RIR Governance Document Version 2

Governance Document for the Recognition, Operation, and Derecognition of Regional Internet Registries

28 August 2025 (DRAFT) ¹

(RIR Governance Document Version 2)

Preamble

This Governance Document for the Recognition, Operation, and Derecognition of Regional Internet Registries (the “RIR Governance Document”) succeeds the document Internet Coordination Policy‑2: Criteria for Establishment of New Regional Internet Registries (ICP‑2), adopted on 4 June 2001. It reflects a coordinated initiative led by the NRO Number Council (NRO NC), also serving as the ASO Address Council (ASO AC), in consultation with the global Regional Internet Registry and ICANN communities.

The global system for management of Internet Number Resources is a decentralized and coordinated system established to ensure the fair, efficient, and secure allocation and management of critical Internet resources. These resources include IP address space (both IPv4 and IPv6) and Autonomous System Numbers, which are essential for the operation of the Internet. The system is composed of Regional Internet Registries, each responsible for serving a specific geographic region. The system is based on open and bottom-up processes to ensure that the needs of the regional and global Internet community are met.

This document covers the complete lifecycle of a Regional Internet Registry (RIR), starting from its establishment to its operation and potential derecognition, as well as the necessary conditions for inter-RIR coordination to ensure the Internet Numbers Registry System serves the global Internet community. In particular, this document sets forth:

Rules and criteria for recognizing new RIRs, ensuring rigorous and transparent evaluation for any entity seeking official status as an RIR.
Operating obligations for RIRs, enhancing clarity on governance, accountability, and service delivery duties.
Criteria and procedures for derecognition of an RIR should it fail to adhere to established standards, thereby safeguarding global Internet Number Resource reliability and integrity.

Goals of the RIR Governance Document

Ensure Accountability to the Global Internet Community: Codifying governance expectations and responsibilities to foster transparency, responsiveness, and member-driven oversight.
Support System Stability and Continuity: Reinforcing long-term resilience by defining lifecycle criteria and remediation paths in the event an RIR fails to meet its obligations.
Preserve the Bottom‑Up, Multistakeholder Model: Maintaining openness in policy development and ensuring any governance changes reflect widespread community input across all RIR regions and ICANN.
Clarify Ecosystem Expectations: Articulating clear governance, operational, and ecosystem-level principles.

Together, these elements establish a robust, decentralized, globally coordinated yet regionally adaptive governance foundation to ensure that RIRs remain effective stewards of Internet Number Resources for the benefit of the entire Internet ecosystem. By adopting this document, current and future RIRs commit to being trustworthy stewards of the technical operation of the Internet by operating in an open, neutral, and transparent manner that fosters fairness and inclusivity and acting responsibly toward the regional and global Internet community.

Article 1: Definitions, Interpretation, and Implementation

1.1. Definitions. In this Document, the following capitalized terms have the following meanings:

“Affiliate” means, with respect to a specified entity, any other entity that directly or indirectly Controls, is Controlled by, or is under common Control with the specified entity.

“ASO MoU” means the ICANN Address Supporting Organization (ASO) MoU, as may be amended from time to time.

“Candidate RIR” means an entity that is applying to become an RIR.

“Control” means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to determine or cause the direction of the management or policies of an entity or the entity’s participation in the governance of an RIR, whether through ownership, by contract, or otherwise.

“Derecognition” means a decision, made pursuant to the terms of this Document, to terminate an RIR’s delegated responsibility to provide RIR Services to the RIR’s Service Region.

“Dissenting RIR” is defined in Section 2.3(a)(v)(D).

“Emergency Continuity” is defined in Section 5.1.

“Emergency Operator” means a qualified entity selected to provide RIR Services on a temporary basis where permitted in this Document.

“Global Policy” means an Internet Number Resource policy that has the agreement of all RIRs according to their Policy Development Processes and ICANN, and that requires specific actions or outcomes on the part of the IANA Functions Operator or any other external ICANN-related body in order to be implemented, as defined in Article 6 of the ASO MoU.

“Governing Body” means a board of directors or functional equivalent, however named, that has the power to govern an RIR, as delegated by the RIR’s Members.

