Registry Agreement: definition

Every generic top-level domain runs under a contract with ICANN called the Registry Agreement. It sets what the registry The central database and system of a top-level domain, or loosely the organization that runs it. Full definition of registry must do and pay, and what happens when it changes hands or stops.

What the Registry Agreement is

It is a contract between ICANN, a California nonprofit public benefit corporation, and the registry operator The organization that holds the contract or mandate for a TLD and sets its rules. Full definition of registry operator of one gTLD. Most new gTLDs use a standard base form: the version approved on 21 January 2024 for TLDs of the 2012 Round, or the 2026 version, approved by the ICANN Board ICANN's board of directors, which adopts policies and approves key decisions. Full definition of ICANN Board on 12 March 2026 for successful applicant An organization that has applied to ICANN to run a new gTLD. Full definition of applicant in the 2026 Round ICANN's second round of applications for new generic top-level domains. Full definition of 2026 Round.

The base agreement lasts ten years and renews for further ten-year periods, except in cases of termination or repeated material breach.

What a registry must do: the key specifications

Under the base agreement, a registry must:

Follow consensus policy An ICANN community rule that gTLD registries and registrars must follow. Full definition of consensus policy, including future ones.
Sell names only through ICANN-accredited registrar A company that registers domain names for customers with the registry. Full definition of registrar, giving all of them equal access.
Give registrars at least 30 days’ notice of higher prices for new registrations Domains newly created in a period, also called adds or creates. Full definition of new registrations and 180 days for renewal Paying to extend a domain registration for more time. Full definition of renewal, keep renewal price The yearly price to keep a domain, often higher than the first-year price. Full definition of renewal price uniform, and let registrars renew for one to ten years at the price in force before an increase.
Pay fees to ICANN. In the 2026 form, as of 1 January 2025, these were 6,437.50 US dollars (USD) per quarter plus USD 0.2575 per transaction above a threshold. Both amounts can be adjusted (as of October 2026).

The base agreement sets notice rules, not price cap A contract limit on registry wholesale price increases. Full definition of price cap. Legacy TLDs have negotiated agreements of their own, and the .com agreement, between ICANN and VeriSign, Inc., does cap prices: the maximum may rise by up to 7% in each of the last four years of every six-year period. Its current term runs through 30 November 2030 and can be renewed (as of October 2026).

Specification 9: the Registry Code of Conduct

Since 2010, ICANN has allowed the same group to own both a registry and a registrar in new gTLDs (vertical integration Common ownership of a registry and a registrar, allowed for new gTLDs since 2010. Full definition of vertical integration), and Registry Code of Conduct Contract rules that stop a gTLD registry from favoring its own registrar. Full definition of Registry Code of Conduct is the main safeguard. The registry may not favor any registrar, nor register names in its own right except through an accredited registrar, apart from reserved name A name a registry withholds from normal registration, by rule or by its own choice. Full definition of reserved name and up to 500 names. A linked registrar must be a separate legal entity with separate accounts. A TLD used only by the operator and its affiliates can ask for an exemption.

Specification 10: service levels

ICANN tests every registry from probes around the world. Monthly targets include 100% availability of the DNS Domain Name System The internet's directory that links domain names to computer addresses. Full definition of DNS service and no more than 864 minutes of downtime (about 98%) for EPP Extensible Provisioning Protocol The protocol registrars use to manage domain names at registries. Full definition of EPP and for RDAP Registration Data Access Protocol The modern protocol for looking up domain registration data, replacing WHOIS. Full definition of RDAP.

