Today, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) issued a request for proposal (RFP) to identify a single, qualified provider to conduct both, the Geographic Names Panel review and the Reserved Names Panel review, for the New Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) Program: 2026 Round.
The Geographic Names Panel evaluates if each applied-for gTLD string represents an eligible geographic name. The Reserved Names Panel determines whether an applied-for gTLD string represents a reserved name and verifies the relevance and authenticity of the supporting documentation that must be submitted by applicants for gTLD strings that represent reserved names.
Interested providers are invited to submit proposals that ICANN will then evaluate for capability and expertise. Because the work related to both panels is similar, ICANN intends to consolidate the work with a single provider.
This is a public RFP, which means that any prospective vendor may participate.
For a complete overview of this RFP, including the timeline, please consult the RFP Overview webpage.
Indications of interest should be emailed to 2026-rnd-geo_rsvd.nms.pnl-rfp@icann.org and include the following information:
- Name of the organization
- Contact name
- Contact email address
Official responses to the RFP should be electronically submitted using ICANN's sourcing tool by 23:59 UTC on 13 March 2026. Access to this tool may be requested via the same email address.