“IANA Functions Operator” means the entity responsible for performing the IANA Functions.

“IANA Numbering Services” means the administration of the IANA number registries in accordance with Global Policies and any applicable and mutually acceptable and agreed upon guidelines and procedures, including allocation of Number Resources to RIRs, the management of returned Number Resources, general IANA number registries maintenance, and the administration of the unicast portion of the special-purpose “IN-ADDR.ARPA” and “IP6.ARPA” domain name system zones.

“ICANN” means the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

“Implementation Procedures” is defined in Section 1.3.

“Internet Numbers Registry System” means the system as defined in RFC 7020.

“Member” means a legal or natural person, as applicable, that is entitled to participate in the governance of an RIR by voting for members of the RIR’s Governing Body.

“Notice of Decision” means an official document published by ICANN setting forth the reasons for ICANN’s decision to approve or reject a Proposal.

“Numbering Community” means the community of Resource Holders and others who participate in Number Resource management, including but not limited to governments, civil society actors, the technical community, private sector entities, and academia.

“Number Resource Policies” means Global Policies and Regional Policies.

“Number Resources” means Internet Protocol (IP) unicast addresses (IPv4, IPv6) and Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs).

“NRO” means the Number Resource Organization, which functions as the coordinating body for the RIRs, as established by the NRO Memorandum of Understanding in 2003.

“Objection” is defined in Section 2.3(a)(v)(A).

“Policy Development Process” means the process through which an RIR develops Number Resource Policies.

“Proposal” means a proposal to Recognize or Derecognize an RIR.

“Recognition” means a decision, made pursuant to the terms of this Document, to delegate the responsibility of providing RIR Services to a Service Region to a Candidate RIR and to recognize such entity as the official RIR for the Service Region.

“Regional Policy” means a policy that an RIR adopted through its Policy Development Process governing the allocation or distribution of Number Resources in its Service Region or the management or deployment of those Number Resources.

“Resource Holder” means a legal or natural person, as applicable, that holds Number Resources registered with an RIR.

“RIR” means a Regional Internet Registry.

“RIR Governance Document” or “Document” means this Governance Document for the Recognition, Operation, and Derecognition of Regional Internet Registries.

“RIR Services” means the delegation of Number Resources and the set of services necessary to ensure that Resource Holders are able to use Number Resources and the Numbering Community is able to obtain accurate information about which Number Resources are held by which entities, including allocation, registration, and directory services as well as related technical services.

“Service Region” means the geographic area for which an RIR is officially designated as the RIR responsible for providing RIR Services.

1.2. Interpretation. In this Document:

(a) Capitalized participles, conjugations, plurals, or other derivative forms of defined terms have the meanings associated with those defined terms (e.g., “Recognition” and “Recognized”);

(b) Headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation;

(c) Any reference in this Document to any other document or agreement shall be deemed to include a reference to such document or agreement as amended, supplemented, or otherwise modified from time to time, including any successor documents or agreements; and

(d) Any reference in this Document to publishing any information shall mean publishing such information on the official website of the relevant party.

1.3. Implementation. It is acknowledged and expected that the RIRs and ICANN may jointly develop and adopt specific procedures to implement certain provisions of this Document (Implementation Procedures). These Implementation Procedures shall define the minimum requirements necessary to give effect to the relevant provisions of this Document and shall be published. The Implementation Procedures shall not prescribe or constrain the internal methods or operational approaches by which any individual RIR may achieve compliance with the relevant provisions, provided that such RIR meets the agreed implementation requirements. In the absence of adopted Implementation Procedures for any provision of this Document, each RIR shall retain discretion to determine its own approach to compliance, subject to the overarching obligations and principles set forth in this Document. Under no circumstances may any Implementation Procedure contradict or override the terms of this Document. Notwithstanding the above, the absence of adopted procedures will not prevent the enforceability of any provision of this Document.

Article 2: Internet Numbers Registry System

2.1. Roles and Responsibilities. Within the Internet Numbers Registry System, the following entities have the following roles and responsibilities:

(a) Individual RIRs: Each RIR is responsible for providing RIR Services to its Service Region.

