ICANN announced that the basic application fee for the next round of top - level domain names is expected to be $227,000.

As the time node for the official opening of top - level domain name applications in 2026 is approaching, global enterprises and institutions have fully entered a stage of intense planning. The application fee has always been one of the focuses of attention from all parties. On September 25th, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced the expected evaluation fee for the next round of new generic top - level domain (New gTLD) applications, which is estimated to be $227,000.

01 "Once in a Decade", the Opportunity to Master the Core Basic Resources of the Internet Enters the Countdown

Since the birth of the Internet, there has been only one open application for top - level domain names.

Top - level domain names are the highest - level domain names in the Internet system and play a crucial role in network interconnection. Before 2012, there were only 22 top - level domain names in the global domain name system, such as.com and.org. In 2012, ICANN opened the first - round application for new generic top - level domain names, introducing new generic top - level domain names (including long TLDs and internationalized domain names) into the Internet ecosystem, achieving the maximum expansion of the domain name system.

In 2023, Tripti Sinha, the chairperson of the board of directors of ICANN, the global Internet domain name management agency, announced that the opening time for the second - round top - level domain name applications is April 2026, 14 years since the opening of the last round of top - level domain name applications in 2012.

02 The Application for Brand - Specific Top - Level Domain Names Draws High Attention, and Relevant Fees and Application Policies Need to be Further Released

Since 2024, all sectors have been highly concerned about the opening process, among which brand - specific top - level domain names for commercial institutions have drawn particular attention. The industry generally believes that top - level domain names are not only important digital strategic assets of enterprises, but also the core components of network intellectual property rights, and more importantly, an embodiment of enterprises' discourse power in the global Internet.

It is worth noting that this estimated application fee does not cover "conditional evaluation". Conditional evaluation is an additional evaluation process that applicants can voluntarily choose to participate in according to their own needs, such as community - priority evaluation or brand - specific top - level domain name qualification applications. Therefore, for applicants interested in such evaluations, they need to consider additional costs.

Several enterprises have publicly announced their brand - specific top - level domain names, including Unstoppable Domains, the world's largest Web3 domain name service agency. Many buzzwords have also become the targets that major enterprises plan to apply for. Public information shows that several blockchain enterprises have announced that they will compete for the.chain top - level domain name. Currently, ICANN is still formulating specific application rules and dispute - resolution processes.

The open - application cycle for top - level domain names is not fixed. Once an enterprise misses the window period for top - level domain name applications, it may have to invest funds in secondary domain names that are both in line with the enterprise's brand characteristics and easy to remember. Besides the high cost, as the "first entrance" of business, an enterprise's digital business is deeply bound to the domain name. The phishing risks and intellectual property risks generated by some similar domain names still exist, and the legal dispute costs that may arise are also difficult to estimate.

03 Frequent Developments in Top - Level Domain Names

The National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Internet Domain Name Systems (ZDNS) has been deeply involved in ICANN international conferences and related policy - making for more than ten years. It will continue to pay attention to the open - application process and provide professional support for Chinese enterprises. For more detailed information on evaluation fees, application costs, and applicant support programs, you can contact ZDNS at any time for support.