At the recent Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) 82 Community Forum in Seattle, Washington, progress reports pointed to ICANN being on track to open the application window for the second round of its New gTLD Program in April 2026. ICANN’s New gTLD Program and project management over the past couple of years has brought more transparency and predictability than previously, and has even made a believer out this veteran cynic on the Round 2 timeline.
The advent of this second round brings new opportunities as well as risks for organizations across the globe. Some will see it as an opportunity to own a piece of the internet for their exclusive use while adding another layer of security around their online presence, operations, and reputation (more about this in a future blog post). Others will see Round 2 as just creating additional namespace for bad actors to conduct phishing, distribute malware and ransomware, infringe on trademarks, adding to online fraud and other cybersecurity risks—all of which will require extra budget in difficult economic times. Wherever your opinion sits, it’s important to tune in and stay informed.
In this blog, I’ll give a brief update on what we know at this point, some initial considerations for those thinking about applying for a .BRAND, and preparatory steps that can be taken now.
What do we currently know? Three key things
- We’ll know the full scope of the rules and requirements of Round 2 soon. We’re eagerly awaiting the release of the complete draft of the Applicant Guidebook (AGB) in late May 2025—this will be the A-Z runbook of the application process, including all the operational, technical, financial, legal, and contractual requirements, along with information around how string contention, objection and dispute processes, and auctions will be handled. Once published, there will be a public comment period after which final adjustments to the proposed AGB may occur. The final AGB is expected to be approved by the ICANN Board by December 2025.
- Timing. The application window will be a time-limited period of 12-15 weeks, starting sometime in April 2026.
- Some information around application costs is currently available. ICANN’s base application fee is currently set at $227,000 USD per top-level domain (TLD) application. Additional ICANN application processing fees are expected, but these haven’t been published yet. It’s important to understand these fees do not include other non-ICANN fees related to application, like application preparation and registry backend technical services, all of which will need to be budgeted for.
Should I apply for a .BRAND top-level domain?
Shakespeare famously wrote, “To be, or not to be, that is the question.” Companies are faced with a similar question when it comes to applying for a .BRAND TLD. The answer is multi-dimensional and specific to each company and brand.
Applying for a .BRAND TLD may be the right choice if:
- Your organization wants to bolster its online security posture
- Your brand values and prioritizes consumer trust
- You want the opportunity to build your own infrastructure in a safe and secure environment
- You’d like the freedom to register any domain string when you need it, never having to fight or bid for product names, taglines, or other monikers
The bottom line is a .BRAND TLD is not right for every company.
What preparatory steps can I take now?
With the application window opening in roughly, a year, it’s important to start the strategic internal conversation whether to apply for a .BRAND now, as you’ll need to know if it’s an initiative to account for in your FY 2026 budget.
I suggest the following approach to the .BRAND decision-making process:
- Create a steering committee. Identify an internal senior stakeholder group across shared services teams that includes digital and brand governance, cybersecurity, infrastructure, web and digital operations, marketing, corporate communications, legal, eCommerce, finance, customer experience, as well as representative senior business leaders for each key business unit, and regional and product teams. In our experience from the last 13 years of working with more than 150 .BRAND TLDs, the most successful companies analyze and plan the use of their .BRAND TLDs cross functionally.
- Understand the program and requirements, and research current use cases. Schedule a meeting to educate the steering committee about ICANN’s New gTLD Program. Ask everyone to come to the meeting with an open mind and a curiosity to learn more. Obtain information from proven, reliable sources—there’s a lot of misinformation and hyperbole out there! Stick to the objective facts at this stage, focusing on New gTLD Program rules and requirements, and examining current real-world use cases.
- Focus on YOUR risks and opportunities. After your second steering committee meeting, ask each committee member bring their top three business risks and opportunities. Ask:
- Would having a .BRAND help mitigate the risks or realize the opportunities? To what degree?
- Do we feel we would be at a meaningful competitive disadvantage if a competitor had a .BRAND TLD and we didn’t?
Remember, if you decide that owning a .BRAND TLD could help with these things, the earliest you’d be able to operate and use it wouldn’t be until at least 2027.
We’re ready to help
CSC will be here to help you navigate the New gTLD Program Round 2.
Keep up to date by signing up to our .BRAND mailing list, or watch one of our recent webinars:
You can also contact your CSC strategic account manager with any questions and ask to schedule time with a CSC .BRAND subject matter expert who can provide complimentary information and insights.