Technical FAQs

Given the ambiguity surrounding the process, we’ve tried to address some specific technical queries that applicants might have regarding the application process.

1. What is the process involved in applying for a new gTLD?

   The application round will start a few months after the release of the Final Applicant Guidebook. Detailed application information will be published in that document. Candidates wishing to apply will have to become registered users of the online application system. They’ll be required to answer a set of questions to provide general information, demonstrate financial, technical and operational capability. They’ll also be required to submit their evaluation fees during this period.

2. If a newly formed entity were to apply for a gTLD, how should it demonstrate its financial capability?

   In the case of entities who are newly formed and do not have any prior operating history, ICANN requires the applicant to submit pro forma financial statements, demonstrating the entity’s projected capitalization for the registry operator. What is of import here is that the funding that is demonstrated cannot include prospective funding; it must be verifiable as a true and accurate reflection of their available resources.

3. How will each of the application criteria be actually assessed during the Initial Evaluation period?

   To assess the applicant’s responses, ICANN has come up with a scoring system where responses are evaluated against each criterion. A score will be assigned according to the scoring schedule linked to each question or set of questions. In nearly all cases, 2 points are awarded for a response that exceeds requirements, 1 point is awarded for a response that meets requirements and 0 points are awarded for a response that fails to meet requirements. However, for certain questions up to 3 points may be awarded in the case of exceptional responses.

4. How can an entity demonstrate technical and operational capabilities if they have never operated a registry before?

   ICANN does not actually require an entity to have operated an actual registry for the entity to meet its application criteria successfully. The applicant will be required to answer a set of questions that test its funding for technical operations, resilience and anticipation of contingencies, as well as the demonstration of a technical plan most likely to deliver on best practices for the registry. If/when the application is approved, the applicant will have to go through a pre-delegation technical test before the TLD is delegated into the root.

5. What additional criteria will be assessed in the Extended Evaluation?

   Applicants that choose to apply for an Extended Evaluation will be assessed on the same set of criteria that was applicable during the Initial Evaluation. In fact, the same set of panelists that reviewed the application earlier will be evaluating it during this period. The applicant is allowed to provide more information to add to his earlier proposal, but is not allowed to change any of the information that he had provided earlier for the Initial Evaluation round.

6. Is there a fee for requesting an Extended Evaluation?

   If a proposed Registry Service in the application is required to have an additional review, the applicant will have to incur the cost of the Registry Services Review Fee, if the applicant wishes to proceed. This fee is anticipated to be USD 50,000. There are no explicitly specified costs for any other elements of an extended evaluation in the current RFP.

7. Given that the process is so expensive, is there any refund should an applied for TLD fail to get delegated?

   A refund will only be available to those applicants who choose to withdraw their application at certain stages of the process. The amount to be refunded is yet to be decided, and will only be known once the final RFP is released. Those candidates who do not pass the Initial Evaluation and refrain from opting for Extended Evaluation will also be refunded a certain percentage of their application fee.