Information processing apparatus and method, recording medium, and program are provided. An information processing apparatus includes the following elements. A receiver receives a command requesting for the execution of predetermined processing. A storage unit stores data and first information indicating, among a plurality of stages in a lifecycle of the information processing apparatus, the current stage determined by the stored data and second information indicating an executable command in the current stage, the executable command being determined for each of the plurality of stages. A determining unit determines on the basis of the first information and the second information whether the command received by the receiver is an executable command in the current stage.