Criteria for resource requests

Please use the tables below to find out which AFRINIC-delegated resources you are eligible for.
You can propose changes to the current criteria or other AFRINIC policies that may affect your eligibility. Post your ideas to the AFRINIC resource policy discussion mailing list. 
You can first subscribe by following the instructions at https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/rpd
To post to the list, send mail to rpd [at] AFRINIC dot net"

Steps for Resource Request
IPv4
IPv6
ASN
IXPs
Assigned Anycast

Steps for Resource Request
Before submitting your application, it is recommended that you verify your eligibility for resource membership, understand what policies shall apply to your resource request and ensure you have all the required documentation as per the checklist below. If you need further clarifications regarding the requirements or you believe some requirements are not applicable to you or your organisation, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Any missing or omitted document may lead to significant delays in the conclusion of a new membership request.

Resource Membership Application Process
Step 1 
 Average time: 30 minutes to fill and submit the form
(1) Application
After you have reviewed the eligibility criteria for AFRINIC Membership and IP resources and you believe that you or your organisation may qualify for AFRINIC Resource Membership, you can submit your application on the New Membership Registration Portal(NMRP). You will first have to register an account on NMRP before you can submit your application.
When you have submitted your application, you will receive an automated email with a ticket number - all correspondences shall be conducted and recorded in the ticket. If you believe you have additional documentation which shall ease your adherence as a member, you may reply to the email which you received and attach the documents, keeping the same subject line.

Click here to initiate this step

Step 1 
 Average time: 30 minutes to fill and submit the form
Step 2 
 Average time: 2 working days*
(2) Compliance checks
A member of the Customer Services team will carry out the preliminary administrative checks to determine your eligibility for AFRINIC membership. Your organisation’s registration papers(e.g Founding or Incorporation document), as well as phone numbers and email addresses provided, would be verified.
At this stage, you will also be asked to check the Registration Service Agreement (RSA) and ensure that it is filled in and signed.
Note: It is highly recommended to have more than one contact person to represent your organisation in all matters related to AFRINIC
Step 3 
 Average time: 4 working days*
(3) Evaluation
The request for AFRINIC Resource membership will then be handled by the Registration services team. The request will be evaluated against applicable policies and a hostmaster will contact you regarding the approval or if additional information is required.
Step 3 
 Average time: 4 working days*
Step 4 
 Average time: Invoice is due immediately after being issued.
(4) Invoicing & Payment
If your request is approved, you will receive an invoice for all the applicable fees. The invoice has a validity period of 45 days and payment can be made by electronic transfer or credit card.
If the payment is not made during the validity period, the approval of the request is deemed void and you will have to submit a new application to restart the application process.
Refer to the fees section for more details.
Step 5 
 Average time: 2 working days
(5) Compliance Check
At this stage, we shall verify whether a signed & validated RSA as well as the payment has reached us and are on record.
Refer to the fees section for more details.
Step 5 
 Average time: 2 working days
Step 6 
 Average time: 2 working days
(6) Registration
After the payment is received and signed RSA is on record, AFRINIC shall issue the approved IP resources and activate your MyAFRINIC portal account.
The registration information will be accessible on the AFRINIC WHOIS database.

IPv4
IPv4 Address Space

Criteria Related Policies

Initial Allocation:
- Section 5.4 Soft Landing
- Section 5.5 IPv4 LIR/ISP Allocations

Be an AFRINIC member in good standing or be in the process of becoming an AFRINIC member
Have a plan to use at least a /23 within the next 8 months
Can demonstrate the existence of network infrastructure in Africa
Have a valid service license in the country of operation, if a license is required.

EU Assignment(Assigned PI):
- Section 5.4 Soft Landing
- Section 5.5 IPv4 LIR/ISP Allocations

- Be an AFRINIC member in good standing or be in the process of becoming an AFRINIC member
- Can demonstrate an immediate need of at least a /25
- Have an upstream international connectivity or transit
- Justify an immediate need of at less 50% of total requested size based on their Network Infrastructure.

Additional Allocation or Assignment:

- Section 5.4 Soft Landing
- Section 5.5 IPv4 LIR/ISP Allocations
- Section 5.6 IPv4 End-User (PI) Assignments 

You shall be deemed eligible for a complementary allocation if:
- 90% of all the current IP allocations have been used in an efficient manner
- Have documented the justification for each IPv4 address assignment
- AFRINIC shall request for related documentation and audit the actual usage to ensure that current assignments are valid
- All previous assignments and sub-allocations made by the LIR were efficiently done, followed policy and are registered in the AFRINIC whois database

Sub-Allocation:
IPv4 Allocation and Assignment Policy in the AFRINIC region

Only LIRs can request a sub-allocation for their downstream ISPs. LIRS cannot sub-allocate above their sub-allocation window (SAW)
- Initial SAW=0 usually raised upon request by LIR and audited by AFRINIC
- LIR responsibility to monitor the efficient utilization of assignments from these sub-allocations
- LIR to ensure conservation is followed by their customers

Only LIRs can request a sub-allocation for their downstream ISPs. LIRS cannot sub-allocate above their sub-allocation window (SAW)
- Initial SAW=0 usually raised upon request by LIR and audited by AFRINIC
- LIR responsibility to monitor the efficient utilization of assignments from these sub-allocations
- LIR to ensure conservation is followed by their customers

Assignment (Assigned PA):
- Section 5.2 Goals of the Internet Registry System
- Section 5.3 Registration Requirements

LIRs can make assignments directly for their infrastructure and customers/end-user organizations without the need for AFRINIC hostmaster approval.
- Only First assignment will be reviewed by AFRINIC
- LIR to directly make assignments to infrastructure and end-user organisations
- LIR must make sure that assignments are registered in the AFRINIC whois database. Such assignments cannot be further reassigned to other end-users

LIR may seek a second opinion from AFRINIC at any one time

IPv6
IPv6 Address Space

Criteria Related Policies

Initial Allocation:

- Section 6.5 Policies for allocations and assignments
- Section 6.6 Assignments for Internet Experiments

Should not be an end site
Should be an LIR
Plan to provide IPv6 connectivity to organizations in the AFRINIC region
Plan to assign a reasonable number of /48's to end-sites in the AFRINIC region within 12 months

Experiments

Experiment to be defined according to RFC2026
Must be made public or published
Must not be for commercial use.

