The ICANN community gathered in Dublin from October 25 to 30, 2025 for its 84th meeting where discussions on the long-awaited gTLD application round —now just around the corner— took center stage. With April 2026 confirmed as the launch window, momentum is building despite a few setbacks.
During its board meeting on October 30, the ICANN board officially approved the new Applicant Guidebook for the upcoming New gTLD Program: Next Round. This guidebook outlines the rules, procedures and evaluation criteria for applicants seeking to operate new generic top-level domains (gTLDs). The approval marks a critical milestone, boosting confidence that the April 2026 application window remains on track.
Incident exposes RSP identities
On the flip side, just days before the board meeting, ICANN disclosed that it was experiencing some issues with its Registry System Testing (RST). ICANN has taken the system offline and postponed the publication of the evaluated RSP list, which was originally scheduled for December 9, 2025. ICANN stressed that this delay would not affect the April 2026 launch date.
Future ICANN meeting locations
If you are interested in staying informed about the new gTLD program, consider attending one of the future ICANN meetings in person or online. These meetings provide valuable opportunities for applicants, RSPs and other stakeholders to learn about program developments.
The locations of the 2026 ICANN meetings are:
- ICANN85: Mumbai, ICANN85: Mumbai, India (7-12 March 2026)
- ICANN86: Seville, Spain (8-11 June 2026)
- ICANN87: Muscat, Oman (17-22 October 2026)
Interested in applying?
With the guidebook approved and the application window just months away, now is the time for potential applicants to prepare. If you are interested in applying for a new gTLD or have already begun preparing, check helloregistry.com for more information.