ICANN opens applications for new generic top-level domains for the first time since 2012
ICANN has reopened applications for new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) for the first time since 2012, allowing entities to apply for custom domains in various scripts. The application process, which supports both community-specific and commercial gTLDs, comes with a significant fee and technical requirements. This expansion aims to increase diversity and accessibility in the domain name system.
- ▪ICANN launched a new application round for gTLDs in May 2026, the first since 2012.
- ▪Applicants must pay a $227,000 evaluation fee for each gTLD application.
- ▪The new gTLD program supports domain names in 27 different scripts, including non-Latin character sets.
- ▪The original gTLDs (.gov, .edu, .com, .mil, .org) were proposed in RFC 920 by Jon Postel and Joyce Reynolds.
- ▪The 2012 gTLD expansion resulted in over 1,900 new domains, including brand-specific ones like .java.
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Off-Prem ICANN opens applications for new generic top-level domains for the first time since 2012 $227k gets you a hearing for your dot.vanity project, or strings in one of 27 scripts Simon Sharwood Fri 1 May 2026 // 02:15 UTC The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) on Thursday kicked off a new application process for generic top-level domains (gTLDs), its first since 2012. The domain name system as we know it came into being thanks to RFC 920, penned by internet pioneers Jon Postel and Joyce Reynolds, which suggested creating .gov, .edu, .com, .mil, and .org gTLDs. When Postel and Reynolds wrote their RFC, the sole domain name was .arpa – reflecting the origins of the Internet at the USA’s Advanced Research Projects Agency.
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