Updated on 1 August 2016
ICANN has updated the "Update on Application Status and Contention Sets" Advisory to include a new application status, "RA Terminated." This status has been added to support the Registry Agreement Termination process. For more information, see the Registry Agreement Termination Information Page.
Previous update: 4 September 2014
ICANN has updated the "Update on Application Status and Contention Sets" Advisory to describe how application statuses and contention set statuses are currently being maintained. These changes reflect modifications that have been made to the process to enhance efficiency and transparency in application processing.
The following updates were made:
- The description of the "On-Hold" application status now reflects that applications may not "complete" certain Program processes while "On-Hold." Previously, the description indicated that an application would "stay in the current process step" until no longer "On-Hold."
- The contention set status descriptions have been updated to explain how each status reflects the pending activities within the contention set. Previously, contention set statuses were defined by whether or not applications in the contention set had statuses of "On-Hold."
Application Status and Contention Set Status
As applications complete evaluation and proceed to the next phases of the New gTLD Program, ICANN is updating application statuses and contention sets to provide a more complete picture of the current status of applications.
Updates Reflect the Results of the Most Recently Completed Processes:
ICANN is updating application statuses to reflect the results of various New gTLD Program processes. Such Program processes include Evaluation, Objections and Dispute Resolution, Community Priority Evaluation, and Auctions. ICANN is also updating contention sets as the result of these processes.
Note, however, that an update is not a definite indication that an application may proceed to another phase of the Program, such as contention resolution or contracting. Regardless of an application's status, it must meet all relevant eligibility criteria before proceeding to the next Program process. Application statuses are not final, except in the case of an application's status being "Withdrawn," "Delegated," or "RA Terminated." Further, contention sets listed as "On-Hold" are not final. Certain application statuses or contention sets, while updated to reflect the current status, may not yet be final because one or more of the applications in a contention set may be impacted by Program processes or other factors, including pending objection proceedings, ICANN accountability mechanisms, or direction from the ICANN Board's New gTLD Program Committee.
Explanation of Application Statuses:
The current application status page reflects the New gTLD Program process in which an application is currently engaged, for example, In Contracting or In PDT. An application engaged in one of the New gTLD Program processes as defined in Section 1.1.2 of the AGB is considered an active application and may have one of the following statuses: In IE, In EE, Evaluation Complete, In CPE, In Auction, In Contracting, In PDT, or Transition to Delegation.
Alternatively, the page may reflect one of the following statuses for an application:
- Withdrawn – The applicant has withdrawn the application and will not continue in the New gTLD Program. This is a final status.
- Not Approved – The application is not approved and shall not continue in the New gTLD Program as a result of a resolution passed by the ICANN Board of Directors or a Committee of the ICANN Board, such as the New gTLD Program Committee.
- Will Not Proceed – The application has completed a Program process, and based on the outcome will not continue, as defined in the AGB. This could include process outcomes including but not limited to not passing evaluation, not prevailing a dispute resolution proceeding, not prevailing in contention resolution.
- On-Hold – May be applied if there are pending activities (e.g., ICANN accountability mechanisms, ICANN public comment periods on proposed implementation plans for Program-related activities, Board decisions, or other outstanding unresolved issues) that may impact the status of the application. The application is active but cannot complete certain Program processes such as Auction, Contracting, and Transition to Delegation until the On-Hold status is cleared.
- RA Terminated – Indicates that the Registry Agreement for this application was terminated. This status only applies in cases where the gTLD was not delegated. (In cases where the gTLD was delegated and the Registry Agreement was subsequently terminated, the application status is "Delegated." For a complete list of all terminated gTLD Registry Agreements, see the Registry Agreement Termination Information Page.) This is a final status.
- Delegated – Indicates the gTLD for this application has been delegated in the Root Zone of the DNS. This is a final status.
Explanation of Contention Set Status:
The following will be used to indicate the status of Contention Sets:
- Active – The set contains at least two active applications in direct contention with each other and there are no pending activities that may impact the processing of the applications in the set.
- On Hold –There are pending activities that may impact the processing of the applications in the set. Applications in the set cannot complete certain Program processes such as Auction, Contracting, and Transition to Delegation until the On-Hold status is cleared.
- Resolved – No direct contention remains amongst the active applications and there are no pending activities that may impact the processing of the applications in the set.
Application statuses and contention sets are updated on a weekly basis as necessary.
Click here to view the Current Application Status page.
Click here to view the Contention Set Status page.
Questions?
New gTLD Applicant: Submit an inquiry via the Customer Service Portal
General Inquiries: Email us at newgtld@icann.org