ICANN sets key dates for 2026 new gTLD round
ICANN has announced the main milestones for its 2026 round of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs), including the publication of applications on 7 October and the start of community input and objections in November.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has set the next milestones for the 2026 Round of the New gTLD Program, providing applicants and the wider ICANN community with dates through the end of the year.
The first major milestone is Reveal Day on 7 October at 18:00 UTC. ICANN will publish the applications moving forward in the programme, including the applied-for primary strings, any eligible variant or replacement strings, contention sets and the public portions of applications.
Applicants that submitted a replacement string will then have until 21 October to switch from their primary string, subject to the programme’s eligibility requirements.
The next milestone is String Confirmation Day on 17 November. ICANN will publish the final list of applied-for strings and an updated list of contention sets. It will also mark the start of the Community Input and Objections Period.
Applicants will have until 27 November at 23:59 UTC to withdraw an application and receive a 65% refund of the gTLD evaluation fee.
Community input and objections
The Community Input and Objections Period will run from 17 November 2026 to 16 March 2027. During this period, the ICANN community and members of the public will be able to comment on applications and raise concerns through several mechanisms.
These include application comments, Governmental Advisory Committee Member Early Warnings, singular/plural notifications and formal objections. The period is intended to provide opportunities for input before applications progress through subsequent stages of the programme.
ICANN has also confirmed that programme operations will pause during its end-of-year office closure, from 19 December 2026 until 4 January 2027. The closure has been taken into account in the timetable for community input and objections.
What comes next?
The next major stage will be the String Evaluation Stage, during which applied-for gTLD strings and their allocatable variants will be assessed against the programme requirements. ICANN expects this stage to last 180 days, with all strings reviewed concurrently.
A Prioritization Draw is expected to take place during the first half of 2027. It will determine the order in which applications and contention sets are processed after string evaluation. ICANN has not yet set a specific date.
Further dates, including the publication of String Evaluation Results and the start of applicant and application evaluations and contention resolution, will be announced as they are confirmed.
