New gTLD Program Next Round
GAC Participation/Interest on Matters Related to Subsequent Rounds of New gTLDs
GAC members have actively participated in the GNSO Subsequent Rounds for New gTLD PDP WG. As part of this effort, and GAC wide interest in this important topic, the GAC formed a Focal Group on Next Rounds of New gTLDs following ICANN64 to build capacity within the GAC and ensuring timely input into the final deliberations of the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures PDP WG. The Focal Group evolved with the workload associated to the next round of new gTLDs and GAC members interested in the topic now participate in the GAC Small Team on the Next Round of New gTLDs. Interested GAC members who wish to join this effort are invited to email gac-staff@icann.org to be added to the Small Team mailing list.
Following the delivery of the Final Report on the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures PDP WG to the ICANN Board, GAC members have remained engaged and interested in this topic and continue to discuss this topic at GAC meetings around ICANN meetings. GAC Members followed the Operational Design Phase (ODP) and are actively participating in the Implementation Review Team, responsible for the implementation of the policy recommendations which stemmed from the policy development process.
GAC members are encouraged to contact GAC Support (gac-support@icann.org) if they wish to be added to the dedicated mailing list on Subsequent Rounds of New gTLDs to actively engage on this matter.
Note: For a comprehensive deep dive on Subsequent Rounds of New gTLDs, interested GAC Members are encouraged to review the GAC Policy Background - Subsequent Rounds of New gTLDs document in the documentation section below.
Background
Since its incorporation, ICANN has delivered several expansions of the Top-Level Domain (TLD) namespace. The latest and most significant expansion started in 2012, and has seen more than 1000 New gTLDs added to the DNS.
In the context of the 2012 round of New gTLDs, ICANN received 1239 applications but only 97 Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) related applications. It means that western companies and organisations mostly benefit from this opportunity. Then, the next round of new gTLD should represent a good opportunity for companies and organizations from Asia, Africa, Latin America and other regions to apply for IDN new gTLDs. The Internet community will not address the digital divide issue just by creating new infrastructures, access to local content is a real incentive to get more people online. IDNs allow Internet users to develop Internet identifiers based on their own narrative, their own language, their own script, their own keyboard.
This latest expansion, known as the New gTLD Program or the 2012 round of New gTLDs, was the product of a multi-year process of policy development, in which the GAC participated, with contributions in the form of policy principles, safeguard advice and objections to applications that could cause public policy concerns.
Several processes that have been supporting deliberations on these findings and wider policy issues related to further expansion of gTLDs have been of interest to the GAC, in particular:
- The Consumer Trust, Consumer Choice and Competition Review whose Final Recommendations (8 September 2018) are in the process of being implemented, amid intense debates, per the ICANN Board’s decision (1 March 2018)
- The GNSO’s Review of All Rights Protection Mechanisms in All gTLDs PDP tasked to assess the effectiveness of instruments such as the UDRP, URS and TMCH and suggest new policy recommendations in these areas
- The GNSO’s New gTLD Subsequent Procedures PDP (Sub Pro PDP), and within it, the specific Work Track 5 on Geographic Names at the Top Level
Following the Board Approval of the SubPro PDP WG Final Report:
On 16 March 2023, the Board resolved to instruct ICANN org to begin the implementation of all Final Report Outputs detailed in Section A of the "Scorecard on Subsequent Procedures PDP" (March Scorecard) and to make available resources required for the successful and timely opening of the next round of new gTLDs. The ICANN Board approved ninety-eight (98) recommendations contained in the Final Report on the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures Policy Development Process, and marked the remaining thirty-eight (38) recommendations as “pending”.
The Board further directed ICANN org to deliver a comprehensive implementation plan to the Board no later than 1 August 2023, containing a work plan, relevant information for the Infrastructure Development stream, timelines and anticipated resource requirements to announce the opening of the next round of new gTLDs. ICANN org delivered the implementation plan for opening the next round of applications for new generic top-level domains (gTLDs), and on its resolution approved on 27 July 2023, the Board acknowledged receipt of the plan and directed ICANN org to provide the Board with periodic updates on its progress on program implementation, as well as to continue to prepare information for the Board Finance Committee on periodic requests for implementation funding as implementation work progresses through identified milestones. A status update on the New gTLD Program: Next Round was published by ICANN org on 24 February 2025.
The Board engaged with the GNSO Council on items marked as “pending”, and following this interaction the GNSO Council transmitted to the Board the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures Pending Recommendations - GNSO Council Clarifying Statement (Clarifying Statement) on 5 September 2023, developed by the GNSO Council SubPro Small Team to address the Board's concerns on the pending Outputs. The GNSO Council noted the Clarifying Statement should be read as complementary to recommendations as stated in the Final Report and should be considered jointly with the Outputs for the purpose of implementation and operation of the New gTLD Program Next Round.
