Get to Know the Draft Policies Up for Discussion at ARIN 58
ARIN 58 is almost here, and we’re looking forward to gathering with the community both in person and virtually. Since ARIN 57 took place in the spring, four new Draft Policies have been added to the docket, bringing us to a total of five Draft Policies and four Recommended Draft Policies to be presented at ARIN 58.
To help you prepare to engage in these important conversations, here’s a look at the Draft Policies up for discussion during the ARIN 58 Public Policy and Members Meeting, taking place 22-23 October in Miami, Florida, and online. Policies will be discussed Thursday, 22 October, so mark your calendar and register today if you’d like to participate on site in Miami or online via Zoom.
Recommended Draft Policies
Draft Policies are moved to this stage of the Policy Development Process (PDP) after the Advisory Council (AC) has determined they are ready to be presented to the community for final comments and consensus. Once these Recommended Drafts are presented at ARIN 58, the AC can then vote to move them to last call prior to sending them to the ARIN Board of Trustees for adoption. If community consensus is gained at ARIN 58, these Recommended Draft Policies could move on to last call and adoption; this may be the last time they are available for discussion by the community at an ARIN meeting.
ARIN-2025-1: Clarify ISP and LIR Definitions and References to Address Ambiguity in NRPM Text
The Problem: Current policies use the terms ISP and LIR somewhat interchangeably which can be confusing. Additionally, only LIRs are defined in Section 2 while ISPs are not.
What It Does: This Draft Policy adds clarity by clearly defining ISP and LIR, and updating the policy manual to reference LIR, where appropriate.
The Impact: Most instances of “ISP” would be changed to “LIR”. This should simplify language in the ARIN policy manual and also aligns with language used at the other RIRs.
ARIN-2025-3: Change Section 9 Out Of Region Use Minimum Criteria
The Problem: Current ARIN policy allows IPv4 addresses to be used outside the ARIN service region if the organization is using an IPv4 /22 (or equivalent aggregate) within the ARIN service region. This Draft Policy suggests the /22 requirement harms smaller organizations that have less than a /22 in region but do require some out of region use. This Draft Policy also states Out-of-Region Usage Justification may not be used to receive IPv4 address space from the ARIN Waiting List (4.1.8), the Micro-allocation Pool (4.4), or the Dedicated IPv4 Block to Facilitate IPv6 Deployment (4.10).
What It Does: This Draft Policy reduces the in-region IPv4 usage requirement from /22 to a /24, and out of region utilization does not apply to requests made under Sections 4.1.8, 4.4 and 4.10
The Impact: This Draft Policy would allow usage of ARIN-issued space outside of the ARIN region as long as the organization is using at least a /24 within the ARIN region.
ARIN-2025-7: Make Policy in 6.5.8.2 Match the Examples
The Problem: Section 6.5.8.2 in the NRPM describes the requirements for an initial allocation of IPv6 addresses to end-user organizations. The maximum size allocation an end user may receive is determined by the number of sites in an organization’s network.
What It Does: This Draft Policy intends to make clear that organizations with only one site qualify for an IPv6 /48.
The Impact: This update would clarify language in the policy manual.
ARIN-2025-8: Reserve 4.10 space for In-Region Use
The Problem: NRPM Section 4.10 reserves IPv4 space to facilitate IPv6 deployment. There are currently no restrictions on out-of-region use beyond the general requirements set forth in Section 9. Because use of these allocations outside the ARIN service region appears inconsistent with the original intent of this address space, the prohibition of such use should be explicitly codified in policy to provide clarity and consistency in implementation.
What it Does: This Draft Policy modifies Section 4.10 to explicitly restrict the special reserved IPv4 space, reserved to support IPv6 deployment, for use only within ARIN’s service region.
The Impact: This Draft Policy aligns with current ARIN staff implementation. IPv4 space issued from this special reserved block of IP addresses can only be used within the ARIN region. These IP addresses are not applicable to Section 9 Out of Region Use policy.
Want to catch up on previous discussions about any Draft or Recommended Draft policies? View the Public Policy Mailing List archive. Then subscribe to the mailing list so you can see and contribute to future community conversations.
Draft Policies
Draft Policies are works in progress managed by AC shepherds and presented to the community for feedback.
