Afnic, the association responsible for the .fr Top-Level Domain and several French overseas and generic TLDs, has been selected[1] as a ‘Registry Service Provider’ (RSP) by ICANN.
Afnic is the only French operator to have obtained this designation, a mandatory requirement to act as a back-end registry operator for future top-level domains due to open for applications by ICANN in April 2026.
Banner with the ICANN label. The banner is rectangular, with a dark blue background, on which is written: in white letters: “New gTLD Program” and in orange-red “Next round” (Translation: “New gTLD Program: Next Application Round”)
After more than a decade, companies and local authorities will once again be able to apply for their own TLD. In the wake of the first round in 2012, ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) will once again accept applications for new top-level domain names in the Internet’s root zone. The application period will be limited to three months and will be open from April 30 to August 12, 2026.
In this context, ICANN introduced the RSP designation ahead of the next application window. Awarded following a comprehensive assessment of a registry operator’s technical, operational and financial capabilities, this designation is required in order to operate future new top-level domains (nTLDs), including dotBrands (brandTLDs) and geographic TLDs (geoTLDs) applied for by companies and local authorities during the 2026 application round.
With this designation, Afnic demonstrates the reliability and strength of its ‘Afnic Registry Services’ offering, designed to support companies and local authorities throughout the application process and in the technical and operational management of their future TLD.
This offering draws on Afnic’s more than 25 years of expertise in operating domain name registries, including national TLDs such as .fr, as well as geographic generic TLDs (.bzh, .paris) and brand TLDs (.leclerc), launched during the 2012 application round.
[1] https://newgtldprogram.icann.org/en/application-rounds/round2/rsp/rsp-applications/evaluated-rsps
About Afnic
Afnic is the acronym for Association Française pour le Nommage Internet en Coopération, the French Network Information Centre. The registry has been appointed by the French government to manage domain names under the .fr Top Level Domain. Afnic also manages the .re (Reunion Island), .pm (Saint-Pierre and Miquelon), .tf (French Southern and Antarctic Territories), .wf (Wallis and Futuna) and .yt (Mayotte) French Overseas TLDs.
In addition to managing French TLDs, Afnic’s role is part of a wider public interest mission, which is to contribute on a daily basis, thanks to the efforts of its teams and its members, to a secure and stable internet, open to innovation and in which the French internet community plays a leading role. As part of that mission, Afnic, a non-profit organization, has committed to devoting 11% of its Revenues from managing .fr Top Level Domain to actions of general interest, in particular by transferring €1.3 million each year to the Afnic Foundation for Digital Solidarity.
Afnic is also the back-end registry for the companies as well as local and regional authorities that have chosen to have their own TLD, such as .paris, .bzh, .alsace, .corsica, .mma, .ovh, .leclerc and .sncf.
Established in 1997 and based in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Afnic currently has nearly 90 employees.
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