PDP: definition

A policy development process (PDP) is the formal procedure ICANN’s community uses to write rules for domain name A readable internet name made of labels separated by dots. Full definition of domain name. Volunteers study a problem, publish drafts that anyone can comment on and recommend rules; the ICANN Board then decides. For generic domains such as .com, the result can bind every registry The central database and system of a top-level domain, or loosely the organization that runs it. Full definition of registry and registrar A company that registers domain names for customers with the registry. Full definition of registrar.

What a policy development process is

For gTLDs, the GNSO develops policy and recommends it to the Board. As of October 2026, its PDP is set out in Annex A of the ICANN Bylaws ICANN's main rulebook, which sets its mission, structure and accountability rules. Full definition of ICANN Bylaws (as amended on 3 July 2026) and in the GNSO’s PDP Manual of 21 May 2026.

It matters because registries and registrars must follow consensus policies under their ICANN contracts, such as the UDRP Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy ICANN's out-of-court process for trademark disputes over domain names. Full definition of UDRP, the ERRP Expired Registration Recovery Policy ICANN rules on expiry reminders and recovering expired gTLD domains. Full definition of ERRP and the Transfer Policy ICANN's rules for moving gTLD domains between registrars and changing registrants. Full definition of Transfer Policy. Consensus policies may only cover topics listed in those contracts, such as transfers and registration data The information kept about a domain and its owner. Full definition of registration data, and may not set or cap registrar prices.

The steps: issue report, working group, final report and Board vote

Issue Report The staff document that scopes a problem before a GNSO policy process begins. Full definition of Issue Report. The Board, the GNSO Council or an advisory committee asks for one. ICANN org ICANN's paid staff, as distinct from its Board and its volunteer community. Full definition of ICANN org write a preliminary version within 45 days, with the General Counsel’s opinion on scope and a draft charter. After at least 30 days of public comment, a final version follows.
Start. The Council votes to start the PDP, generally within 90 days: if the issue is within scope, more than one third of each house, or more than two thirds of one house. No vote is needed if the Board asked.
Working group. Volunteers work under the charter. The chair rates each recommendation: full consensus, consensus, strong support but significant opposition, or divergence.
Reports. An Initial Report goes to public comment for at least 30 days. The Final Report The closing document of a policy working group, with its recommendations. Full definition of Final Report then gives each recommendation its consensus level.
Council vote. The Council has a house of contracted parties The gTLD registries and registrars that hold contracts with ICANN. Full definition of contracted parties (7 votes) and one of non-contracted parties (13 votes). A GNSO Supermajority is two thirds of each house, or three quarters of one house and a majority of the other. Without one, approval needs a majority of each house plus support from at least 3 of the 4 stakeholder groups.
Board vote. The Board gives public notice at least 21 days before acting and asks the GAC Governmental Advisory Committee ICANN's committee of governments that advises the Board on public policy. Full definition of GAC for its view where public policy is affected. It adopts recommendations backed by a GNSO Supermajority unless more than two thirds of the Board finds them not in the best interests of the ICANN community or ICANN. With less Council support, a Board majority can reject them.

Worked example: the Transfer Policy Review

June 2020: the Council asks for an Issue Report.
18 February 2021: the PDP starts.
21 June 2022: Initial Report (34 comment submissions).
31 January 2025: full consensus on all 47 recommendations; Final Report in February 2025.
12 March 2025: unanimous Council approval.
7 June 2026: Board adoption.

More than five years passed between start and adoption. As of October 2026, the changes are not yet in force and have no effective date.

Public comment: how anyone can take part

Anyone can comment: community groups, governments, companies and individuals. As of October 2026, ICANN keeps proceedings open for at least 40 days, with exceptions. Submissions, with the author’s name, are public.

Within a GNSO PDP, the Final Report need not go to comment. Comments are weighed, not counted as votes, so they cannot veto a policy.

From approved policy to enforced rule: implementation

After adoption, ICANN staff write the detailed policy text under the Consensus Policy Implementation Framework. The Council normally sets up an IRT Implementation Review Team A volunteer team that helps ICANN staff turn approved policy into detailed rules. Full definition of IRT of volunteers to check that the detail matches the recommendations.

Registries and registrars then get time: as of October 2026, policies are announced in bundles, with at least six months to comply.

Fast-track and emergency routes: EPDP and temporary policies

An EPDP Expedited Policy Development Process A faster ICANN policy process, best known for post-GDPR registration data work. Full definition of EPDP, available since 28 September 2015, skips the Issue Report and starts from a scoping document. Starting one needs a GNSO Supermajority, and it may only address a narrowly defined issue found after a policy was adopted or implemented, or an issue already substantially scoped. The best-known EPDP began on 19 July 2018.

It had a one-year deadline because of a temporary policy: the Temporary Specification ICANN's 2018 emergency rules for WHOIS under the GDPR. Full definition of Temporary Specification, in effect from 25 May 2018. The Board alone can adopt a temporary policy, with at least two thirds of its members, when it is immediately needed for the stability or security of registrar or registry services, the DNS Domain Name System The internet's directory that links domain names to computer addresses. Full definition of DNS or the internet. It must start a PDP at once and reaffirm the policy every 90 days, for one year at most.

How ccTLD policy is made differently

Most rules for country code domains are set locally. The ccNSO Country Code Names Supporting Organization The ICANN body where ccTLD managers develop global ccTLD policy. Full definition of ccNSO makes global policy only on a narrow list of issues, through the ccPDP Country Code Policy Development Process The ccNSO's formal process for making global policy on country code domains. Full definition of ccPDP in Annex B of the Bylaws. The main differences:

The ccNSO Council needs 10 or more votes to start one.
The Council’s recommendation goes to a vote of ccNSO members, open for at least 21 days, which passes with more than 66% of the votes received.
The Board adopts it unless more than 66% of the Board objects.

These policies bind only ccNSO members, only within scope, and never override the law that applies to the ccTLD manager The organization that runs a country code top-level domain. Full definition of ccTLD manager. As of October 2026, ccPDP4, on the selection and deselection of IDN ccTLD Internationalized Domain Name country code top-level domain A country code TLD written in a non-Latin script. Full definition of IDN ccTLD strings, is pending Board action.

PDP