ARIN-2026-1: Taking IP To Other Planets (TIPTOP)
The Problem: Space exploration organizations are deploying IP-based networks beyond Earth orbit — on the Moon and in deep-space environments — but they are currently utilizing address space from multiple RIRs with no coordination. The use of unrelated terrestrial address allocations introduces routing scalability concerns.
What it Does: The policy is being developed jointly with the IETF TIPTOP working group. The policy would allow the allocation of both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses specifically for organizations operating networking infrastructure in outer space (beyond geostationary orbit), with addresses organized hierarchically around celestial regions like the Moon and other planetary systems. It also introduces a new definition, the Extra-Terrestrial Network (ETN), and creates dedicated Sections in the Number Resource Policy Manual for both IPv4 and IPv6 space ETN allocations.
The Impact: This Draft Policy establishes a framework for extraterrestrial networking.
ARIN-2026-2: NRPM Section 6.5 Revision
The Problem: Section 6.5’s IPv6 allocation rules rely on formula-driven mechanisms that don’t match how IPv6 networks are actually planned (hierarchically, with aggregation and multi-year growth in mind). This mismatch makes the policy hard to interpret consistently and inconsistent with ARIN’s own IPv6 planning guidance.
What it Does: Replaces formula-based and utilization-based allocation mechanisms with a planning-based evaluation model.
The Impact: Requestors would qualify based on demonstrated operational need (service provider operations, multihoming, internal infrastructure) and submit a network plan detailing addressing structure and growth projections.
ARIN-2026-3: NRPM Section 6.4.1 Retirement
The Problem: Section 6.4.1 currently states that IPv6 allocations aren’t to be considered property, a holdover concept from legacy Registration Services Agreement language. Property/rights language doesn’t belong in the policy manual. It belongs in the contractual agreement (Registration Services Agreement) between ARIN and resource holders.
What it Does: Simply retires Section 6.4.1 outright, removing the property-rights language from the NRPM.
The Impact: A narrow housekeeping change clarifying the proper separation between the policy manual and ARIN’s legal agreements without altering how address space is actually allocated or managed.
ARIN-2026-4: Harmonize Section 1 and Section 6, Principles and Goals Statements
The Problem: ARIN’s principles and goals are currently described in two separate places, Section 1 (Principals and Goals) and Section 6.3 (IPv6), with overlapping and sometimes inconsistent language. A similar redundancy in Section 4 has already been retired.
What it Does: Reorganizes and consolidates the language: general principles (registration, conservation, routability, and scalability) move fully into Section 1, with two new Sections added (1.5 Fairness, 1.6 Conflict of Goals) for language currently duplicated in Section 6.3. IPv6-specific goals sections (6.3.2, 6.3.3, 6.3.8) that become redundant with Section 1 are retired, while IPv6-specific aggregation language stays in 6.3.4 with an explicit note that aggregation remains the top IPv6 priority.
The Impact: This is meant to add clarity to the NRPM without making any substantive policy changes.
ARIN-2026-5: Define Out Of Region Use
The Problem: Section 9 of the policy manual, Out Of Region Use, sets requirements for this use case and the treatment of space used as such for future justifications, but it does not include a definition of the term.
What it Does: Adds a definition to Section 2 of the policy manual for “Out of Region Use.”
The Impact: A clear definition for “Out of Region Use” would reduce confusion around related policies.
Participate in Our Policy Discussions
ARIN policy belongs to the community, and we encourage everyone to join the conversation. We look forward to hearing your ideas during ARIN 58, and we hope these summaries help you feel prepared and comfortable enough to speak up and share your opinions — or ask any questions of our AC shepherds.
For our virtual participants, you must join the meeting via Zoom as a registered attendee to participate in policy discussions. The livestream will be available on YouTube to all who wish to view the proceedings.
Learn how to propose and read Draft Policy in this blog post.
Contribute to the Future of Internet Policy
If you’d like to submit your own Internet number resource policy proposal, fill out our brief template and email it to policy@arin.net. Don’t stress about wording your proposal perfectly — our AC will work with you to polish it so it can move through the Policy Development Process (PDP).
Additional resources on the PDP can be found on the following webpages:
We’ll see you at ARIN 58!
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