ARIN: fees, the waiting list and transfer rules

ARIN is the regional internet registry for Canada, the United States and parts of the Caribbean and the North Atlantic. Its free pool of IPv4 ran out on 24 September 2015, but it still hands out small blocks from a waiting list it fills each quarter, and a buyer has to justify anything beyond a first /24. Its yearly fee follows the size of what you hold, from $275 in 2026.

Who it is

The American Registry for Internet Numbers is a nonprofit corporation under Virginia law, established in December 1997. Every customer signs its Registration Services Agreement. On 19 November 2025 it counted 1,467 General Members, who vote, and 25,029 Service Members.

What it costs

ARIN charges no membership sign-up fee, but creating your organization record costs $50 once. The first yearly fee is due when your first request is approved, and that day becomes your anniversary. The fee depends on your largest holding, IPv4, IPv6 or AS numbers, whichever puts you in the higher category:

The categories run on to $282,240 a year in 2026 for more than a /6. Fees rose 5% in 2026 and rise another 5% in 2027.

• A waiver ends. A 3X-Small organization can hold up to a /36 of IPv6 and stay in its category until 31 December 2026.
• Transfers. The seller pays $500 per request; the buyer pays on approval, from $187.50 for a /24 to $375 up to a /22, $750 up to a /20 and $1,500 up to a /18. A transfer through a merger or acquisition costs $500.
• No fee per AS number. AS numbers only count toward the category.
• Legacy space brought under a legacy agreement before 1 January 2024 is capped at $250 a year in 2026 and $275 in 2027; legacy space brought in later pays the normal fees.

The IPv4 waiting list

• Who can ask: an organization holding no more than a /20 of IPv4 in total, one request at a time.
• What it gets: at most a /22, or a smaller block down to a /24 if it chooses, never part of a request.
• Where the space comes from: mostly blocks revoked for unpaid fees.
• A 60-month lock: space from the list cannot be transferred for 60 months, except through a merger or acquisition.
• How it moves: ARIN fills the list each quarter. It filled 587 requests on 10 October 2025 and 483 on 7 October 2026, and expects the next round around 4 January 2027. On 16 October 2026, 84 requests were open, the oldest from 5 June 2025.

Transfers within the region

Section 8.3 of ARIN's policy manual:

• The seller must be the registered holder, must not have received a transfer, allocation or assignment from ARIN in the past 12 months, and signs a notarized officer acknowledgement letter. It cannot join the waiting list for 36 months afterward.
• The buyer signs ARIN's agreement and uses the space on an operational network. A first /24 needs no justification if the buyer has no IPv4 from ARIN yet; anything larger needs a plan to use at least half within 24 months, with at least half of its current IPv4 in use. An organization using 80% of what it holds can instead receive up to as much again, in one or more transfers, with at most a /16 in any six months.
• Minimum size: a /24.
• Pre-approval is available before you have found a seller.
• The time. Both sides file in ARIN Online. ARIN: "Once ARIN receives a signed RSA and all applicable fees, your resources will be transferred within two business days."

Transfers to and from other registries

ARIN moves space only with registries that have "reciprocal, compatible, needs-based policies":

• The RIPE NCC and APNIC: IPv4 and AS numbers.
• LACNIC: IPv4 only.
• AFRINIC: not approved for transfers.
• Never IPv6, with any registry.

A buyer in another region meets its own registry's rules: at the RIPE NCC a plan to use at least half of the space within five years, at APNIC a plan for 24 months. The seller meets the same conditions as within the region. From the start of these transfers to 30 June 2026, ARIN sent 41.6 million addresses to the RIPE NCC and 23.0 million to APNIC, the two largest flows between registries.

Mergers and legacy space

• A merger or acquisition needs no needs test: the new holder signs ARIN's agreement and shows that it acquired the network or the business that uses the space.
• Legacy space without an agreement keeps its registration, reverse DNS and record maintenance at ARIN, but gets no RPKI and no routing registry. A transferred legacy block goes to a buyer who signs ARIN's agreement.

IPv6

• For providers: a /32, or a /36 or /40 on request, on 4-bit boundaries.
• For end users: a /48 by default, more for organizations with more sites.
• An IPv6 /32 alone puts an organization in X-Small: $1,100 a year in 2026.

AS numbers

"Any organization may be issued a single Autonomous System Number (ASN) upon request": unlike the RIPE NCC and APNIC, ARIN asks for no multihoming for a first AS number. More need a unique routing policy or another technical reason. There is no sponsoring LIR at ARIN: an organization deals with it directly. ARIN had assigned 34,012 AS numbers by 30 June 2026. More in what is an ASN.

RPKI and the routing registry

ARIN offers hosted RPKI, delegated RPKI and a publication service, for ROAs and ASPAs, on space under an ARIN agreement. Its routing registry runs inside ARIN Online. For space a provider has reassigned to a customer, the provider submits the ROAs.

Where RTM Networks fits

We buy and sell IPv4 in the ARIN, RIPE NCC and APNIC regions, and take you through the registry's side of a purchase. The space we lease is our own, registered with RIPE NCC. Moving ARIN space to a network in Europe is a transfer between registries, with the conditions above on both sides.