The second application submission period for the ICANN New gTLD Program: 2026 Round RSP Evaluation Program runs from 30 April to 12 August 2026.
Additionally, Registry Service Providers that have cleared RSP Evaluation can be found on this List of Evaluated RSPs.
- What is a Registry Service Provider (RSP)?
- Does my organization need to be currently providing registry services for a gTLD currently in order to apply to the Registry Service Provider (RSP) program?
- If my organization currently provides registry services for a gTLD, will it still need to be evaluated to become an RSP for the 2026 round of new gTLDs?
- How many types of RSPs are there?
- Does my organization need to apply to be every type of RSP? Can an RSP provide services to more than one gTLD?
- Can an RSP provide services to more than one gTLD?
- Can an RSP provide services to a country-code top-level domain (ccTLD)?
- Can a ccTLD operator apply to be an RSP?
- Can a gTLD have more than one DNS RSP?
- Can a gTLD be its own RSP?
- If my organization is unsuccessfully evaluated, can I apply again?
- Will my organization be added to the list of evaluated RSPs if I cannot successfully clear evaluation before the first publication of the list on 9 December 2025?
- Where can I find more information about becoming an RSP?
- Are all new gTLD applicants required to use RSPs that have been successfully evaluated through the RSP Program?
- What is the cost of the RSP Evaluation Program?
- Is the RSP evaluation fee refundable, for example if the application is not successfully evaluated?
- Are the RSP and the gTLD Evaluation fees related?
- How can my organization apply to be an evaluated RSP?
- Does my organization need to pass all the questions on the RSP Technical Questionnaire to pass the RSP Evaluation?
- What are the rules around partners or suppliers having to be evaluated in the RSP Evaluation Program?
- Why are there different versions of Label Generation Rules (LGRs) at ICANN site and New gTLD Program site?
- Is it mandatory to use RSP Full Variant Set LGR for the RSP application?
- For questions with a "Yes" / "No" answer, can we only pass evaluation if we answer "Yes".
- A large number of the technical questions ask "Does or will …", implying it is acceptable that compliance is something that can be achieved in the future. If we answer "Yes", based on future compliance, when is the deadline to be compliant?
- Questions 1.12 (e.g MAIN.1.12) ask about "background checks" on employees. Can you clarify what is meant by this?
- Technical question DNS.5.14 references RFC6186 "Use of SRV Records for Locating Email Submission/Access Services", is that correct?
- I've seen references to "Secondary Technical Screening" and "Eligibility to bypass secondary technical screening", but there's nothing about this in the Handbook. What do these mean?
- Why does the RSP Portal now collect the year-of-birth instead of the full-date-of-birth for individuals?
- The second RSP Evaluation Program application submission period closes on 12 August 2026. Can I create new applications after this date?
- Can you clarify exactly what is required in an answer to the Service Disruption questions (i.e., MAIN. 12.8, DNS. 8.8, DNSSEC. 6.8 and PROXY. 9.7)?
- Is there a way for my organization to provide registry services for an existing gTLD once I clear RSP evaluation?
- How long can a session in the RSP Portal be active before the system times out?
Main RSP
- What is the difference between questions MAIN 1.1 and MAIN 1.2 in Appendix A of the RSP Handbook?
- What does the term "cryptographic material" mean in question MAIN 1.6 and other questions of Appendix A of the RSP Handbook?
- What is meant by "at-rest data" or "data at-rest" in Appendix A of the RSP Handbook?
- What is meant by "in-transit data" or "data in-transit" in Appendix A of the RSP Handbook?
- What is the difference between the maintenance of hardware and life cycle of hardware in questions MAIN 2.6 and MAIN 2.8 of Appendix A of the RSP Handbook?
- What is the difference between the maintenance of software and the development of software in questions MAIN 2.7 and MAIN 2.9 of Appendix A of the RSP Handbook?
- What does "automated orchestration" mean in the RSP Handbook?
- Question MAIN.4.11 - Can ICANN clarify what "sustained throughput" means and how long that is?
- Question MAIN.4.11 - Can ICANN clarify what is being referred to for "raw and materialized data"?
- Do RSPs need to integrate with and support the functionality of the Trademark Database (TMDB) for RSP Evaluation?
DNS RSP
- What does DNS Registry Service mean in question DNS 4.2 of Appendix A of the RSP Handbook?
- What does question DNS 8.9 of Appendix A of the RSP Handbook mean?
Proxy RSP
Understanding How Users Work
This section augments the information In Section 4.1.2. "RSP Applicant Onboarding" of the RSP Handbook related to users.