(b) All RIRs: The RIRs jointly operate the Internet Numbers Registry System. All RIRs shall jointly ensure that all areas are able to continually receive RIR Services.

(c) IANA Functions Operator: The IANA Functions Operator’s responsibilities are defined in the Service Level Agreement for the IANA Numbering Services.

(d) ICANN: ICANN provides overarching coordination for the Internet Numbers Registry System, including oversight of the IANA Functions Operator, facilitation of Global Policy development in collaboration with the RIRs, and other related tasks as agreed with the RIRs (including the responsibilities set forth in this Document).

2.2. Service Region. In order to preserve the integrity of the Internet Numbers Registry System, each Service Region shall cover a large, multinational area and shall not overlap with that of another RIR.

2.3. Change to RIR Status. An RIR may be Recognized or Derecognized only in accordance with the following procedures:

(a) Recognition

(i) Proposal. A Candidate RIR may apply to be Recognized as an RIR by submitting a Proposal for Recognition in writing to the RIRs and to ICANN.

(ii) Consideration. In order to preserve the integrity of the Internet Numbers Registry System, each RIR shall independently consider the Proposal for Recognition, independently make a recommendation in favor of or against the Proposal for Recognition, and publish its recommendation and the reasons for its recommendation. Each RIR may make inquiries of the Candidate RIR as it deems necessary in conducting its independent review of the Proposal for Recognition. The Candidate RIR will make all reasonable efforts to respond to such inquiries and make its answers available to all RIRs. In considering the Proposal for Recognition, each RIR shall consider, among any other factors it deems relevant, whether:

(A) The Candidate RIR and members of its Governing Body are of good character and integrity (for example, have never been convicted of an offense involving dishonesty, including, but not limited to, fraud or misrepresentation in any jurisdiction);

(B) The other RIRs can legally and effectively cooperate with the Candidate RIR if it is Recognized;

(C) Recognizing the Candidate RIR would support, or otherwise not hinder, the ability of one or more RIRs to comply with this Document; and

(D) Recognizing the Candidate RIR would contribute positively to, or otherwise not hinder, the operation of the Internet Numbers Registry System.

(iii) Approval. If the RIRs unanimously recommend Recognizing the Candidate RIR, they shall then refer the Proposal for Recognition to ICANN under Section 2.3(c).

(iv) Rejection. If the RIRs do not unanimously recommend Recognizing the Candidate RIR, the Proposal for Recognition will be deemed rejected.

(v) Recognition Review. If the RIRs do not unanimously recommend Recognizing the Candidate RIR and the Candidate RIR reasonably believes that any RIR’s recommendation not to Recognize the Candidate RIR was made in error or without justification, the Candidate RIR may petition for a review (Recognition Review) as follows:

(A) Objection. The Candidate RIR may submit a written request to ICANN for a Recognition Review, which must outline in detail its reasoning and all available supporting evidence to substantiate its claim (an Objection). If ICANN receives such an Objection, ICANN shall publish the Objection and appoint a qualified independent third party to conduct the Recognition Review.

(B) Conduct of Recognition Review. In conducting the Recognition Review, the independent third party shall consider the Proposal for Recognition, the recommendation of each RIR, and the Objection, and make such inquiries as it considers reasonably necessary. On completion of the Recognition Review, the independent third party will prepare a report, which shall be provided to ICANN, each RIR, and the Candidate RIR and published by ICANN.

(C) Finding of Recognition Review. If the independent third party determines as a result of the Recognition Review that any RIR has made any material error of fact or provided inadequate justification with respect to its recommendation, it shall refer the Proposal for Recognition back to the RIRs for reconsideration. Each RIR shall then reconsider the Proposal for Recognition, taking into account the independent third party’s report and determination, but shall not be obligated to reach a different recommendation. Subject to Section 2.3(a)(v)(D), the approval or rejection of the Proposal for Recognition shall be determined in accordance with Section 2.3(a)(iii).

