On 16 December 2025, ICANN published the New gTLD Program: 2026 Round Applicant Guidebook, available here (V1-2025.12.16). To view the web version of the Applicant Guidebook in html, click here.
The Guidebook is the essential roadmap to the program, providing interested parties with the application questions and all the information they need to apply for new gTLDs. It lays out the requirements to lead readers through application submission and evaluation processes.
ICANN will publish translations of the Guidebook in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish no later than two months before the opening of the 2026 Round.
The table below provides an overview of the version history of the Guidebook. The latest version (top row of the table) is the authoritative version.
Version Number | Date | Overview of Version |
| V1-2025.12.16 | 16 December 2025 | Official version of the 2026 Round Applicant Guidebook as per Board Resolution 2025.10.30.12. For more detail, see full list of changes. |
| V0-2025.10.301 | 30 October 2025 | Board adopted version of the Applicant Guidebook (see Board Resolution 2025.10.30.12) |
| Draft | 30 May 2025 | Draft version of the Applicant Guidebook posted for Public Comment. |
1 The version number has been updated to V0. Going forward the numbering scheme for versions will be: V#-YYYY.MM.DD.