Apply to the RSP Program

The RSP pre-evaluation submission period is now open and is projected to close on 20 May 2025. The second evaluation period is projected to open in April 2026 for 12-15 weeks, concurrent with the opening of the Next Round application submission window.

Please be reminded that ICANN org offices will pause operations as of 01:00 UTC on Tuesday, 24 December 2024, and will reopen at 16:00 UTC on Thursday, 2 January 2025. During this time, the processing of applications and service requests will be suspended

Existing Registry Service Providers (RSPs) and new entrants to the RSP market are both invited to submit applications to become a prequalified RSP in the New Generic Top-Level Domains (New gTLD) Program: Next Round. Eligibility requirements for applicant organizations are defined in section 3.1 of the RSP Handbook. We encourage all potential applicants to read the handbook and to follow these steps:

Read the entire RSP Handbook. Becoming an RSP is a big commitment in both time and money.
Determine which type(s) of RSP application(s) is right for your organization. An RSP applicant may apply for each type of RSP.
Carefully read the technical questions for the type of RSP(s) your organization will apply for and determine if your organization can adequately provide answers to each and all of them.
Carefully read the Registry System Testing (RST) 2.0 specifications as your systems will be tested as part of the RSP evaluation.
Seek legal advice regarding your organization's ability to comply with the Terms and Conditions.
Gather all necessary information about your organization as required by ICANN to conduct legal compliance and background screening, as described in the RSP Handbook. Also, identify the specific users in your organization who will submit the application(s).
If you serve as an RSP for an existing gTLD and wish to offer Registry Services that are currently offered by a gTLD you support but are not considered Fast Track registry services, please develop a materially similar or matching description of the existing registry service, to be used by gTLDs in the registry agreement, to use the simplified registry services evaluation process.
If you plan to offer IDN services, please consider using the Second-Level Label Generation Rules (LGR) with Full Variant Set to expedite IDN Evaluation.
If you have any questions, please review the RSP FAQ. You may also contact ICANN regarding the RSP application process to seek clarifications.

When you are ready, use the RSP Portal to enter your organization's information and begin the RSP application process.

Accessing the RSP Portal

All RSP applications, applications for IDN services, and applications for additional Registry Services must be completed using the RSP Portal. To access the RSP Portal you must have an ICANN account at https://account.icann.org and must have Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) enabled. In order to enable MFA, please go to "Manage Account" under your name, then go to "Security" and next "Manage MFA". It is highly recommended that you generate recovery codes for MFA by clicking on "Generate Recovery Codes" when enabling MFA in case you lose access to the device used for MFA. For more information on ICANN Accounts, go to https://account.icann.org/help.

To log into the RSP Portal, users must use https://account.icann.org. Once you are successfully logged into ICANN Account, go to "ICANN SERVICES", and then click on "New gTLD Apps". On the New gTLD Apps landing page, you will find the "RSP Applicants" tile where you can access the RSP evaluation program portal.

Accessing the RSP Portal

Further Reading