APNIC Home

ICP-2 Review

ICP-2: Consultation on RIR Governance Document

You are invited to share your feedback on the revised version of the ‘Governance Document for the Recognition, Operation, and Derecognition of Regional Internet Registries’ (‘RIR Governance Document’). This document aims to update ICP-2: Criteria for the Establishment of New Regional Internet Registries. Feedback received from the first consultation held from 14 April to 27 May 2025 informed this draft.

Please ensure you share your feedback by Friday, 7 November 2025 on the ICP-2 Review mailing list (subscription required). To simplify community review, the NRO NC will also provide supporting documents, including a redline version showing the differences between the two drafts and a summary rationale for the changes in the coming days.

APNIC will also be holding a session at APNIC 60: ‘ICP-2 Review: RIR Governance Document Consultation on Wednesday, 10 September 2025 from 9:30 to 11:00 (UTC +7). You are welcome to join the session in-person or remotely to share your feedback.

Provide your comments

Your views are important

The APNIC Executive Council (EC) is committed to the inclusion of the APNIC community’s views in the ICP-2 review consultation process.

A community-wide consultation process is essential for maintaining the stability and self-governance of the Internet numbers registry system and we look forward to receiving your feedback in the ICP-2 Review Orbit mailing list.

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 recognize new RIRs in today’s evolving Internet environment.

As part of this process, the NRO NC invited the global Regional Internet Registry (RIR) communities to provide feedback on each principle via a questionnaire, which was open from 8 October until 6 December 2024. On 24 February 2025, the NRO published a qualitative analysis and summary of the community responses received on the proposed principles to update ICP-2. The NRO NC then hosted a community consultation in each RIR region on the first draft RIR Governance Document, in parallel with an ICANN Public Comment, from 14 April until 27 May 2025. The summary report from the consultation was published on 30 July 2025.

  • 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.

  • August – November 2025

    The revised RIR Governance Document is available for public comment.

  • Q4 2025 – Q1 2026

    The NRO NC will review all feedback received from both the RIR communities and the ICANN public comment process on the second 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.

The feedback period on the proposed ‘Governance Document for the Recognition, Maintenance, and Derecognition of Regional Internet Registries‘ (RIR Governance Document) was open from 14 April to 27 May 2025, in parallel with an ICANN Public Comment. The summary report from the consultation was published on 30 July 2025.

The NRO NC received valuable feedback on the RIR Governance Document, which informed the revised version currently open for comment. To view the feedback received on the first draft RIR Governance Document from the APNIC region, please view the archives of the ICP-2 Review mailing list. More information on the feedback received from the other RIR regions is available on the NRO website.

Webinars of the first community consultation

The APNIC Secretariat held online community consultation sessions where APNIC Members and the community were invited to ask questions and provide feedback on version one of the RIR Governance Document.

Webinar 1 was held on Wednesday, 30 April 2025 at 14:00 (UTC +10). The recording is available.

Webinar 2 was held on Thursday, 15 May at 14:00 (UTC +10). The recording is available.

Webinar 3 (NIRs-only) was held on Tuesday, 20 May at 14:00 (UTC +10). The recording is available.