(D) Reversal. If only a single RIR does not recommend Recognizing the Candidate RIR upon reconsideration under Section 2.3(a)(v)(C) (the Dissenting RIR) and the Candidate RIR reasonably believes that the Dissenting RIR’s recommendation was made in error or without adequate justification, the Candidate RIR may lodge a final Objection with ICANN. ICANN will publish the final Objection and appoint the same independent third party to conduct a final Recognition Review in substantially the same form as Section 2.3(a)(v)(B), which shall include discussing the matter with all the RIRs. If the independent third party determines as a result of the final Recognition Review that:

1. 1. 1. the Dissenting RIR has made any material error of fact or provided inadequate justification in its final recommendation; and
    2. the Candidate RIR satisfies all requirements for Recognition,

the Dissenting RIR’s recommendation shall be disregarded, and the Proposal for Recognition shall be referred to ICANN under Section 2.3(c).

(b) Derecognition

(i) Proposal. A Proposal for Derecognition of an RIR may be submitted to the RIRs and ICANN, as applicable, in writing by:

(A) Any RIR or group of RIRs;

(B) A group of Members of the RIR that is the subject of the Proposal, where such group consists of at least 25% of the RIR’s total Members or 2,000 Members, whichever is lesser; or

(ii) Contents. A valid Proposal for Derecognition must include the reasons why the RIR should be Derecognized and must identify the specific provisions in this Document that the RIR is allegedly failing to comply with.

(iii) Submission and Response. If a Proposal for Derecognition is submitted, the other RIRs and/or ICANN shall publish the Proposal for Derecognition, and the RIR that is the subject of the Proposal for Derecognition shall be given a reasonable timeframe to respond in writing to the claims made, which it shall publish, before the other RIRs consider the Proposal for Derecognition under Section 2.3(b)(iv).

(iv) Consideration. In order to preserve the integrity of the Internet Numbers Registry System, each RIR shall independently consider the Proposal for Derecognition, independently make a recommendation in favor or against the Proposal for Derecognition, and publish its recommendation and the reasons for its recommendation.

(v) Approval. If the RIRs, excluding the RIR that is the subject of the Proposal for Derecognition, unanimously recommend Derecognizing the RIR, they shall then refer the Proposal for Derecognition to ICANN, and ICANN shall consider and make the final decision to approve or reject the Proposal for Derecognition under Section 2.3(c). If the RIRs, excluding the RIR that is the subject of the Proposal for Derecognition, do not unanimously recommend Derecognizing the RIR, the Proposal shall be deemed rejected.

(i) Consultation and Decision. ICANN shall consider and make the final decision to approve or reject any Proposal referred to it under this Section 2.3, provided that ICANN must first discuss the Proposal with and give consideration to the input of each RIR, including the RIR or Candidate RIR, as applicable, that is the subject of the Proposal. ICANN shall publish its decision and the reasons for its decision.

(ii) Reconsideration. An RIR or Candidate RIR affected by a decision by ICANN under this Section 2.3 may petition for the review of such decision in accordance with ICANN’s then existing and applicable procedures.

(iii) ICANN Limitations.

(A) ICANN shall have no power to Recognize or Derecognize an RIR unless it has received a Proposal to do so that has been approved by the RIRs in accordance with this Section 2.3.

(B) ICANN’s approval may not modify any Proposal unless the approving RIRs and, in the case of Recognition, the Candidate RIR, agree to such modification.

(d) Decision Procedures. Any decision by an entity under this Section 2.3 shall be made according to such entity’s relevant decision-making procedures.

2.4. Ad Hoc Audit. ICANN shall conduct an ad hoc audit of an RIR for compliance with this Document if requested or initiated by any of the following parties:

(a) The other RIRs, by majority decision (excluding the RIR that is the subject of the requested ad hoc audit);

(b) A group of Members of the identified RIR, where such group consists of at least 25% of the RIR’s total Members or 2,000 Members, whichever is lesser; or

2.5. Coordination Limitation. It is an express goal of the Internet Numbers Registry System to provide stable and reliable services to the Numbering Community. Achieving this goal requires ongoing coordination among the RIRs. Accordingly, the number of RIRs in the Internet Numbers Registry System is expected to remain small, consistent with the technical and operational needs of the system. Coordination among the RIRs shall further be limited to subjects necessary to achieve the RIRs’ objective of providing stable, reliable, and secure services to the Numbering Community.

