What a sponsoring LIR is, and when you need one

In the RIPE NCC service region, PI space and AS numbers have to be covered by a contract, with a Local Internet Registry or with the RIPE NCC itself, and the LIR does not have to be yours. A sponsoring LIR holds the contract and does the registry work, while the resources stay registered to your organization, for a fraction of what a membership of your own costs. Legacy blocks need no contract at all, though RPKI for them does.

What a sponsoring LIR is

An LIR is a member of the RIPE NCC. Most organizations that hold PI space or an AS number are not members, and a sponsoring LIR is a member that holds the contract for them, which RIPE policy prefers to a contract directly with the RIPE NCC (ripe-637). The RIPE Database shows which LIR sponsors a resource, so the arrangement is public.

Two things do not change. The resources stay assigned to you, not to the sponsor, and you can move them to another sponsor whenever you choose. Sponsorship is an administrative relationship, not a transfer of ownership.

What it does for you

• The contract. It signs the agreement with you that the RIPE NCC requires, after checking who you are and where the resource came from.
• The registry objects. It keeps the records for your resources current: contacts, the route objects your upstreams filter on, and the domain objects that delegate reverse DNS (reverse DNS).
• RPKI. It creates and maintains the ROAs for your resources, so your announcements validate (RPKI and ROAs).
• Transfers. When you buy or sell PI or legacy space, it handles the registry side.
• The RIPE NCC's questions. When the registry checks its data, the sponsor answers and asks you only for what it cannot supply itself.

When you need one

• You hold PI space or an AS number and are not a member. This is the common case, and the contract is a requirement rather than an option.
• You are buying PI space. A PI assignment can only be transferred to a RIPE NCC member or to an organization with a contract with one, so the sponsorship has to be in place before the transfer completes (ripe-807).
• You hold or are buying a legacy block and want RPKI or registry services under contract. Legacy holders choose between membership, a sponsoring LIR, a direct contract with the RIPE NCC, or no contract with limited services (ripe-639).
• You want your own AS number to announce your space yourself.

When you do not

• You want to hold PA space. An allocation may only be held by, and transferred to, a RIPE NCC member. No sponsor can hold PA for you (PA, PI or legacy).
• You lease. The lessor holds the registration and does the registry work; you need no relationship with the RIPE NCC at all (lease IPv4).
• You are already an LIR. Your membership covers it.

What it costs, against an LIR of your own

The membership figures are the RIPE NCC's charging schemes for 2026 and 2027 (RIPE-848 and RIPE-867; the RIPE NCC's fees). For one PI block and an AS number, sponsorship comes to €298 a year after the first; an LIR of your own costs six times as much, before anyone has done the work.

Moving to another sponsor

You can change sponsors at any time. You sign with the new one before your contract with the old one ends, and the registry record moves with the agreement; your resources and their registration stay as they are, so nothing changes for your routing. Ask the new sponsor to confirm on the day of the move that your ROAs are still in place, and check one from outside (RPKI and ROAs).

Where RTM Networks fits

We are a sponsoring LIR for PI space, legacy blocks and AS numbers: €199 a year for PI or legacy IPv4 or IPv6 PI, €99 a year for an AS number, and €149 once per resource for the setup, which covers the agreement, the registry objects and the RPKI configuration (PI and ASN sponsorship). The resources stay registered to you, and you can move them whenever you choose.