15 November 2011

Question. How long will the evaluation process take?

Answer. The "evaluation process" begins when the application window closes. There are several stages that an application may pass through prior to a final determination being rendered. Those stages are Administrative Check, Initial Evaluation, Extended Evaluation, String Contention, Dispute Resolution and Pre-delegation. The shortest path for a successful application is to pass Administrative Check (lasting 2 months), Initial Evaluation (lasting 5 months) and then move to Pre-delegation (lasting approximately 2 months) without any Objections filed or String Contention concerns. In this case the evaluation process could take as little as 9 months to complete (all times are approximate). On the other hand if an application does not pass Initial Evaluation and elects Extended Evaluation and/or is in the Dispute Resolution or String Contention stages then the evaluation process could take up to 20 months to complete (or longer in the event that unforeseen circumstances arise). Please refer to Section 1.1.3 of the Applicant Guidebook for detailed information on timing estimates.

DISCLAIMER: This material is for information only and does not represent of all requirements and criteria that the applicant must satisfy. ICANN is not providing legal, financial, business or any other kind of advice. This material does not represent a modification to the Applicant Guidebook, or the terms and conditions to the new gTLD program. This material also does not represent a waiver of any ICANN policy, procedure or agreement. In the event that any information provided in this material appears to be inconsistent with any information published elsewhere by ICANN, please do not rely on this material without confirmation or clarification from ICANN.