ICANN published the applicant identities and proposed domain extensions for its 2026 new generic top-level domain (gTLD) round on October 7, disclosing 1,615 active applications from 481 applicants. The release provides the first public view of proposed new Internet namespaces in the first application round since 2012, including competing bids for identical strings.

The records became public at 18:00 UTC through ICANN’s Application Publication and Statistics system. Applicants, proposed strings, application statuses and other public details can now be examined through the searchable application database.

One application remains under administrative review. ICANN previously reported that 1,616 applications had completed payment and would proceed, one more than the current active total. The application database identifies the outstanding submission as .wdo, filed by the World Data Organization, based in China. Its application record states that an administrative check is continuing and that the related information is not yet fully available. ICANN has not explained whether or when the application will be added to the active count.

North America accounts for the largest share of applicants. ICANN’s published regional statistics identify 198 applicants from North America, followed by 156 from Asia-Pacific and 111 from Europe. Latin America and the Caribbean account for nine applicants, while Africa accounts for seven. These figures count applicants rather than individual applications, so they do not establish how proposed strings are distributed geographically.

Competition for identical strings is now visible. The application list includes multiple bids for certain extensions. For example, .ace has three active applications, submitted by Fore Course LLC, ShortDot (Ireland) Limited and Registry Services LLC. Such overlaps create contention that applicants must resolve before a string can proceed toward delegation.

ICANN has made an initial list of contention sets available separately, although its statistics dashboard has not yet populated totals for applications in contention or the number of contention sets. The application portal states that contention sets will be incorporated into the system after string evaluation. Additional conflicts may emerge through subsequent evaluation and objection procedures.

The disclosures also provide a basis for examining applications involving geographic names, brands, communities and internationalized domain names, as well as the concentration of proposed extensions among applicants pursuing multiple strings. ICANN’s statistics dashboard has not yet published aggregate figures for these application categories.

Applicants can begin switching to eligible replacement strings on October 8. The replacement period runs from 00:01 UTC on October 8 through 23:59 UTC on October 21. Applicants that previously designated an eligible alternative may substitute it for their original proposed string, subject to ICANN’s restrictions.

As CIRCLEID previously reported, ICANN has scheduled November 17 as String Confirmation Day, when the final selection of strings and updated contention sets are expected to be published. That date also begins the community input and objections period.

The newly disclosed applications represent requests to operate top-level domains, not approvals. ICANN’s statistics currently show no contracted or delegated applications from the 2026 round.