The Registry Service Provider (RSP) testing environment is now back online, but ICANN says the publication of evaluated RSPs will be delayed by several weeks.
ICANN’s Registry System Testing (RST) environment went dark, leaving registry operators and service providers in limbo. The outage disrupted critical testing workflows and forced ICANN to push back its much-anticipated RSP evaluation list publication date.
The RST platform is where registry operators and their backend providers put new services through their paces before launching them to the public. Think of it as the DMV for registry systems—necessary, occasionally frustrating, but ultimately keeping things from going off the rails.
What happened to the RST systems?
ICANN hasn’t spilled all the technical details about what caused the outage. The systems went offline unexpectedly, creating a backlog of pending tests and evaluations.
Registry operators who needed to validate changes or launch new services found themselves stuck waiting. The timing couldn’t have been worse for organizations planning year-end launches or system updates.
New timeline for RSP evaluations
ICANN originally planned to publish its evaluated Registry Service Provider list earlier. Now that date has been moved to January 30, 2026.
The RSP evaluation list matters because it helps registry operators choose backend providers. ICANN assesses these providers on technical capabilities, operational track records, and compliance standards. Getting on that list represents a stamp of legitimacy in the registry services market.
For RSPs waiting for their evaluation results, the delay extends an already lengthy process. Some providers have been in the assessment pipeline for months, and this outage just added more waiting time.
RST environment back online
The good news: ICANN reports the RST systems are functioning again. Registry operators can resume testing activities and backend providers can pick up where they left off.
But the outage exposed vulnerability in ICANN’s infrastructure. When a single system failure can delay industry-wide evaluations by weeks, questions about redundancy naturally arise.
Impact on registry operations
Most registry operators probably shrugged this off as an inconvenience rather than a crisis. Established registries with stable backends weren’t scrambling. But newer registries or those planning system migrations felt the pinch.
The delay in the RSP evaluation list publication could affect backend provider selection decisions for registries launching in 2026. Some may choose to wait for the official list rather than making decisions based on incomplete information.
For the RSPs themselves, the waiting game continues. Those hoping for positive evaluations to boost their market positioning will need to extend their timelines accordingly.
The January 30 date is now the new target, assuming no further technical hiccups derail ICANN’s plans.
