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Base Registry Agreement

As part of the New gTLD Program: 2026 Round, ICANN is preparing the 2026 Base gTLD Registry Agreement (2026 Base RA), outlining the rights and obligations of new gTLD registry operators. Once the ICANN Board approves the form of 2026 Base RA, it will serve as the form of contractual document between successful applicants in the New gTLD Program: 2026 Round and ICANN and will be available before the application window opens in April 2026.

Consistent with the outputs of the Final Report on the new gTLD Subsequent Procedures Policy Development Process (Final Report), the 2026 Base RA is based on the existing Base gTLD RA (approved by the ICANN Board 21 January 2024), incorporates changes from Board-approved policy recommendations, and includes other operational updates based on ICANN's experience since launching the 2012 round of the New gTLD Program.

The latest draft of the 2026 Base RA and redline against the existing Base gTLD RA (approved by the ICANN Board 21 January 2024) are available below:

  1. Draft 2026 Base RA – December 2025 (Clean) [PDF, 852 KB]
  2. Draft 2026 Base RA – December 2025 (Cumulative Redline) [PDF, 1.2 MB]

ICANN opened two Public Comment proceedings on the 2026 Base RA to seek input from the community, including potential 2026 gTLD applicants. The Public Comment Summary and Analysis Reports can be found at the links below.

  1. Public Comment Summary and Analysis Report #1
  2. Public Comment Summary and Analysis Report #2

Two additional documents were posted for public comment:

  1. Specification 14 (the Specification for Variant TLDs) – following the ICANN Board's resolution adopting the Internationalized Domain Names Expedited Policy Development Process (IDN EPDP) Phase 1 Recommendations 7.4 and 7.5, ICANN initiated a separate Public Comment proceeding on proposed updates to Specification 14 (the Specification for Variant TLDs) of the 2026 Base RA. The Public Comment Summary and Analysis Report for this proceeding can be found here.
  2. Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) Requirements – ICANN opened a separate Public Comment proceeding on proposed updates to the TMCH Requirements that included changes to implement Sunrise Final Recommendation #8 from the first phase of a Policy Development Process (PDP) on a Review of All Rights Protection Mechanisms in All gTLDs, as well as revisions to account for the next expansion of the gTLD space. The TMCH Requirements is an ancillary document referenced in Section 1 of Specification 7 of the 2026 Base RA. The Public Comment Summary and Analysis Report for this proceeding can be found here.

ICANN will submit the draft 2026 Base RA to the ICANN Board of Directors for consideration in advance of ICANN85. The anticipated review of the proposed 2026 Base RA by the ICANN Board will be in March 2026 at ICANN85.

The 2026 Base RA will be added to the Applicant Guidebook as Appendix 4 following its adoption by the Board prior to the opening of the application submission round.