Frequently Asked Questions

For the upcoming ICANN Next Round, the base application fee per TLD is expected to be around USD 227,000.

• Example: Applying for .CRYPTO as a new gTLD → you'd budget $227,000 for the application itself (plus legal, consulting, etc.).
• Example: Applying for .kyiv as a city TLD → same $227,000 base fee, plus costs for government support letters and possibly extra legal work.

This fee is just to have ICANN evaluate your application; it does not include your registry build, RSP evaluation fee, or annual ICANN fees once the TLD is delegated.

No. All 1- and 2-character ASCII labels are blocked as new gTLDs in this round.

• Not allowed examples:
  • .pi – 2 characters → automatically disallowed.
  • .us, .uk, .ua – 2-letter country codes (ccTLDs) → already in use.

For ASCII gTLDs, the length must be 3 to 63 characters (letters A–Z, plus hyphens with some rules). So you can't apply for .pi, but you could think about something like .pay, .psp, etc.

No, country and territory names are not available as new gTLD strings in this round.

Not allowed:

• 2-letter country codes: .us, .uk, .ua, .de, etc.
• 3-letter ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 codes: .usa, .ukr, .fra, etc.
• Country names themselves (short or long form), like .ukraine, .germany, .republicofkorea, and their common translations.

So:

• .ukraine – not allowed.
• .ukr (alpha-3 code) – not allowed.

If you want something related, you usually have to go for a city or region, not the country itself, and even then there are rules.

Geographic names are a special category. Many city / regional TLDs are allowed, but only if you get the right government support.

For example:

• .kyiv is a capital city name, so ICANN will treat it as a geographic TLD.
• You'll need letters of support or non-objection from the relevant public authorities (e.g., Kyiv City administration, possibly national-level authorities, depending on how you position the TLD).
• Without official support, ICANN can reject the application even if the string is technically valid.

Other examples:

• .paris, .berlin, .london – existing city TLDs that went through similar processes in the 2012 round.
• .kyiv – candidate you're considering; technically possible but requires political/government alignment.

There is no explicit rule that bans ISO 4217 currency codes (USD, EUR, JPY, etc.) as gTLD strings. They are treated as 3-letter ASCII generics.

So, technically:

• .usd, .eur, .btc → not automatically forbidden by the "country name" rules.

But in practice:

• They will face very intense scrutiny in String Similarity and Public Interest Reviews.
• Governments, central banks, or regulators might object (e.g., US Treasury or European Central Bank could raise concerns if you applied for .usd or .eur).
• You must handle the political and policy risk.

So:

• Allowed in theory: .usd, .eur, .btc.
• High-risk in practice: you should only consider them with a very strong legal and policy strategy.

Checking against the IANA root:

As of now, .crypto, .wallet, .ledger, and .bitcoin are not delegated ICANN TLDs (some may exist as "Web3 domain" products in alternate roots, but that doesn't block an ICANN application).

Policy-wise:

• They are 3+ letters, ASCII, and not country codes → OK at the technical level.
• They are generic strings, so you need to comply with generic TLD rules (no closed generics used exclusively by you).

Examples:

• .crypto – extremely strong brand, but there's existing usage in Web3 alt-roots; expect possible conflicts/objections or auction.
• .wallet – great for consumer wallets, custody, and AA; also likely to be popular, so you might face string contention (multiple applicants).
• .ledger – powerful concept, but there is a well-known hardware wallet brand "Ledger", so trademark rights/objections are a real risk.

So: technically allowed, but each has its own competitive considerations.

For ASCII (non-IDN) gTLDs, the rules are:

• Characters: A–Z (case-insensitive) and hyphen -.
• No digits, no underscores, no spaces, no emojis, no punctuation.
• Length: from 3 to 63 characters.
• Hyphen rules:
  • Must not be the first or last character.
  • You can't have hyphens in both the 3rd and 4th position (reserved for IDN punycode labels that start with xn--).

Examples:

• Valid candidates:
  • .payfi (5 letters)
  • .remit (5 letters)
  • .neuro (5 letters)
• Invalid:
  • .pi (2 letters → too short)
  • .-bank (starts with hyphen)
  • .pay- (ends with hyphen)
  • .xn--example (reserved punycode pattern)

No. Brand TLDs must follow the same string rules as generic TLDs. The "Brand" part only changes the type of application, not what strings are allowed.

So a Brand TLD must:

• Be 3–63 characters, A–Z plus hyphen rules.
• Not be 1 or 2 characters.
• Not be a country or territory name (including alpha-2 or alpha-3 codes).
• Not be on ICANN's reserved or blocked lists.
• Pass string similarity and not be obviously confusing or offensive.

Examples:

• Possible Brand TLD:
  • ".nicnames" – if "NICNAMES" is a registered trademark, and the string passes all the checks.
• Not possible:
  • ".usa" – even if you brand "USA" as a mark, you can't get .usa.
  • ".ai" – 2 letters → blocked, regardless of trademark.

ICANN has indicated that the Next Round application window is projected to:

• Open around April 2026.
• Stay open for about 12–15 weeks (roughly 3 months).

During that window we submit your prepared TLD application(s).

Because these windows are rare (roughly once per 20 years so far), this 2026 round is commonly described as a "once in a decade" or even "once in a lifetime" opportunity to get new TLDs into the ICANN root.