ICANN lists 1,615 new domain applications and opens a swap window

ICANN lists 1,615 new domain applications and opens a swap window

7 October 2026: ICANN has published the applications it received in the 2026 round of its New gTLD Program, 1,615 in all, together with the strings people applied for and who applied for them. The submission window ran from 30 April to 12 August 2026, and the list was released on 7 October. ICANN says the figure is based on primary string data as of that day and will be confirmed on String Confirmation Day.

By type, ICANN counts 333 brand applications, 16 community-based, 15 self-identified geographic names, 21 internationalized domain names and 9 variant strings. Another 51 came from applicants in its Applicant Support Program. By region, 864 applications came from North America, 506 from Europe, 218 from Asia, Australia and the Pacific, 16 from Africa and 11 from Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Register, which read the list, reports that several technology strings are contested. It counts eight applicants for .api, including a Google subsidiary, seven for .agi, including OpenAI, and thirteen for .agent, including Meta and Google. Where more than one party wants the same string, the application goes into a contention set and is settled by a community priority evaluation or an auction.

Dates that matter to anyone watching a name, brand or product term:

• 8 October to 21 October 2026: the Replacement Period, in which an applicant with an eligible replacement string may switch to it. A replacement string can still end up in contention.
• 17 November 2026: String Confirmation Day. ICANN publishes the final list of strings and updated contention sets, and the Community Input and Objections Period begins. It runs to 16 March 2027.
• 17 November to 27 November 2026: the window to withdraw with a 65% refund of the gTLD evaluation fee, with refund requests due by 23:59 UTC on 27 November.
• First half of 2027: the Prioritization Draw, which sets the processing order after a string evaluation stage ICANN expects to take about 180 days.

ICANN pauses round operations from 19 December 2026 to 4 January 2027 and has extended the input period to allow for it. Dates for evaluation results and contention resolution have not been set, and the organisation says it will announce them later. Companies that think a string infringes their brand can use the objections period, which opens on 17 November.

Sources

• ICANN announcement: 2026 round applications for new generic top-level domains, 7 October 2026
• The Register: ICANN reveals bids for new top-level domains, 8 October 2026