too long, trigger the block again and try once more.

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Should you override?

Override when:

• You downloaded the app from the developer’s official website.
• You have a license, you’ve used it before, you know the company.
• The developer’s site notes the app is signed but not notarized (open-source projects often are).
• A coworker built the internal tool and gave it to you directly.

Don’t override when:

• The app showed up unexpectedly (download triggered by a website, in your Downloads folder without you remembering installing).
• The download came from a typosquatted domain or an aggregator site.
• The “developer” listed in System Settings doesn’t match what you’d expect.
• The app is a “free” version of normally paid software.

Gatekeeper exists for good reason. A small percentage of “developer cannot be verified” warnings come from genuinely malicious binaries, especially in the macOS-targeting infostealer category that surged in 2024 and 2025.

Verify the signature before overriding

If you want to inspect the signature before letting it run, Terminal:

codesign -dv --verbose=4 /Applications/AppName.app

Look at the Authority line. It should match the developer you expect. For example, a real OBS Studio installer shows Authority=Developer ID Application: OBS Project (...). If the Authority is unfamiliar — especially if it’s a name you’ve never heard of for software you thought came from a known company — that’s a red flag.

spctl --assess --verbose /Applications/AppName.app

This shows Gatekeeper’s exact verdict. Common outputs:

• “accepted” — should launch normally.
• “rejected, source=Unnotarized Developer ID” — signed but not notarized.
• “rejected, source=No usable signature” — corrupt signature.
• “rejected, source=Banned” — Apple has explicitly revoked this app.

A “Banned” result is a hard stop. Apple revokes signatures only when malware is confirmed.

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When notarization is the issue

The strict “Apple cannot check it for malicious software” dialog usually means the developer hasn’t notarized the build. Most legitimate developers notarize as part of their build pipeline, but some smaller projects don’t.

If the project is open-source, look at the GitHub releases page. Some maintainers ship two builds — one notarized, one not. Use the notarized one whenever it’s available.

If the developer is a small company and the app isn’t notarized, send them a polite email. Notarization is free for paid Developer Program members, takes a few minutes per build, and any modern CI can do it. Many developers add it the moment a user asks.

Disabling Gatekeeper entirely (don’t)

Older guides tell you to run:

sudo spctl --master-disable

This adds an “Anywhere” option to the Privacy & Security settings, effectively disabling Gatekeeper for all downloads. Don’t do this. It’s removing the wall that stops a lot of macOS malware. Override per-app instead.

If you’ve already done it, re-enable Gatekeeper:

sudo spctl --master-enable

What to do if the app is genuinely from a banned developer

If spctl returns “Banned,” do not override. The app’s developer certificate was revoked by Apple after malware was confirmed in a build. Even if the current version you have is clean, future updates may not be — and the developer’s reputation is tarnished for a reason.

Find an alternative. Search for the app’s name plus “malware” or “removed from Mac App Store” — recent reports often surface the story.

When the answer is the App Store

Many “developer cannot be verified” issues evaporate if you install from the Mac App Store version of the app. App Store apps are sandboxed and notarized by definition; Gatekeeper trusts them automatically. Some apps have both a direct-download version and an App Store version — if both exist, the App Store install is friction-free.

Trade-offs: App Store apps run with reduced permissions and can’t ship features that require kernel extensions or system-level helpers. Power-user tools often only exist outside the App Store.

Reset Gatekeeper’s memory if it’s misbehaving

If Gatekeeper keeps blocking an app you’ve already approved:

1. Quit the app.
2. Re-run the right-click Open trick.
3. If that doesn’t help: rebuild the Launch Services database with the long lsregister command in Terminal:

/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Versions/A/Support/lsregister -kill -r -domain local -domain system -domain user

Restart and try the app again.

When the developer is the right call

Some apps have certificate issues that only the developer can fix:

• Their Developer Program membership lapsed and signatures stopped validating.
• Their build pipeline broke and recent releases aren’t notarized.
• Apple revoked their certificate and they’re working through restoration.

If a previously-trusted app suddenly stops working with the verification error, check the developer’s support forum or status page first. Often there’s a one-line note saying “we know, fix shipping today.”

The “developer cannot be verified” message is a security feature working correctly. The two-step Apple override path handles legitimate edge cases without weakening the system. Use it; don’t disable Gatekeeper wholesale.