ICANN confirms 1,616 applications will proceed in the 2026 new gTLD round
ICANN has confirmed that 1,616 applications will proceed in its New gTLD Program: 2026 Round. The application window closed in August with 1,663 submissions, and ICANN says payment was a necessary condition for an application to proceed. The announcement is an important checkpoint, but it does not mean that 1,616 new domain extensions are ready for registration.
What the 1,616 figure tells us
The figure counts applications that met the payment condition and are moving into the next stage. It is not a count of unique domain endings, approved registries, or extensions that consumers can register today. Some applicants may have applied for the same or similar strings, and applications still need to pass the program's checks and later evaluation stages.
ICANN says it will publish the public-facing parts of paid applications on Reveal Day. That publication is expected to show the requested strings and indicate where applications may be in contention. It will give businesses and the wider Internet community a much clearer view of the proposed extensions than public speculation or individual applicant announcements can provide.
When is Reveal Day?
In its 22 September announcement, ICANN said that, absent extraordinary circumstances, Reveal Day is expected no later than 14 October 2026. The organization said it would announce the specific date and the schedule for subsequent milestones separately. As of this article's publication, the official announcement still describes the date as forthcoming, so treat 14 October as the latest expected deadline rather than a confirmed event date.
The next milestones include the String Replacement Period, String Confirmation Day, and the Community Input and Objections Period. Reveal Day is a disclosure milestone, not the finish line: publication of an application does not guarantee that the requested top-level domain will pass evaluation or eventually launch.
Why domain owners and brands should pay attention
The next gTLD round could eventually introduce new choices after ICANN's review process. For a business, a future extension might be relevant to branding, customer expectations, or defensive domain registrations. But it is too early to assume that any particular string will launch, when it might launch, who will operate it, or what its registration rules and prices will be.
A sensible step now is to keep an eye on official application data once ICANN publishes it, especially if a string closely matches your company, product, or trademark. Avoid making decisions based on unverified claims about who applied or which extensions are guaranteed to become available. ICANN says it is the authoritative source for complete and verified information about the applicants and requested strings.
Existing domain registrations are not changed by this announcement. If you already use a domain for your website or business email, this milestone by itself does not replace or invalidate it. Continue to renew and manage your current domains as usual while monitoring the official process for future developments.
What happens after applications are revealed?
After publication, applicants move through further program stages, including string-related processes, community input and objections, and evaluation. Where applications compete for the same or confusingly similar strings, the program has procedures to resolve contention. Only after the relevant reviews and later program requirements can a new top-level domain progress toward operating in the DNS and offering registrations.
That is why the headline number should be read as a measure of applications progressing, not as a near-term inventory of new domains. The details released on Reveal Day and the milestones that follow will show which ideas are competing, which proceed through evaluation, and how the program timeline develops.
For existing websites, the fundamentals remain the same: choose a domain that is clear for your audience, keep registration details current, and protect the domains your business already depends on. You can compare domain extensions and current registration pricing on Irist while ICANN's new gTLD process continues.
Source: ICANN confirms number of applications proceeding in the 2026 Round, 22 September 2026.