Public interest commitments and abuse duties

Specification 11 The Registry Agreement section holding public interest commitments, including DNS abuse monitoring. Full definition of Specification 11 holds the public interest commitments (PICs Public Interest Commitments Binding public interest promises in a gTLD registry contract, with voluntary ones now called Registry Voluntary Commitments. Full definition of PICs). Some were offered by applicants; others apply to all. A registry must:

Use only registrars under the RAA Registrar Accreditation Agreement The contract between ICANN and each accredited registrar. Full definition of RAA.
Make registrars ban, in their customer terms, malware Harmful software, often spread or controlled using domain names. Full definition of malware, botnet A network of infected computers controlled by an attacker. Full definition of botnet, phishing Impersonating a trusted party to steal data, often with look-alike domains. Full definition of phishing, piracy, infringement, fraud, counterfeiting and other illegal activity, with suspension of the name as a possible consequence.
Check its TLD for DNS abuse Harmful use of domains, defined in ICANN contracts as five specific threats. Full definition of DNS abuse periodically and keep statistics on what it found and did.
Not reserve a generic-word TLD for one company and its affiliates.

ICANN enforces these commitments, and complaints can also go through the PICDRP Public Interest Commitment Dispute Resolution Procedure A procedure for complaints that a gTLD registry breaks its public interest promises. Full definition of PICDRP, in its revised form since 1 February 2020. Remedies can include termination.

The agreement defines DNS abuse as malware, botnets, phishing, pharming Redirecting users to fake sites even when they type the right domain. Full definition of pharming, and spam Unwanted bulk messages, which count as DNS abuse only when used to deliver other abuse. Full definition of spam used to deliver them. When a registry has actionable evidence The level of proof that obliges a registry or registrar to act on DNS abuse. Full definition of actionable evidence of it, it must act promptly: at minimum, refer the name to the registrar or act itself.

How the contract changes: amendments and new services

One registry. To add, change or remove a registry service, a registry uses the RSEP Registry Services Evaluation Policy ICANN's process for approving new or changed services at a gTLD registry. Full definition of RSEP. ICANN checks for significant security, stability and competition issues; some services, such as Registry Lock, have a fast track. Approval may require a contract amendment.

All registries. A global amendment works in steps:

ICANN consults a working group A volunteer team chartered to study a policy issue and make recommendations. Full definition of working group of the registries and posts the text for at least 30 days.
The ICANN Board approves it.
Registries vote within 60 days. It passes with a yes from operators that paid two-thirds of the previous year’s fees and from a majority of operators, one vote per TLD. Not voting counts as no.
It takes effect 60 days after ICANN’s notice.

When a registry is sold or the agreement ends

An assignment of the agreement, a change of control of the operator, or a new subcontractor for a critical function, such as the back-end provider A company that runs a TLD's technical systems for the registry operator. Full definition of back-end provider, needs ICANN’s prior approval. The operator gives at least 30 days’ notice, and ICANN runs background checks. Silence for 30 days counts as consent.

ICANN may terminate if a material breach stays uncured 30 days after notice. The registry may terminate for any reason with 180 days’ notice. ICANN then makes a preliminary determination, open to public comment An open period when anyone can comment on ICANN drafts. Full definition of public comment, on whether to move the TLD to a successor; for a TLD used only by its operator, it needs the operator’s consent. For example, the operator of .juniper gave termination notice on 8 June 2026; ICANN’s preliminary determination of 20 July 2026 was not to transition it, and it confirmed this in a final determination on 15 September 2026.

If DNS is down for 4 hours in a week, or EPP or RDAP for 24 hours, ICANN can appoint an emergency operator (EBERO Emergency Back-End Registry Operator A stand-by provider that temporarily runs a failing gTLD registry's critical functions. Full definition of EBERO).

Why it matters to registrants

registrant The person or organization that holds a domain name registration. Full definition of registrant are not party to the contract, but it shapes what they get. It makes registries give registrars advance notice of wholesale price What a registry charges a registrar for each domain name. Full definition of wholesale price rises, and it sets service levels with an emergency backup and continuity rules. When a TLD ends without a successor, its names stop working. The abuse rules reach registrants too: a registrant of shop.example accepts registrar terms that ban phishing, and can have the name suspended for it. How a clause applies in a given case is a question for the registrar, the registry or a lawyer.

Registry Agreement