Apple’s ability to process iPhone developer contracts is quickly turning into a minor crisis as what was once a smooth process is rapidly turning into a months-long backlog that threatens to keep new developers out of the App Store.

Previous reports that the earliest third-party iPhone app developers are facing expired contracts are also being joined by stories from those who have yet to have their very first contracts approved.

Where requests for an agreement once took as little as two days for Apple to handle in the early days of the iPhone SDK, coders speaking on iPhone development boards are increasingly reporting delays in initial approval that have changed from days into months — even for free apps, which require less paperwork than commercial software.

Sources also report that many messages to Apple are either given a stock response apologizing for the wait or else receive no answer at all.

It’s quickly becoming clear that the long hold times and silence on the matter stem from unpreparedness on Apple’s part for the popularity of the App Store and the pressure it creates to renew its relationships with developers.

Calls reported to the Apple Developer Connection has not only revealed that the company knows there are “many developers” either without contracts or facing expiry but that there isn’t even a system by which Apple can renew its existing deals. This may end up hurting the Store in the short-term, and hopefully Apple will deal with the issues soon and get things back on track.