The application window for the 2026 round of new Internet extensions closed on 12 August. ICANN has announced that it received more than 1,600 primary applications. Although this figure remains provisional, it confirms the strong interest among businesses, public authorities and registry operators in creating new namespaces. For applicants and trademark owners alike, however, the most strategic phase is only just beginning.
More than 1,600 primary applications
The 15-week application period opened on 30 April 2026. According to ICANN, most applications were submitted in the final days before the window closed at 23:59 UTC on 12 August.
ICANN received:
more than 1,600 applications for primary strings;
more than 1,100 of those applications also included a replacement string.
Replacement strings are one of the new features of the 2026 round. They allow an applicant to identify, at the time of filing, an alternative extension that may replace its first choice in order to avoid contention with an identical or similar application. These replacement strings do not therefore represent another 1,100 applications: each application covers one primary string, with an optional fallback string.
The final number of applications will only be known once the evaluation fees have been received. ICANN must receive payment in full by 19 August 2026 or, where an invoice was issued at a later date, within seven days of the invoice being sent.
A high number, but below the 2012 round
In 2012, ICANN received 1,930 applications covering 1,409 distinct strings. The provisional figure for 2026 is therefore lower than in the previous round, although a straightforward comparison does not tell the whole story.
The program has changed significantly. The 2026 round introduces replacement strings, strengthens certain requirements applicable to applicants and prohibits the private contention-resolution mechanisms that played a prominent role in the previous round. It also encompasses very different types of projects: brand TLDs, generic terms, geographic names, community applications and internationalised extensions using non-Latin scripts.
The composition of the applications will therefore matter more than the overall figure alone. One of the key questions will be how many applications concern closed extensions operated by brands, new registries open to the public, or geographic and community projects.
Reveal Day will disclose the proposed extensions
ICANN will now carry out its administrative review of the applications and verify the related payments. It will then publish the public portions of the applications on “Reveal Day”.
This publication will disclose, among other information:
the primary extensions applied for;
the identity of the applicants;
any designated replacement strings;
the first contention sets involving identical strings.
Unless exceptional circumstances arise, Reveal Day is expected to take place no later than nine weeks after the application window closed — in other words, by mid-October 2026. ICANN plans to announce the exact date and the timetable for the subsequent stages in mid-September.
Reveal Day will not yet establish the final list of extensions under consideration. Applicants that included a replacement string will have a 14-day period in which to decide whether to abandon their original choice in favour of that alternative. ICANN will then publish the consolidated list of applied-for strings and the initial contention sets on “String Confirmation Day”, which is currently projected for November 2026.
A key stage for trademark owners
The publication of the applications will not only be relevant to entities that applied for their own extension. It should also be monitored closely by all rights holders.
An application may reproduce or evoke a trademark, target a term associated with a regulated sector, or create a risk of confusion with an existing extension. The applicant’s identity, its proposed operating model and the safeguards set out in the application will need to be assessed together: reviewing the string alone will not always be sufficient to determine the level of risk.
After String Confirmation Day, third parties will have several ways to submit their views, including application comments and, for parties with the required standing, formal objections. The program provides for four grounds of objection: String Confusion, Legal Rights, Limited Public Interest and Community. Legal Rights Objections based on existing rights, including trademark rights, will be administered by the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center.
Not every application resembling a trademark will necessarily warrant an objection. A proportionate assessment will be required to distinguish between:
legitimate applications presenting no particular concern;
projects that should be monitored or addressed through application comments;
applications that may justify direct engagement or a formal objection.
The real analysis starts now
The figure of more than 1,600 applications confirms that the 2026 round will have a significant impact on the domain name ecosystem. It does not yet reveal the true scope of that impact. Much will depend on the strings applied for, the number of contention sets, the proportion of brand TLD projects and, ultimately, the number of extensions that complete the process and are delegated.
For applicants, the coming weeks will be devoted to anticipating potential contention and preparing for the evaluation stages. For trademark owners, Reveal Day will mark the beginning of a monitoring and risk-assessment exercise that will need to be conducted promptly in view of ICANN’s procedural deadlines.
IP Twins will monitor the publication of the applications and can assist businesses in reviewing the proposed extensions, identifying potential risks to their trademarks and determining the most appropriate strategy.