ICANN Accreditation Fee Structure (2025)
Thinking of becoming an ICANN-accredited registrar? Here's a complete, no-fluff explanation of all fees — from the initial application fee to yearly costs, registry fees, and hidden expenses. Know what to expect, plan your budget, and get accredited with confidence.
Cost of ICANN Accreditation
ICANN Accreditation Application Fee
The ICANN accreditation process begins with a non-refundable application fee of $3,500 USD. This fee is paid online through ICANN’s Registrar Application System (RAS) and must be submitted before ICANN initiates any formal review of your application. It covers the cost of evaluating your legal, technical, financial, and operational readiness to become a registrar. This is a one-time fee and does not guarantee approval.
Post-Approval: ICANN Annual Fee ($4,000)
Once your application is approved and you’re invited to sign the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA), ICANN will require full payment of the annual fixed fee of $4,000 USD. This is mandatory before your accreditation becomes active — no registrar is approved until this fee is paid in full.
From the second year onwards, registrars have the option to pay the annual fee in four quarterly installments of $1,000 each, which helps with cash flow management, especially for startups or smaller operations.
Variable Registrar Fees
In addition to the fixed fee, ICANN collects a variable fee from registrars. This fee is calculated based on your share of the total domain registration volume among all registrars in a given quarter. It’s meant to cover ICANN’s budget needs and is split proportionally among active registrars.
The per-domain transaction fee, long held at $0.18 USD, has been increased to $0.20 USD as of July 1st, 2025. This fee applies to domain create, renew, and transfer operations in most gTLDs and is charged on top of your registry costs.
Important Clarification About Domain Pricing
It’s important to understand that ICANN does not sell domains and registrars do not buy domains directly from ICANN. The $0.20 fee is just a transaction-level fee payable to ICANN. The actual cost of a domain is set by the registry operator (e.g., Verisign for .com, PIR for .org, etc.), and registrars must sign separate agreements with each registry they want to sell domains for.
Most registries charge a wholesale price per domain (e.g., .com costs around $8.97/year), and some may also require upfront deposits, integration fees, or monthly minimums.
Disclaimer
Becoming an ICANN-accredited registrar doesn’t mean you can buy domains for 20 cents. The $0.20 is only a per-transaction fee paid to ICANN — you still need to pay the registry's wholesale price for every domain you register, renew, or transfer. Registrars must onboard with each registry individually and meet their technical and financial requirements to offer those TLDs.
ICANN Accreditation Fees Infographic
