Verisign Sets .web Dates: .com Owners Get Priority, but Only at the Same Registrar

Verisign has filed the launch schedule for .web with ICANN, after settling nearly a decade of disputes over the top-level domain earlier this year. Trademark holders can register in a sunrise period from December 10, 2026 to January 11, 2027, and general registration opens on April 6, 2027. In between, from January 12 to April 5, eligible .com owners can claim the matching .web name if it remains available, but only through the registrar that holds the .com.

That condition puts registrars at the center of the launch. A customer whose .com sits with one registrar cannot claim the matching .web at another unless the .com moves first. Once the new registrar becomes the registrar of record, Verisign’s system reflects the change within 48 hours.

The registration policy sets who can register in each phase, and two phases tie the .web name to the registrar of the matching .com.

Priority Access Runs Through the .com’s Registrar

Verisign calls the January to April window the Priority Access Program. It is open only to the current registrant of a second-level .com name in ASCII characters, registered as of the start of the period. The registrant must have held the name for longer than the add grace period, the short window after registration in which a new name can be deleted for a refund. Each qualifying registrant has the exclusive right to the exact match in .web. The .web name must be available and must be registered through the same registrar of record as the .com.

The registrar of record is the ICANN-accredited registrar that holds the domain at the registry. For a domain bought through a reseller, such as a hosting company that sells names under its own brand, that is the reseller’s wholesale registrar. Registrations in the priority window are subject to trademark claims notices, which warn a registrant when a name matches a trademark recorded in the Clearinghouse. The policy does not set a price for the period, and Domain Name Wire reported on November 11 that the fee had not been publicly disclosed. All priority registrations must be completed by April 5.

Sunrise for Trademark Holders From December 10

The sunrise runs for at least 30 days as a “Start-Date Sunrise,” with registrations processed first come, first served. To register a name, a registrar must submit the signed mark data file that the Trademark Clearinghouse issues to the trademark holder. Registrars taking part must first complete integration testing. A registration made during sunrise can be challenged at the National Arbitration Forum for up to 30 days after the period closes. One ground for a challenge is that the name does not match the trademark record it was based on.

Before sunrise starts, Verisign opens its Qualified Launch Program on November 20. Under ICANN’s trademark rules, it may allocate or register names to itself or to third parties during that program, which continues through the end of sunrise. The rules allow up to 100 such names, to promote the TLD, and a name that matches a trademark on the sunrise list can go only to an eligible trademark holder or, in limited cases, to a public authority.

General Registration From April 6

From April 6, 2027, .web names are available to anyone on a first-come, first-served basis. A trademark claims period starts on the same day and is perpetual, though Verisign may end it at its discretion. Verisign may also offer premium names and add or remove names from the premium list from time to time. Their registration and renewal fees are published for registrars in a report on a login-only file server. In addition, Verisign may give certain third parties the right to register names through an auction or a request for proposals.

A “China Exact Match” Window After Launch

The policy adds a “China Exact Match Opportunity” that starts after general registration opens. It covers .web names that sunrise applicants did not register, that Verisign reserved after sunrise and later released. The holder of the matching .com at the start of the priority period gets the exclusive right to such a name. Again, it must be registered through the same registrar of record. A .com transferred to a registrar that is not licensed to operate in China loses that opportunity.