Among the unresolved questions surrounding the new application window for new generic extensions, many of us have been wondering when ICANN, the Internet’s governing body, would provide a specific date for the first day of submission of future applications.
The announcement was made public in an article published on the ICANN blog by Kurtis Linqvist, President and CEO of ICANN. He has stated that 2025 has been a year of significant progress in implementing the new generic extension program, moving toward the goal of opening a new application window, 14 years after the last one. One of the decisive steps was the publication of the applicant guide on December 16, 2025. It should be noted that the applicant guide, a reference document for future applications, was approved by the ICANN Board of Directors at the most recent public session of the ICANN84 summit in Dublin.
Kurtis Linqvist also states that efforts are now focused on the final stage of implementing the program: “We are now committed to opening the cycle on April 30, 2026.” The period for submitting complete applications will therefore begin on Thursday, April 30, and will last for 12 to 15 weeks, possibly until July or even early August. After that date, it will be too late to apply. Those who are undecided or late will have to wait for another opportunity, which could very well arise again in 14 years—who knows?
Among other notable events, at the end of 2025, the application period for candidates to apply to the Applicant Support Program ended on 19 December. This program aims to reduce economic and technical barriers to entry in order to broaden overall participation and diversity among candidates for new domain name extensions. Data provided by ICANN indicate that 75 applications were received from ICANN’s five regions:
- 10 applications from Africa,
- 38 from the Asia-Pacific region,
- 1 from Latin America and the Caribbean,
- 6 from Europe,
- 20 from North America.
In 2012, this then new program had only received three applications. These initial indicators show that the Asia-Pacific region, which is currently the most dynamic in the domain name market, also appears to be very interested in the next series of new domain name extensions. In 2012, the 1,930 total applications submitted during the application window were distributed as follows:
- North America: 911 applications,
- Europe: 675 applications,
- Asia-Pacific: 303 applications,
- Latin America and the Caribbean: 24 applications,
- Africa: 17 applications.
It is also estimated that around 34% of these applications were for brand extensions, or the “Brand TLDs”.
What will happen in 2026? The answers will come next fall during ICANN’s “Reveal Day” and “String Confirmation Day”.
