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New gTLD Program: 2026 Round

The New gTLD Program: 2026 Round comes at the request of ICANN’s global multistakeholder community, which developed the program over a number of years in line with community-developed policy recommendations.

The implementation of that policy resulted in the processes, rules, and requirements laid out in the Applicant Guidebook and drive the timing of the major milestones in the program illustrated here.

The application submission period for the New gTLD Program opens on 30 April 2026 and will close on 12 August 2026. The Registry Service Provider Evaluation Program will run concurrently with the New gTLD Program.

For reference, historical information about the 2012 Round of the New gTLD Program can be found here.

     

Applicant Guidebook (AGB) The AGB for the next round was developed in collaboration with the Implementation Review Team. The final version was published in December 2025.
Applicant Journey The applicant journey shows the stages that an application goes through from preparation through potential delegation, explaining the events and evaluations that occur at each stage of the application process.
2026 Round: Base Registry Agreement The expected form of registry agreement that successful gTLD applicants enter into with ICANN prior to delegation of a new gTLD.
2026 Round Resources Training and resources for new gTLD applicants and community members Whether you are an entity preparing to apply for a gTLD or an ICANN community member with a role in the process, resources and readiness pathways are available to help you navigate the application and evaluation process.
2026 Round Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) See Frequently Asked Questions and ICANN's responses.
Application Publication and Statistics (APS) The Application Publication and Statistics (APS) website provides information about New gTLD Program: 2026 Round applications, including program statistics, the public portions of applications, contention sets, and objections and appeals.