ICP-2 Review

Background

In October 2023, the Number Resource Organization Executive Council (NRO EC) tasked the Number Resource Organization Number Council (NRO NC), acting as the Address Supporting Organization Address Council (ASO AC), with managing the review and update of the Internet Coordination Policy 2: Criteria for Establishment of New Regional Internet Registries (ICP-2).

The proposed updates focus on:

• Expanding governance, ecosystem, and operational criteria
• Clarifying the lifecycle of RIR recognition and responsibilities
• Defining principles for potential RIR derecognition if obligations are not met

Why is it important?

First developed in 2001, the ICP-2 defines the criteria for establishing and recognizing RIRs. It remains a vital framework for maintaining the overall health and governance of the Internet. The ICP-2 review and revision aims to uphold the stability and self-governance of the Internet numbers registry system by ensuring the document remains aligned with the principles needed to assess and recognise new RIRs in today’s evolving Internet environment.

Participate in the Consultation

The NRO NC has published a revised version of the document that aims to update ICP-2: Criteria for Establishment of New Regional Internet Registries. This updated document is titled “Governance Document for the Recognition, Operation, and Derecognition of Regional Internet Registries” (RIR Governance Document) and can be viewed here. A consultation on the first version of the draft document was held from 14 April to 27 May earlier this year. Feedback received from this consultation was used to inform the revisions.

We now invite your input on the revised draft. Please make sure to share your feedback by Friday, 7 November 2025.

How we got here

• October–December 2024
  Community feedback was collected via a public questionnaire on the draft principles.
  
• February 2025
  The NRO published a summary of responses and key insights from the consultation.
  
• February – April 2025
  The ASO AC developed a draft of the revised ICP-2 document, reflecting the review of the questionnaire feedback.
  
• April – May 2025
  The document: ‘Governance Document for the Recognition, Maintenance, and Derecognition of Regional Internet Registries’ is available for public comment.
  
• Q3 – Q4 2025
  The NRO NC will review all feedback received from both the RIR communities and the ICANN public comment process on the draft document. Based on this input, any additional edits deemed necessary will be incorporated into an updated version. The NRO NC will then work with the NRO EC to publish and present the revised draft for further community review through upcoming RIR meetings and other NRO and RIR communication channels.

For more detailed information on the process and timeline, please visit the NRO website or watch this explainer video.

How you can participate

Please share your feedback on the proposed ‘Governance Document for the Recognition, Operation, and Derecognition of Regional Internet Registries‘ on the RIPE Discussion list.

The feedback period is from 28 August to 7 November 2025.

Please consider the following when preparing your comments:

• Please share feedback that is specific to this document. Constructive comments are highly appreciated.
• We are particularly interested in hearing your views on whether this draft addresses questions and concerns with the previous draft.

Please note, the revised document does not address the implementation of RIR criteria; comments on implementation will be considered out of scope.

Join a session

RIPE NCC Open House: Second Consultation on Updating ICP-2

Wednesday, 17 September at 13:00 CEST (11:00 UTC)

Join the RIPE community representatives on the Number Resource Organization Number Council (NRO NC), Hervé Clément, Andrei Robachevsky and Constanze Bürger, to hear about the next phase in the effort to update ICP-2 and get an overview of the second draft "Governance Document for the Recognition, Operation, and Derecognition of Regional Internet Registries" which is intended to update ICP-2. Among other discussions, they will share a summary of the main changes between the two versions.

RIPE NCC Open House: Updating ICP-2

Tuesday, 29 April at 11:00 CEST (09:00 UTC)

This session took place online and the RIPE community representatives of the NRO NC will shared information on the work done so far and introduced the draft RIR Governance Document.

View the Open House session

BoF at RIPE 90

We held a BoF at RIPE 90 to hear the community's input on the draft "RIR Governance Document". The session recording is available on the RIPE 90 website.

Important Dates

• 14 April: Draft “RIR Governance Document” published
• 14 April: Consultation on draft document opens
• 29 April: RIPE NCC Open House: Updating ICP-2
• 12-16 May: BoF on ICP-2 review during RIPE 90
• 27 May: Consultation closes
• 9-12 June: NRO NC reviews input during ICANN 83
• 30 July: Consultation summary report published
• 28 August: Second draft version of the "RIR Governance Document" published
• 28 August: Second consultation opens
• 17 September: RIPE NCC Open House: Second Consultation on Updating ICP-2
• 20-24 October: BoF on ICP-2 during RIPE 91
• 7 November: Second consultation closes
• 12-14 November: NRO NC reviews input received during the second consultation