ICANN
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
A nonprofit organization that coordinates the DNS Domain Name System The internet's directory that links domain names to computer addresses. Full definition of DNS worldwide. It signs contracts with gTLD generic top-level domain A top-level domain not tied to a country, run under ICANN contracts. Full definition of gTLD registry The central database and system of a top-level domain, or loosely the organization that runs it. Full definition of registry, accredits registrar A company that registers domain names for customers with the registry. Full definition of registrar, and its community writes policies through a multistakeholder process. ccTLD country code top-level domain A top-level domain for a country or territory, usually two letters long. Full definition of ccTLD policies are mostly set locally, not by ICANN's gTLD contracts.
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- Industry roles and organizations
ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, is the nonprofit that coordinates the internet’s naming system worldwide. It sets the rules for generic domains such as .com through contracts with registries and registrars. It is not a government and does not control what people publish online.
What ICANN is and what it does not do
ICANN was formed in 1998 as a California nonprofit public-benefit corporation. Its Bylaws give it the mission “to ensure the stable and secure operation of the Internet’s unique identifier systems”. It coordinates the names in the root zone The top of the DNS, listing every TLD and its name servers. Full definition of root zone and the policies for registering names in gTLDs, the root server A server that answers for the DNS root zone and points to TLD servers. Full definition of root server system, and the top-level allocation of internet protocol (IP Internet Protocol The internet's basic rules for sending data, using numeric addresses for every connected device. Full definition of IP) addresses. Its policies must come from a bottom-up, consensus-based multistakeholder process.
The Bylaws also set limits. ICANN may not regulate the services that use domain name A readable internet name made of labels separated by dots. Full definition of domain name or their content, and it “does not hold any governmentally authorized regulatory authority”. It does not sell domains: it signs agreements with gTLD registries and accredits registrars. Most ccTLD rules, such as those for .es, are set locally.
Even for gTLDs, the topics on which ICANN can impose policy on registries and registrars are listed in two annexes of the Bylaws, G-1 and G-2: the Picket Fence The limits, set in contracts and the ICANN Bylaws, on what ICANN consensus policies can cover. Full definition of Picket Fence.
How ICANN is organised
ICANN has three layers: the Board, the paid staff (ICANN org ICANN's paid staff, as distinct from its Board and its volunteer community. Full definition of ICANN org) and a volunteer community.
The Board has 16 voting directors and 4 non-voting liaisons. The NomCom Nominating Committee The ICANN committee that selects part of the Board and other leadership seats. Full definition of NomCom chooses 8 directors; the Address Supporting Organization (ASO), the ccNSO Country Code Names Supporting Organization The ICANN body where ccTLD managers develop global ccTLD policy. Full definition of ccNSO and the GNSO Generic Names Supporting Organization The ICANN body that develops policy for generic top-level domains. Full definition of GNSO choose 2 each; the At-Large community chooses 1; and the President sits ex officio. The Board decides through Board resolution A formal, published decision of the ICANN Board. Full definition of Board resolution.
Supporting organisations develop policy: the GNSO for gTLDs, the ccNSO for global ccTLD issues and the ASO for IP addresses. The GNSO Council has two houses: one for the contracted parties The gTLD registries and registrars that hold contracts with ICANN. Full definition of contracted parties (the RySG Registries Stakeholder Group The GNSO group that represents gTLD registry operators. Full definition of RySG and the RrSG Registrar Stakeholder Group The GNSO group that represents ICANN-accredited registrars. Full definition of RrSG) and one for everyone else, including business users, the IPC Intellectual Property Constituency The GNSO group that represents trademark and other intellectual property owners. Full definition of IPC and the NCSG Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group The GNSO group that represents noncommercial domain users and nonprofits. Full definition of NCSG.
Advisory committees advise but have “no legal authority to act for ICANN”. The GAC Governmental Advisory Committee ICANN's committee of governments that advises the Board on public policy. Full definition of GAC represents governments, the SSAC Security and Stability Advisory Committee ICANN's expert committee on security and stability of naming and addressing. Full definition of SSAC covers security, the RSSAC Root Server System Advisory Committee ICANN's advisory committee on the root server system. Full definition of RSSAC covers the root server system and the ALAC At-Large Advisory Committee ICANN's advisory committee for the interests of individual internet users. Full definition of ALAC speaks for individual users.
