Applied for a TLD? Here's What to Expect on ICANN's Reveal Day.

If you’re an applicant in ICANN’s new gTLD application rounds, Reveal Day is one of those milestones that quickly turns “strategy” into “operational reality.” It’s the day when ICANN reveals the publicly relevant pieces of the application landscape so applicants can assess where they stand, understand who else is in scope, and prepare for the next steps toward String Confirmation Day and, ultimately, contention resolution.  

ICANN has announced that Reveal Day for the 2026 gTLD round will occur on Wednesday, October 7. Below is what domain professionals, small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and enterprises should expect: what goes public, what you can still change, what comes next, and what new restrictions may affect applicant behavior. 

What ICANN Publishes on Reveal Day  

On Reveal Day, ICANN will publish several key items that together form the foundation for what applicants will need to review and act on.  

1. The full list of applied-for (and replacement) strings: Reveal Day includes the full list of applied-for and replacement strings, along with the organizations and individuals that applied for each TLD. 

   For industry stakeholders, this list matters because it clarifies the set of new strings that could overlap or create ambiguity in the approval path. For applicants, it also helps confirm whether your selected replacement approach has any indirect interaction with other parties’ submissions.  

2. The public portion of all applications: ICANN also publishes the public portion of all applications, which includes details that are eligible to be viewed under ICANN’s publication rules. You can see the full list of the public portion of the application here, but largely this is all information related to who the applicants in this round of domains were and the intended purpose of the applied for gTLD.  

For enterprises and SMBs watching from the sidelines, this is the first practical point where you can do side-by-side comparison of public application information: all of which are helpful for partnership planning, vendor coordination, and risk assessment.  

 3.  List of contention sets: Perhaps the most operationally important disclosure is the list of contention sets. Contention sets identify where applications overlap and therefore may trigger additional processes (like strings going to auction) later.  

For registries, brands, and domain investors alike, contention sets are a signal of where contention strategy will matter, because they determine who is “in the same pool” from ICANN’s perspective and who will be subject to later restrictions tied to those relationships.  

You’ll have two weeks to update your replacement string  

One of the most time-sensitive elements after Reveal Day is the replacement string update window.  

From Reveal Day, applicants have two weeks to change to their replacement string if all of the following are true:  

• the applicant applied for a replacement string, and  

• the replacement string does not match any other applied-for string or replacement string already in the mix. 

For TLD applicants, use this window to validate your “second choice” against what’s revealed on day one. If your original applied-for string no longer makes sense in light of what others applied for (or because it conflicts with other strings), this is the moment to adjust – before the window closes.  

String Confirmation Day: the updated final picture  

After the two-week replacement period ends, ICANN will post an updated list. That updated list appears on String Confirmation Day and includes the final list of applications, and the final list of contention sets. 

Reveal Day is a disclosure snapshot. String Confirmation Day is the “cleaned up” and confirmed dataset that applicants and their stakeholders typically use for onward planning, including contention-related strategy and operational readiness.  

Prohibited activity for applicants in contention sets  

Starting from Reveal Day, certain communications and activities are prohibited among applicants in contention sets. The intent is to reduce improper influence, prevent unfair agreements, and protect the integrity of the contention process. Some examples of what activities are prohibited include discussing/offering/accepting money for withdrawing an application, negotiating settlement agreements, or negotiating post-auction transfer arrangements.  

If your organization is in or adjacent to a contention set, tighten internal processes immediately. Ensure your team understands what is and isn’t permissible in conversations with other applicants. This is particularly important for applicants with multiple stakeholders involved: legal counsel, domain brand owners, market strategy teams, and third-party consultants.  

What you should do right after Reveal Day  

While Reveal Day is primarily an ICANN disclosure event, it should also trigger internal action for organizations that care about outcomes . . . even if they are not the direct applicant.  

Here are high-level best practices:  

1. Review the full revealed string lists (applied-for and replacement strings) to validate your interpretation of the competitive landscape.  

2. Identify your contention exposure by checking the published contention sets.  

3. If you’re an applicant: confirm whether to consider a replacement-string change within the two-week window.  

4. If you’re not an applicant: use the public application data to assess market signals, potential partnership opportunities, and competitive risk.  

5. Lock down communications if you’re involved with a contention set. Make sure interactions stay within allowed boundaries. 

The Time to Prepare is Now 

Reveal Day is a turning point in the gTLD application process, but the most important work doesn’t start on the day itself – it starts now, while you still have time to organize, review, and make decisions with your team. The closer you are to having a plan in place before ICANN publishes the applied-for and replacement strings, the public application information, and the contention sets, the less likely you are to be forced into reactive choices once the landscape becomes visible.  

Once the data is revealed, applicants will need to be ready to quickly understand where they stand – especially if contention sets mean your competitive positioning (and your operational priorities) could shift. From there, timing becomes critical. If you submitted a replacement string, ICANN provides a narrow window after Reveal Day (two weeks) to change it. If you plan to make any adjustment, this is the moment to validate your options and be operationally prepared to act within the window.  

Reveal Day is when the application process accelerates. If you’re ready for what gets published, prepared for the replacement-string update window, and aligned on the contention-related restrictions that begin at Reveal Day, you’ll be far better positioned to make smart decisions when the new information becomes public.