2.6. Sub-Regional Registries. Nothing in this Document:

(a) pertains directly to National Internet Registries, Local Internet Registries (also called Internet Service Providers), or other sub-regional registries (together, Sub-Regional Registries) that do not receive Number Resources directly from the IANA Functions Operator; or

(b) limits the ability of an RIR, at its complete discretion, to determine:

(i) whether to permit any such Sub-Regional Registries;

(ii) whether to sub-delegate its Number Resources to any such Sub-Regional Registries; or

(iii) the terms and circumstances upon which it may do either of (i) or (ii) above, provided that any such sub-delegation shall not excuse the RIR from its obligations under this Document, including with respect to such sub-delegated Number Resources.

2.7. English. English is the official language of the Internet Numbers Registry System. RIRs may use any appropriate language for intra-RIR business.

2.8. Good Faith. ICANN and all RIRs shall act in good faith and with fair dealing in all matters under this Document. All actions required under this Document shall be undertaken promptly and within reasonable timeframes, ensuring that processes are not unduly delayed.

Article 3: Recognition

3.1. Criteria for Recognition. A Candidate RIR cannot be Recognized unless it demonstrates the following in its Proposal for Recognition and to the satisfaction of the existing RIRs and ICANN:

(a) Regional Qualification: The Candidate RIR’s proposed Service Region would meet the requirements of Section 2.2, provided that the Candidate RIR’s Proposal may contemplate changes to the Service Regions of one or more existing RIRs in order to create a new, non-overlapping Service Region for the Candidate RIR.

(b) Resource Holder Support: Resource Holders in the Candidate RIR’s proposed Service Region broadly support Recognizing the Candidate RIR as the RIR responsible for providing RIR Services to the Service Region and are committed to financially supporting the Candidate RIR and actively participating in its governance.

(c) Community Support: The Numbering Community in the Candidate RIR’s proposed Service Region is committed to supporting the Candidate RIR, including by actively participating in its Policy Development Process.

(d) Capability: The Candidate RIR can substantively meet all the operational requirements of an RIR specified in Section 4.1.

(e) Impact: Recognizing the Candidate RIR would not negatively impact the Internet Numbers Registry System or cause any existing RIR to become non-compliant under this Document.

(f) Improvement: Recognizing the Candidate RIR would result in a material improvement to the functioning of the Internet Numbers Registry System relative to the then-existing state of affairs.

3.2. Effect of Recognition. A decision, pursuant to Section 2.3, to Recognize a Candidate RIR shall, subject to the satisfaction of any timelines or conditions prescribed in the Notice of Decision, have the following effects:

(a) RIR Service Responsibility: The Recognized RIR shall be responsible for providing RIR Services to the Service Region specified in the Notice of Decision and shall become the RIR for the Service Region.

(b) NRO: The Recognized RIR shall become a member of the NRO and shall take all necessary steps and execute all necessary documents to do so.

(c) Subject to RIR Governance Document: The Recognized RIR shall be subject to this RIR Governance Document and shall take all necessary steps and execute all necessary documents to do so.

Article 4: Ongoing Commitments

4.1. Operational Requirements. Each RIR must continually comply with this Document and meet the following operational requirements in an auditable fashion:

(a) Financial Independence. An RIR must be financially stable and must not financially depend on any governments or private parties, other than on neutrally administered fees collected from Members and/or Resource Holders, to provide its RIR Services.

(b) Operational Independence: No government or private party may have undue Control or undue influence over the RIR Services provided by an RIR.

(d) Incorporation: An RIR must be incorporated and maintain its headquarters within its Service Region.

(e) Corporate Governance: An RIR must follow good corporate governance procedures.

(f) Open Membership: An RIR must permit any legal or natural person, as applicable, holding Number Resources registered with the RIR to become a Member.

(g) Governance: The majority of an RIR’s Governing Body must be elected by the RIR’s Members, and the Governing Body must maintain effective Control over the RIR.

