I know for my son's team to make the MRL, we applied for the fall U14 season. The fall season had everyone in a "Qualifying" division (whether Premier or First Division). There were four divisions for Premier qualifying. The top 4 finishers in each of those divisions were put in one of two Premier 1 divisions in the spring. The bottom 4 finishers were put in one of two Premier 2 divisions. That's how we played last spring. I do know some of the teams we played last spring are NOT in MRL Premier 1 this spring (no fall season), and there are a couple of new teams. I'm assuming the top finishers in Premier 2 could apply to move up to Premier 1 and the bottom Premier 1 dropped. It could also mean they elected not to participate in MRL at all.
Clubs apply for DA. There are stipulations - such as year round facilities - I think the average club coaching license is a B. Your DA coaches have to have an A I'm pretty sure. Essentially you have to have big club like resources. Some clubs who don't qualify are in ECNL which also has stipulations. From what I can recall on the girls side, you had to have 4 sequential teams with highly succesful numbers. That showed that you just did not get a group of good players on one team but that you were developing players.
Clubs can apply for the DA. The key is CLUBS, not just a team or a few teams within a club. For an idea of the criteria, here's the application: https://ussoccer.app.box.com/s/bfue4frh9q2dhlq7fx9snhqdsj71yfw2/file/240608769337 Basic requirements are in Section VII. But the rest of the application criteria may provide some insight into what the platform is looking for.