ICANN announced that the 2026 New gTLD Program application window is now open, closing on 12 August 2026.
The round allows businesses, governments, and communities to apply for unique domains like .brand, .city, or .industry, enhancing security and brand identity.
Applicants can submit in 27 scripts for Internationalized Domain Names, expanding IDN availability to hundreds of languages such as Arabic and Devanagari.
Kurtis Lindqvist, ICANN President and CEO, highlighted that 92% of marketers recognize gTLD benefits for differentiation, trust, and SEO.