As part of ICANN's New Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) Program: Next Round, the Registry Service Provider (RSP) Evaluation Program is intended to reduce the cost and time involved in evaluating new gTLDs by separating the assessment of the technical aspects of operating a gTLD from the application for the gTLD label.
The evaluation of RSPs is an important part of ICANN's mission to help ensure a stable, secure, resilient Internet. RSPs offer critical services – such as DNS, Registration Data Access Protocol, and DNS Security Extensions, among others – on behalf of a registry operator.
Through the RSP Evaluation Program, RSPs need only be evaluated once, regardless of the number of gTLDs they support. The program will evaluate RSPs both before and during the application process for new gTLDs.
The RSP Handbook describes the RSP Evaluation Program. It offers guidance to potential applicants with regard to the RSP evaluation process, requirements to operate an RSP, timelines and expectations of evaluation and testing, and criteria and eligibility requirements for RSP applicants.
All new gTLD applicants are required to use evaluated RSPs. A list of pre-evaluated RSPs will be made available before the gTLD application submission period opens.
Timeline of the RSP Evaluation Program
Pre-Evaluation period:
- ICANN org plans to open the application submission period for RSP Pre-Evaluation on 19 November 2024.
- ICANN org plans to close this submission period on 20 May 2025.
Evaluation period:
- ICANN org plans to re-open the application submission period for RSP Evaluation when the gTLD application submission period opens, which is currently projected to open in April 2026. RSP applicants that are not evaluated during the pre-evaluation phase must seek evaluation during the gTLD application submission period and may be selected by gTLD applicants upon successful evaluation.
- ICANN org plans to close the submission period when the Next Round gTLD application submission period closes.
Published list of RSPs:
- ICANN org plans to publish public portions of the RSP applications on 9 December 2025. On this date, ICANN org also plans to publish results for the first time for those RSP applicants who have gone through the RSP program.
- ICANN org will continuously publish public portions of the RSP applications submitted after the RSP Pre-evaluation and results based on the SLT.