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ICANN 2026 Round Application System User Guide, Support Model Available

29 April 2026
By
Marika Konings

Marika Konings

VP, New gTLD Program Lead

Marika Konings joined ICANN in July 2008. In her current role as Vice President, new gTLD Program, Lead, she provides leadership and direction over multiple tracks of organizational activities toward implementation of a subsequent round of ICANN's new gTLD Program.

Previously, she served the organization as Vice President, Policy Development Support. In this capacity she supported and coordinated cross-functional activities that aid the development of global policies that advance ICANN’s mission of preserving the security, stability, and interoperability of the Internet. In addition, she was responsible for providing guidance, direction, and advice to staff across the Policy function in achieving organizational objectives.

Prior to joining ICANN, Marika was Director of European Affairs for the Cyber Security Industry Alliance. Before that, Marika spent seven years as senior consultant for a Brussels-based public affairs consultancy, where she represented health care and technology clients. Marika is a Dutch national and has a degree from the University of Maastricht, the Netherlands, in Culture and Sciences and a Master's Degree in European Political and Administrative Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.

With the opening of the application window for new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) just days away, ICANN has made several resources available to help prospective applicants familiarize themselves with ICANN's TLD Application Management System (TAMS). This online system will be used by all applicants, evaluation panelists, and ICANN staff to submit, manage, and process new gTLD applications.

These resources are available to help prospective applicants prepare for the application completion and submission process through TAMS:

ICANN built TAMS to satisfy the requirements of community-driven policy enacted via the Applicant Guidebook. The procedures laid out in the guidebook are meant to ensure that successful applicants have the technical, operational, and financial capacity to operate a gTLD, and therefore require many different evaluation processes.

In developing the application system, our highest priority has been to provide a safe and secure system while honoring the commitment to open the round in April 2026. If any bugs or issues emerge after launch, we will address them as quickly as possible.

Application Submission Support for gTLD Applicants

If, after reviewing the materials made available to assist applicants, an applicant still has a question, ICANN has put in place a comprehensive support model that's available across global time zones.

Before submitting an application, applicants will need to direct questions to Global Support either by email, which will be available 24/7, or by phone, which will be available 24 hours per day, Monday through Friday. In addition to email and phone options, a new web form to submit inquiries is expected to be available after ICANN86.

After submitting an application, applicants will be able to create an inquiry within TAMS to receive specialized support. General inquiries, not specific to a submitted application, should continue to be directed to Global Support.

The time it takes to receive a response will vary depending on the nature of the question and volume of inquiries received. We expect that many questions can be addressed quickly. In cases where the issue concerns a unique set of circumstances, various subject matter experts may need to be consulted, which will require additional time.

Additional applicant resources can be found on the 2026 Round Resources webpage.

Authors

Marika Konings

Marika Konings

VP, New gTLD Program Lead
Marika Konings

Marika Konings

VP, New gTLD Program Lead

Marika Konings joined ICANN in July 2008. In her current role as Vice President, new gTLD Program, Lead, she provides leadership and direction over multiple tracks of organizational activities toward implementation of a subsequent round of ICANN's new gTLD Program.

Previously, she served the organization as Vice President, Policy Development Support. In this capacity she supported and coordinated cross-functional activities that aid the development of global policies that advance ICANN’s mission of preserving the security, stability, and interoperability of the Internet. In addition, she was responsible for providing guidance, direction, and advice to staff across the Policy function in achieving organizational objectives.

Prior to joining ICANN, Marika was Director of European Affairs for the Cyber Security Industry Alliance. Before that, Marika spent seven years as senior consultant for a Brussels-based public affairs consultancy, where she represented health care and technology clients. Marika is a Dutch national and has a degree from the University of Maastricht, the Netherlands, in Culture and Sciences and a Master's Degree in European Political and Administrative Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.

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