Which strings cannot be submitted as new gTLD applications in the 2026 ICANN round?

In the upcoming 2026 ICANN New gTLD round, not all strings are eligible for application. ICANN enforces strict technical, public interest, and "confusing similarity" rules to protect the stability and security of the Domain Name System (DNS).

The following categories of strings cannot be submitted or will be blocked during the application process:

1. Technical & Formatting Prohibitions

Strings must meet specific syntax requirements to ensure they work across all internet software.

Too Short or Too Long: Strings must be between 3 and 63 characters long. Single-character (e.g., .a) and two-character (e.g., .ab) ASCII strings are prohibited.

Invalid Characters: Strings cannot contain digits (0–9), dashes (-), or special symbols. They must consist only of alphabetic characters (a–z) or valid Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) scripts.

Leading/Trailing Dashes: While dashes are generally banned in the TLD itself, they are also prohibited at the start or end of any internal label components.

2. Reserved & Blocked Names

ICANN maintains a Blocked Names List that prevents the registration of strings with high global sensitivity or technical risk.

Country and Territory Names: High-level names of countries and territories (e.g., .america, .france, .china) are generally reserved or require specific government support.

Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs): Strings that mimic the names of major international bodies (e.g., .olympic, .redcross, .un) are often protected.

Internal Technical Strings: Strings used for internal networking that could cause "name collision" are banned. This includes:

.local, .home, .corp, .lan, .onion

3. "Confusingly Similar" Strings

To prevent user confusion, ICANN will reject applications for strings that are visually or functionally too close to existing or other applied-for TLDs.

Existing TLDs: You cannot apply for a string that is a visual "look-alike" to an existing one (e.g., if .apple exists, a string that looks identical in another script might be blocked).

Plural vs. Singular: A major change for the 2026 round is the strict handling of singular and plural versions of the same word (e.g., if .sport exists, .sports may be deemed confusingly similar and blocked).

Variant Strings: For IDNs (non-Latin scripts), "variants" that are visually identical to the primary string are treated as part of the same application and cannot be applied for separately.

4. Policy-Based Prohibitions

Closed Generics: In the 2026 round, ICANN has determined that "Closed Generics" (generic terms like .book or .shoe that a single company wants to use exclusively for itself without opening registrations to others) are prohibited.

Brand TLD Constraints: For "dotBrand" applications, the string must exactly match a trademarked label in the Trademark Clearinghouse. You cannot apply for a brand string that does not have a matching Signed Mark Data (SMD) file.