(h) Policy Development Process: An RIR must maintain and follow clearly documented procedures for its Policy Development Process. Such a Policy Development Process must be open, transparent, bottom-up, impartial, publicly documented, and Numbering Community-driven and must provide mechanisms for all interested parties to participate in Number Resource Policy discussions through publicly archived mailing lists or other suitable discussion fora.

(i) Policy Compliance: An RIR must comply with all Number Resource Policies applicable to it, so long as those Number Resource Policies do not obligate the RIR to violate any applicable law.

(j) Impartiality: An RIR must operate and apply its Number Resource Policies in a manner that is impartial and consistent.

(k) Transparency: An RIR must maintain and publish comprehensive records of its governance, activities, and finances in a timely and accessible manner. The RIR’s Governing Body must provide mechanisms for its Members to ask questions, provide input, and receive timely and meaningful responses to legitimate questions.

(l) Performance: An RIR must provide stable, reliable, secure, accurate, and accountable RIR Services using such standard protocols and specifications as may be adopted by the NRO.

(m) Continuity: An RIR must maintain and follow continuity and redundancy procedures to maintain the availability of its RIR Services. An RIR must regularly, and subject to appropriate escrow or data protection controls, share such records, data, Regional Policy implementation procedures, and systems with an Emergency Operator sufficient to enable the Emergency Operator to perform its RIR Services, if necessary.

(n) Meetings: An RIR must organize at least one community meeting annually, in order to facilitate community discussions on Number Resource Policies. An RIR must also maintain public channels for the facilitation of community discussions as part of its Policy Development Process.

(o) Disproportionate Control: An RIR must maintain governance rules and controls to ensure that no person or entity or group of Affiliated entities has the power to effectively Control the RIR.

(p) Confidentiality: An RIR must maintain the confidentiality of all non-public registration information collected from Resource Holders or prospective Resource Holders in the course of providing registration services. Notwithstanding the foregoing, and subject to applicable laws, an RIR shall provide non-public registration information as otherwise required by this Document.

(q) Dispute resolution: An RIR must ensure that its Members have access to a fair and effective adjudicative mechanism to enforce their rights against the RIR that:

(i) affords independence and impartiality;

(ii) provides enforceable outcomes (judgments or awards) in a timely manner, subject to recognition and enforcement by a competent court (if not determined by a competent court in the first instance); and

(iii) allows non-waivable court supervision for interim measures and for limited post-award or post-judgment review on statutory grounds.

(r) Ecosystem Stability: An RIR must cooperate with the other RIRs to ensure the ongoing operation and stability of the Internet Numbers Registry System and must not operate or fail to operate in any manner that threatens such stability.

4.2. Audit. An RIR must participate in and cooperate with periodic or ad hoc audits, conducted by an external and independent auditor appointed by ICANN, to ensure that it continues to comply with the requirements of this Document. A summary report after any such audit shall be published by ICANN. In addition to ad hoc audits conducted pursuant to Section 2.4, each RIR shall undergo a periodic audit no less frequently than once every three years.

Article 5: Emergency Continuity

5.1. Emergency Continuity. If an RIR is unable to adequately provide all or any part of its RIR Services to its Service Region, whether due to circumstances within or outside of its control, a temporary arrangement may be initiated to ensure continuity of RIR Services for the affected Service Region (such event, an Emergency Continuity). During an Emergency Continuity, the other RIRs and ICANN may authorize an Emergency Operator to temporarily provide the affected RIR Services. The Emergency Operator must act in accordance with the requirements of this Document and any applicable Implementation Procedures. An Emergency Continuity is subject to the following conditions:

(a) An Emergency Continuity may only be initiated with the unanimous agreement of all the other RIRs and ICANN, following discussion with the affected RIR and its community (where reasonably possible under the circumstances);

(b) The decision to initiate the Emergency Continuity, including the rationale and scope, must be published promptly by ICANN. A community engagement process must be initiated with all RIR communities and the ICANN community as soon as reasonably practicable to provide transparency and allow for feedback during the Emergency Continuity period;

(c) The affected RIR must cooperate in the temporary handover of the affected RIR Services pursuant to Section 4.1(m) and retains the right to resume the relevant RIR Services once operational capability is restored and verified by ICANN; and

(d) An Emergency Continuity may not exceed 90 days, unless renewed pursuant to the conditions set forth in this Section 5.1.

