ICANN opens payment testing for applicants in 2026 gTLD round

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers has introduced a payment testing process for organisations planning to apply in the New gTLD Program: 2026 Round.

The initiative allows applicants to verify that their payment procedures work correctly before submitting the full evaluation fee required for a new generic top-level domain application.

According to ICANN, the evaluation fee must be received no later than 23:59 UTC on 19 August 2026, seven days after the application window closes on 12 August 2026.

ICANN noted that international bank transfers can take different amounts of time depending on financial institutions and jurisdictions. The testing process is intended to help applicants identify and resolve any payment issues before application deadlines.

Applicants wishing to submit a test payment must contact ICANN’s Global Support team for instructions.

ICANN has also made available consolidated quotations for organisations applying for multiple top-level domains. Instead of requesting separate quotations for each application, entities can obtain a single pro forma quotation covering multiple TLD applications.

The 2026 round will be the first opportunity in more than a decade for organisations to apply for new generic top-level domains following the 2012 application round.

Applicants can contact ICANN’s support team during the preparation phase, while application-specific questions can be submitted through the Top-Level Domain Application System (TAMS) after an application has been filed.