I'm happy to report that additional Applicant Support Program (ASP) candidates have qualified for support. As of 27 February, there are five fully qualified supported applicants and seven that are conditionally qualified, bringing the total to 12 – with 62 applicants still in review.
The level of interest achieved in the ASP is a testament to ICANN community members and the ICANN Global Communications and Stakeholder Engagement teams, who worked to build global awareness. The latest group of qualified applicants hails from Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America, and includes nonprofit and charitable organizations, small businesses from less-developed economies, and social-impact enterprises.
As supported applicants, these organizations have access to capacity-development resources, curated online courses and training, and priority access to pro bono service providers and mentors. Financial assistance includes discounts on generic top-level domain (gTLD) application and subsequent evaluation fees, a bid credit (if the applicant decides to participate in an auction), and reduced registry operator fees, should the gTLD be delegated.
For those who have been following the ASP, the volume of applications received may come as a surprise. Indeed, 81 percent of all ASP applications were submitted in the final month, following the ASP deadline extension.
Prior to the close of the ASP application period on 19 December 2025, six entities reported challenges in submitting documentation before the deadline. ICANN investigated these reports and confirmed that two applicants had experienced technical problems in the application system that prevented them from submitting their applications. Out of fairness to the entities that submitted prior to the deadline, only the applicants that experienced technical problems were granted an additional seven days to submit their applications.
For more information, including updates on the status of application processing, please visit the ASP website.