In September 2023, the ICANN Board published several documents of interest to the GAC pertaining to new gTLDs. Relevant sections of these documents are summarized below for GAC membership ease of reference.
- On 10 September 2023, the ICANN Board published the September 2023 Scorecard: Subsequent Procedures PDP, i.e. an updated Board Scorecard on the SubPro PDP WG recommendations marked as “pending” in the Board Resolution on 16 March 2023.
- The Board also published on 10 September 2023 the Board Scorecard on ICANN77 GAC Advice, outlining Board decisions following the issuance of GAC advice at ICANN77.
- On 21 September 2023, the Board published the Board Scorecard on ICANN77 GAC Issues of Importance, outlining its comments and decisions on the GAC ICANN77 Issues of Importance following the Board-GAC Interaction on this topic.
The Board published on 26 October 2023 the October 2023 Board Scorecard: Subsequent Procedures (SubPro PDP), outlining Board decisions on pending recommendations from the SubPro PDP WG Final Report.
On 11 June 2024 the ICANN Board published the June 2024 Scorecard: Subsequent Procedures Supplemental Recommendations. This June 2024 Scorecard: Subsequent Procedures Supplemental Recommendations (Supplemental Recommendations Scorecard) is intended to facilitate the Board's consideration of the GNSO Council-approved Supplemental Recommendations.
GAC Positions
The Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) has emphasized a cautious and well-structured approach to the upcoming Next Round of the new gTLD Program, expected to open in 2026. Key GAC positions focus on ensuring that the round proceeds only after critical prerequisites—such as policy reviews, impact assessments, and a finalized Applicant Guidebook—are completed.
GAC continues to advocate for a robust Applicant Support Program (ASP), ensuring meaningful financial and non-financial support for applicants from underserved regions. It also prioritizes enforceable public interest safeguards, including Registry Voluntary Commitments (RVCs) and Public Interest Commitments (PICs), with mechanisms for monitoring and enforcement.
A major point of concern remains string contention resolution. GAC does not support private auctions and has encouraged community dialogue on alternatives, such as the use of replacement strings. The treatment of geographic names and the role of GAC Early Warnings also remain key topics under discussion.
Emerging areas of focus include DNS abuse mitigation, registration data accuracy, and ensuring predictability and fairness throughout the application process. The GAC has called for targeted policy development to address systemic abuse and bulk registrations.
Recent discussions during ICANN82 and ICANN83 show the GAC’s active involvement in shaping the Applicant Guidebook and related processes. The GAC remains a strong voice advocating for transparency, accountability, and equitable access in the new gTLD program.
The Subsequent Procedures Implementation Review Team (IRT) commenced its work in May 2023 and is expected to draft the next Applicant Guidebook in preparation for the next round of new gTLDs. The GAC appointed Canada as a representative to participate in the process, and the United Kingdom as an alternate, to provide input to the IRT and report back to the broader committee on areas of importance to the GAC.
Main chronological milestones of New gTLD: Next Round work
The GNSO’s New gTLD Subsequent Procedures PDP was initiated on 17 December 2015 to determine “whether changes or adjustments to the existing policy recommendations [...] are needed” in relation to original policies that the Working Group charter recognizes as “designed to produce a systemized and ongoing mechanisms for applicants to propose new top-level domains”.
Key Milestones so far have included:
- a first round of community consultations on overarching issues (Summer 2016)
- a second round of community consultations on a wide range of more specific topics (March-May 2017). It received 25 submissions.
- an Initial Report (3 July 2018) documenting the Working Group's deliberations, preliminary recommendations, potential options, as well as specific questions to the ICANN Community. It received 72 submissions in a period of 3 months.
- a Supplemental Initial Report (30 October 2018) addressed a more limited set of additional issues including Auctions, Application Comments, Changes to Applications and proposal to improve Registrar support of New gTLDs. It received 14 submissions.
- a Supplemental Initial Report of its Work Track 5 (5 December 2018) dedicated to address the use of Geographic Names at the Top Level.
- The full Working Group reviewed public comments on its Initial Report and Supplemental Initial Report through to ICANN66.
- The Subsequent Rounds of New gTLDs Draft Final Report was published for public comment on 20 August 2020.
- The Subsequent Rounds of New gTLDs Final Report was delivered to the GNSO Council on 18 January 2021 and submitted for public comment on 22 April 2021.
- The final report and the GNSO Council recommendations report was submitted to the ICANN Board for their review and consideration on 24 March 2021.
- The Subsequent Rounds for New gTLDs Operational Design Assessment was delivered to the ICANN Board on 12 December 2022.
- The Subsequent Round for New gTLDs Implementation Review Team (IRT) work commenced in May 2023 and is ongoing.
- The Applicant Support Program submission period opened on 19 November 2024 and is set to close on 19 November 2025.
For more information, please visit the New gTLD Program Website.