RSP Handbook Approved by ICANN Board
The ICANN Board voted to adopt the RSP Handbook for the next round of new gTLDs on 28 June. The RSP Handbook provides an overview of the process and establishes the criteria to become a Registry Services Provider (RSP) as part of the next round of the New gTLD Program.
The application submission period for RSP Pre-Evaluation is planned to open on 19 November 2024, and close on 20 May 2025. RSPs that pass evaluation from this submission period will be published as a list around December 2025. Prospective applicants may elect to use one of these pre-evaluated RSPs for their application but will not be required to do so.
The application submission for RSP Evaluation will re-open and close in conjunction with the new gTLD application submission period. Successful RSPs from this window may be selected by registry operators upon successful evaluation and will also be added to the public list of evaluated RSPs.
The RSP Evaluation fee will be US$92,000 – whether evaluated in the first or second evaluation window. Although, additional costs may be incurred if an extended technical review is required.
You can read the RSP Handbook, which includes the questions for the evaluation, here.
The Com Laude Podcast (EP-9) - First Round Review Part 1
In part one of our First Round Review series we met with Vivek Goyal, COO & Co-founder at LdotR. He shared his experience with applying for four TLDs, the difficulties he and his team encountered, and what potential applicants should be aware of if they want their own brand TLD.