--- id: "urs" kind: "glossary-term" title: "URS" language: "en" category: "Rights protection and disputes" updated: "2026-10-10T10:28:55Z" canonical: "https://tldlog.com/glossary/urs/" translations: es: "https://tldlog.com/es/glosario/urs/" de: "https://tldlog.com/de/glossar/urs/" fr: "https://tldlog.com/fr/glossaire/urs/" it: "https://tldlog.com/it/glossario/urs/" pt-BR: "https://tldlog.com/pt/glossario/urs/" ru: "https://tldlog.com/ru/glossariy/urs/" zh-Hans: "https://tldlog.com/zh/cihui/urs/" --- # URS Uniform Rapid Suspension System A fast, low-cost procedure for trademark owners facing clear cybersquatting, mainly in new gTLDs. The registry locks the domain, and an examiner decides. If the trademark owner wins, the domain is suspended for the rest of its term but not transferred. The URS is a quick, low-cost procedure that lets a trademark owner stop an obviously abusive domain name, mainly in new generic top-level domains. One examiner reads the written file and decides. If the trademark owner wins, the name stops working for the rest of its registration period, but nobody receives it. ## What the URS is ICANN adopted the Uniform Rapid Suspension System in 2013 as a rights protection mechanism that complements the UDRP, offering "a lower-cost, faster path to relief" for "the most clear-cut cases of infringement". As of October 2026, the current texts are those updated on 21 February 2024, mandatory since 21 August 2025. A trademark holder, the complainant, files with an approved provider. As of October 2026, ICANN lists three: ADNDRC, MFSD srl and the National Arbitration Forum (NAF), which publishes its fees as Forum. WIPO is not one. The provider appoints one examiner. The registry operator locks and, if needed, suspends the name; ICANN checks that it does. The URS covers names under an ICANN gTLD Registry Agreement, including all new gTLDs. As of October 2026, the 2019 .org agreement also includes it; the 2024 .com agreement does not. It does not apply to ccTLDs, although some have similar procedures. ## When the URS fits instead of the UDRP The complainant must prove three elements, close in substance to the UDRP's: 1. The name is identical or confusingly similar to a word mark that is registered and in current use, validated by a court, or protected by a statute or treaty. Use can be shown through the TMCH. 2. The registrant has no legitimate right or interest in the name. 3. The name was registered and is being used in bad faith. The bar is higher than in the UDRP: "clear and convincing evidence". If there is any genuine contestable issue about bad faith, the complaint is denied. Trading names for profit, holding a large portfolio and parking are not, in themselves, bad faith. The practical difference: the URS can only suspend a name, while the UDRP can transfer it. A URS decision does not prevent a later UDRP or court case. ## How it works and how long it takes 1. The complainant files online, in English, with up to 500 words of free text. If the fee is not paid within one business day, the complaint is dismissed. 2. The provider checks the filing within 2 business days. Defects cannot be fixed: a faulty complaint is dismissed without refund, and a new one may be filed. 3. Within 24 hours of the provider's notice, the registry locks the name. It cannot be transferred, deleted or changed, but the website keeps working. 4. Within 24 hours of the lock, the provider notifies the registrant by email, fax where available and post, in English and the main language of the registrant's country. 5. The registrant has 14 calendar days to respond, weekends included, in up to 2,500 words. An extension is capped at 7 calendar days. 6. Without a response, the case goes into default, and the registrant cannot change the site or the registration data. The examiner still checks the merits, so default is not an automatic loss. 7. There is no hearing. The goal is a decision within 3 business days of the examination starting. Decisions are published. For a hypothetical complaint filed on a Monday against example-outlet.example, the lock would come by Thursday and the notice by Friday. ICANN's FAQ says a case "typically takes less than three weeks", which is not a guarantee. ## Costs The complainant pays the provider a fee that is not refunded. As of October 2026, ICANN's FAQ puts it at 300 to 500 US dollars (USD); Forum, for example, lists USD 375 for 1 to 14 names. The registrant pays nothing to respond if the complaint lists 14 names or fewer. From 15 names, a response fee applies; it is refunded to the winner and never exceeds the complainant's fee. A response filed more than 30 days after a default decision costs a re-examination fee (USD 200 at Forum, as of October 2026). No lawyer is required. ## Outcomes: suspension, not transfer If the complainant wins, the registry suspends the name for the rest of its registration period. Its name servers point to the provider's information page about the URS, and the registration data still shows the original registrant. The complainant can extend the registration by one year at commercial rates. There is no other remedy: no transfer and no money. When the registration ends, the name becomes available again on a first-come, first-served basis. If the registrant wins, the lock is lifted. A complainant found to have filed two abusive complaints, or one deliberate material falsehood, is barred from the URS for one year; two falsehoods bar it permanently. ## Appeals - Either party can ask for a de novo appeal, a fresh review of the whole case, within 14 days of the decision. It uses the existing record; new evidence costs extra. The appellant pays: at Forum, USD 300 for one examiner, as of October 2026. An appeal about an expired name is rejected. - A registrant who lost by default can instead respond up to six months after the default decision, extendable by six more. This is not an appeal: the name resolves again but stays locked. - A complainant who loses a default case cannot seek review, but the UDRP and the courts remain open. The right step depends on the facts of each case; a lawyer can advise. ## Sources - [Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS)](https://www.icann.org/en/contracted-parties/registry-operators/services/rights-protection-mechanisms-and-dispute-resolution-procedures/urs) - [UNIFORM RAPID SUSPENSION SYSTEM ("URS")](https://newgtlds.icann.org/sites/default/files/procedure-21feb24-en.pdf) - [FAQs for Complainants and Respondents Regarding Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) Proceedings](https://itp.cdn.icann.org/en/files/registry-operators/urs-complainants-respondents-faqs-23-04-2025-en.pdf) - [URS Fees Per FORUM's Supplemental Rule 18](https://www.adrforum.com/assets/resources/domain/urs/URS%20Fee%20Schedule%20FINAL.pdf) ## related terms - [UDRP](https://tldlog.com/glossary/udrp/) - [cybersquatting](https://tldlog.com/glossary/cybersquatting/) - [RPM](https://tldlog.com/glossary/rights-protection-mechanism/)