Community Input Overview
The ICANN community and interested members of the public have an opportunity to provide input on new gTLD applications after ICANN publishes the public portions of the applications on String Confirmation Day. Input can be provided in several ways: Application Comments, Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) Member Early Warnings, GAC Consensus Advice, Singular/Plural Notifications, and Objections.
Each type of input has its own set of processes, requirements, and potential application impacts as outlined in detail in the New gTLD Program: 2026 Round Applicant Guidebook Module 4. More information will be added here to help in understanding the processes, timelines, and implications of each type of Community Input - check back often for updates.
Application Comments
Application comments are a mechanism for the public to bring relevant information and issues to the attention of ICANN, applicants, and evaluators. The public will have an opportunity to submit comments on posted applications on the Application Comment Forum at any time following String Confirmation Day. Only comments received during the formal comment periods following String Confirmation Day (104 days) and applicable Application Change Requests (30 days) will be considered by the evaluators. Should a comment relate to factual claims, evaluators, at their discretion, may verify the facts and request more information from the commenter if necessary. Applicants will be able to respond to comments.
GAC Member Early Warnings Overview
A GAC Member Early Warning is an early indication from an individual GAC member or observer notifying a new gTLD applicant that their application may be considered potentially sensitive or problematic by one or more governments. GAC members and observers may issue Early Warnings in the 104 days following String Confirmation Day.
GAC Consensus Advice Overview
The GAC was formed to consider the activities of ICANN as they relate to the concerns of governments and provide advice to ICANN. GAC Consensus Advice on new gTLD applications is submitted to the ICANN Board to address applications that are sensitive or problematic by one or more governments, for example, because it raises sensitivities or violates national law. The GAC can provide Consensus Advice to the ICANN Board on any application, as outlined in the ICANN Bylaws Article 12.
Singular/Plural Notifications Overview
Strings that represent singular and plural forms of the same word in the same language—irrespective of what language the applicant intends the string to be in—may raise concerns because such similarity can cause confusion to Internet users. The ICANN community and general public will have an opportunity to notify ICANN of a singular/plural issue if two applied-for strings represent the singular and plural version of the same word in the same language; or if an applied-for string represents the singular or plural version in the same language of the same word of a delegated TLD, strings being processed from a previous new gTLD round, or a blocked name. A Singular/Plural Notification can be submitted in the 30 days following String Confirmation Day.
Objections and Appeals Overview
The general public, including other applicants, has the opportunity to file an objection on any application and have it considered before a panel of qualified experts. For an objection to be considered by a panel, it must be filed on specific grounds including string confusion, legal rights, limited public interest, and community (see Section 3.5.1 Grounds for Objection) and the party filing must have standing (see Section 4.5.2 Standing to Object).
Parties may file an objection against a new gTLD application only during the 104 days following String Confirmation Day. Objections will be considered by a panel, who will issue a Panel Determination on the objection. Each type of objection proceeding has an appeals process that permits the non-prevailing party to appeal a Panel Determination. If the non-prevailing party wishes to appeal, it must notify the relevant Dispute Resolution Service Provider (DRSP) within 15 days of the expert determination, file the appeal, and pay the required fees within 15 days. All applied-for gTLDs and applied-for allocatable variant strings will be subject to the objection processes.
The Objection and Appeal Procedures will require different payments to be submitted directly to the DRSPs at different times as described in Section 4.5.6 Objections and Appeals Costs. To support the multistakeholder model, ICANN offers certain funding possibilities to the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) and national governments.
For more information on funding requirements and processes go to: