The 12 testers-14 days requirement is aimed at personal developer accounts.
What Google does not seem to make clear is rather or not organization accounts are exempt.
Although I cannot say what the rule is, I can say what happened to me.
Timeline (The following information is from Play Console commit history)
The organization's developer account was created on July 16, 2026.
Initial submission (July 21): Includes closed beta testing, store details page information, and app content. Released.
Closed test track iterations: July 22, July 29, and July 31 (twice).
Submitted to Production: August 20, 2:06 PM. Released. The review process took only a few minutes.
There are only 7 internal testers; the closed test track exists purely as a means to pass the audit.
There was no requirement such as "12 testers participating in the test for 14 consecutive days".
Surprisingly, there were no "hard barriers" to overcome. I was never prevented from submitting to the official version. The reason I waited until August 20th to submit was because I was waiting for Apple's review results (Apple's initial review takes 13 days). My console showed only one official submission record, and it was released that afternoon.
The actual cost of organizing an account (it's not a free shortcut):
You need to apply for a DUNS number for your legal entity. It's free, but it takes time.
Your legal name and address must be identical word-for-word to those in your state business registration information, Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) records, and store payment details. Any mismatch will result in organization verification failure.
The key lies in Dun & Bradstreet's (D&B) records, not the Play Console itself. If you need to change the address, you must first update it in D&B, wait for the information to sync and take effect, and then update the store information. This takes several weeks, not just a simple settings change.
Your business address will be publicly displayed in the "About the Developer" section of the Play Store page. Anyone browsing that page will see your full street address, phone number, and email address. If you registered as an independent developer from home, your home address will be displayed.
This last point is worth considering before choosing this option, and it really surprised me.
Important: Google does not offer exemptions for organizational accounts, so this is based on my personal experience and is not professional advice. Please verify this information yourself before relying on it.
Official page: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/14151465
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