For Community Applications, the Registry Commitments Evaluation plays a critical role. Community applicants must propose Community Registration Policies for inclusion in the Registry Agreement as a mandatory requirement. These policies must pass the Registry Commitments Evaluation in order to be approved. Without approved Community Registration Policies, a Community Application cannot proceed to the next stage of the program, including participation in the Community Priority Evaluation (CPE) to resolve contention.
For other types of applications that only contain proposed Registry Voluntary Commitments (RVCs) for evaluation, the RCE in general does not affect whether an application can proceed. It only determines whether a proposed RVC can be included in the Registry Agreement if the application proceeds to contracting.
However, there are two important exceptions:
- RVCs required to resolve objections or Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) Consensus Advice: If ICANN recognizes an RVC as necessary to resolve an objection or address GAC Consensus Advice, the application cannot proceed unless the RVC is approved.
- Rejection of an RVC submitted with the application: If a proposed RVC does not pass evaluation, the applicant must submit an Application Change Request to modify or remove it. If this is not done within the required timeframe, the application will not be allowed to proceed.