5.2. Post-Emergency Continuity Review. Following the conclusion of any Emergency Continuity period, the RIRs and ICANN must jointly conduct a post-event review to assess the effectiveness, appropriateness, and impact of the Emergency Continuity arrangement. This review must include:

(a) A public report detailing the circumstances that led to the Emergency Continuity, the RIR Services provided, the duration of the arrangement, and the process for returning RIR Services to the affected RIR;

(b) An evaluation of the Emergency Operator’s performance, including adherence to the scope and limitations set forth in this Document and any applicable Implementation Procedures;

(c) A community feedback process, inviting input from the affected RIR’s community, other RIR communities, and the ICANN community regarding the conduct and outcomes of the Emergency Continuity;

(d) Recommendations for improvements to Emergency Continuity procedures, including any proposed amendments to this Document or related Implementation Procedures; and

(e) ICANN’s publication of a final review report.

Article 6: Derecognition

6.1. Possibility of Derecognition. Subject to Section 6.2, an RIR may be Derecognized pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 2.3 if it does not continue to meet all the requirements specified in this Document.

6.2. Rehabilitation. In the event that an RIR is non-compliant under this Document, there shall be a presumption in favor of helping that RIR to remedy such non-compliance over other potential responses, and the non-compliant RIR shall be given a reasonable opportunity to cure any such non-compliance. To that end, ICANN and all other RIRs shall provide reasonable support, if requested, to assist the RIR in curing any failure to comply with this Document. A non-compliant RIR shall be Derecognized only as a last resort and where it is reasonably believed that the harms to the Numbering Community and/or to the Internet Numbers Registry System outweigh the benefits of continuing to tolerate the RIR’s non-compliance.

6.3. Effect of Derecognition. A decision, pursuant to Section 2.3, to Derecognize an RIR shall have the following effects:

(a) Handoff: The Derecognized RIR shall ensure and facilitate the smooth transfer of its RIR Services and operations, as directed by ICANN, to a successor or interim entity (such as an Emergency Operator) designated in the Notice of Decision. This obligation includes taking all necessary actions to effectuate, and refraining from any actions that could hinder or delay, such transfer.

(b) RIR Service Responsibility: The Derecognized RIR shall no longer be responsible for providing RIR Services to the Service Region specified in the Notice of Decision, shall no longer be recognized as the RIR for the Service Region, and shall cease providing RIR Services or purporting to provide RIR Services. The successor entity or interim entity designated in the Notice of Decision, along with ICANN, the IANA Functions Operator, and the other RIRs, shall have the right to perform any actions that are reasonably necessary to transition the Derecognized RIR’s RIR Services to the successor entity or interim entity.

(d) Implementation Timeline: Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Notice of Decision may prescribe a timeline or set of conditions that must be satisfied before one or more of the effects specified in this Section 6.3 become effective or official.

6.4. Readiness. The RIRs and ICANN shall ensure that they are collectively able and ready to facilitate the transfer of RIR Services to a successor or interim entity (such as an Emergency Operator) within a reasonable time period, if necessary, whether for Emergency Continuity or following a Derecognition.

Article 7: Amendment

7.1. Approval. This Document may be amended by the unanimous agreement of ICANN and the RIRs, after consulting their respective communities.

7.2. Rectification. If this Document or an amendment to this Document would conflict with an RIR’s practices, this Document shall take precedence, and the affected RIR shall bring its practices into compliance with this Document. The affected RIR shall be given a reasonable but specific grace period to become compliant before the affected RIR will be considered non-compliant. The grace period provided for any amendment shall be clearly specified in the amendment. To the extent that this Document introduces new obligations on RIRs that were not already contained or implicit in ICP-2, each such RIR shall have a three-year grace period to comply with such new obligations after this Document comes into force.

7.3. Periodic Review. The NRO and ICANN shall periodically assess whether this Document requires a review at least every five years. For the avoidance of doubt, the parties may determine after any such assessment that no review is necessary.

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Last modified on 28/08/2025