Where ICANN’s money comes from
As of October 2026, ICANN’s budget for fiscal year 2027 (1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027) puts operations funding at about US$165.1 million. Almost all of it comes from fees paid by gTLD registries and registrars; contributions, mostly from ccTLDs and RIR Regional Internet Registry One of five regional bodies that distribute IP addresses, separate from domain registries. Full definition of RIR, add about US$3.1 million. Registrars pay US$4,000 a year for accreditation, a share of a variable fee and US$0.20 per transaction. The Registry Agreement The contract between ICANN and a gTLD registry operator. Full definition of Registry Agreement for new gTLD A generic top-level domain added to the internet through ICANN's New gTLD Program. Full definition of new gTLD sets a fixed fee of US$6,250 per calendar quarter, plus US$0.25 per transaction above a threshold of 50,000 transactions; the agreement lets ICANN raise these with inflation. ICANN raised registry fees from January 2025 and registrar fees from July 2025, and plans no rise in fiscal year 2027.
New gTLD application fees (US$227,000 each in the 2026 round) fund the New gTLD Program ICANN's program for applying to create and run new generic TLDs. Full definition of New gTLD Program separately.
Meetings and how anyone can take part
ICANN holds three Public Meetings a year in different regions, usually with more than 100 sessions. They are free and open to everyone, in person or remotely. As of October 2026, the calendar includes:
- ICANN86, a Policy Forum, in Seville, 8 to 11 June 2026;
- ICANN87, the Annual General Meeting, in Bali, 17 to 22 October 2026 (moved from Muscat);
- ICANN88, a Community Forum, in Lisbon, 13 to 18 March 2027.
Between meetings, anyone can comment on proposed policies, fees and Bylaws changes, and individuals can take part through At-Large.
Accountability: reviews, appeals and the Empowered Community
From the lightest tool to the heaviest:
- Ombuds ICANN's independent office for complaints about unfair treatment. Full definition of Ombuds: a confidential, independent office for complaints of unfair treatment by staff, the Board or a community group.
- Reconsideration Request A request asking the ICANN Board to review an action by the Board or staff. Full definition of Reconsideration Request: anyone materially affected by a Board or staff action or inaction can ask the Board to look again, within 30 days. ICANN itself decides.
- IRP Independent Review Process A review by an independent panel of whether ICANN broke its own Bylaws. Full definition of IRP: three panellists from a standing panel The one or three independent experts who decide a domain dispute. Full definition of panel of at least seven decide whether ICANN broke its Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws. It is binding arbitration, with an appeal to the full standing panel within 60 days.
- Empowered Community The body that lets ICANN's community groups enforce powers over the Board. Full definition of Empowered Community: the ASO, ccNSO, GNSO, ALAC and GAC acting together under California law. They can remove directors, recall the whole Board and reject budgets or standard Bylaws changes, and their approval is needed to change the ICANN Bylaws ICANN's main rulebook, which sets its mission, structure and accountability rules. Full definition of ICANN Bylaws.
Specific Reviews Four community-led reviews of ICANN's performance required by its Bylaws. Full definition of Specific Reviews by community teams check how ICANN meets its commitments. As of October 2026, the review system itself is being redesigned after a Board decision of 19 May 2025.
ICANN, IANA and governments: who decides what
Until 1 October 2016, ICANN performed the IANA Internet Assigned Numbers Authority The functions that coordinate the root zone, IP addresses and protocol numbers. Full definition of IANA under a contract with the NTIA National Telecommunications and Information Administration The United States government agency for internet policy, which oversaw IANA until 2016. Full definition of NTIA, part of the US Department of Commerce. The contract expired that day, and the restated Bylaws created the Empowered Community.
Since then PTI Public Technical Identifiers The ICANN affiliate that performs the IANA functions, including root zone changes. Full definition of PTI, an affiliate with ICANN as its sole member, performs the IANA functions. IANA implements policy but does not make it: names policy comes through ICANN, number policy through the five RIRs, and protocol parameters through the IETF Internet Engineering Task Force The open body that writes internet standards such as DNS, EPP and RDAP. Full definition of IETF.
Governments advise through the GAC. The Board can reject GAC consensus advice only with at least 60% of its votes, and both sides must then seek a mutually acceptable solution.