Sub-Allocation:

LIRs can sub-allocate to their downstream ISPs who will then (re)-assign to their end-users/customers. (The current IPv6 policy will be re-adjusted to take care of sub-allocations)

Assignment:
- Section 6.5.4 Assignments

Assignments of /48 or more can be made to IXP and End-Sites. It is not necessary to send in a request for this. LIR must record any assignment in the AFRINIC whois database

IPv6 Provider Independent (PI) Assignment for End-Sites
- Section 6.8 PI Assignments

The end-site must not be an IPv6
LIR The end-site must become an AFRINIC End User Member and pay the normal AFRINIC fee for its' membership category
The end site must either:

be a holder of IPv4 PI address space or
qualify for an IPv4 PI assignment from AFRINIC under the IPv4 policy currently in effect.

The end-site must justify the need for the IPv6 PI address space.
The 'end-site' must show a plan to use and announce the IPv6 provider independent address space within twelve (12) months. After that period, if not announced, the assigned IPv6 PI address space should be reclaimed and returned to the free pool by AFRINIC.

ASN
AS Numbers

Criteria Related Policies

ASN
- Section 7.4 Eligibility for an AS Number Assignment

The organisation:
- Be an AFRINIC member in good standing or be in the process of becoming an AFRINIC member
- Should be multihomed(peering with two different ASes), or planning to be in the near future.
- Has a single, clearly defined routing policy that is different from the organisation's upstream routing policies
- Holds at least a /24 IPv4 or /48 IPv6 from an LIR or is seeking its first IP delegation from AFRINIC

IXPs
Internet Exchange Points (IXPs)

Criteria Related Policies

IXP
- Section 5.6.4 PI Assignments to Critical Infrastructure 

The following information is needed:
- Provide evidence of legal presence in Africa. If the IXP is not a legally registered entity, another organisation may represent the IXP
- Provide the ASNs and contact details of at least three BGP peers and/or the signed MoU by the peers
- Provide evidence showing that the IXP is public and open.

Assigned Anycast
Assigned Anycast

Criteria Related Policies

Anycast Resource Assignments:
- Section 12.0 Anycast Resource Assignment

You may use one /24 IPv4, one /48 IPv4 from existing IP delegation from AFRINIC for anycast purposes or request for a direct end-user IP assignment and AS number. You will need the following;
- Be an AFRINIC member in good standing or be in the process of becoming an AFRINIC member
- The IP resource will be used for the sole purpose of providing anycast services
- Have upstream international connectivity or transit
- Have a network plan with details of the location for all the nodes
- Description of network routing plans

Criteria	Related Policies
Initial Allocation:	- Section 5.4 Soft Landing - Section 5.5 IPv4 LIR/ISP Allocations
Be an AFRINIC member in good standing or be in the process of becoming an AFRINIC member Have a plan to use at least a /23 within the next 8 months Can demonstrate the existence of network infrastructure in Africa Have a valid service license in the country of operation, if a license is required.

EU Assignment(Assigned PI):	- Section 5.4 Soft Landing - Section 5.5 IPv4 LIR/ISP Allocations
- Be an AFRINIC member in good standing or be in the process of becoming an AFRINIC member - Can demonstrate an immediate need of at least a /25 - Have an upstream international connectivity or transit - Justify an immediate need of at less 50% of total requested size based on their Network Infrastructure.

Additional Allocation or Assignment:	- Section 5.4 Soft Landing - Section 5.5 IPv4 LIR/ISP Allocations - Section 5.6 IPv4 End-User (PI) Assignments
You shall be deemed eligible for a complementary allocation if: - 90% of all the current IP allocations have been used in an efficient manner - Have documented the justification for each IPv4 address assignment - AFRINIC shall request for related documentation and audit the actual usage to ensure that current assignments are valid - All previous assignments and sub-allocations made by the LIR were efficiently done, followed policy and are registered in the AFRINIC whois database

Sub-Allocation:	IPv4 Allocation and Assignment Policy in the AFRINIC region
Only LIRs can request a sub-allocation for their downstream ISPs. LIRS cannot sub-allocate above their sub-allocation window (SAW) - Initial SAW=0 usually raised upon request by LIR and audited by AFRINIC - LIR responsibility to monitor the efficient utilization of assignments from these sub-allocations - LIR to ensure conservation is followed by their customers

Only LIRs can request a sub-allocation for their downstream ISPs. LIRS cannot sub-allocate above their sub-allocation window (SAW) - Initial SAW=0 usually raised upon request by LIR and audited by AFRINIC - LIR responsibility to monitor the efficient utilization of assignments from these sub-allocations - LIR to ensure conservation is followed by their customers

Assignment (Assigned PA):	- Section 5.2 Goals of the Internet Registry System - Section 5.3 Registration Requirements
LIRs can make assignments directly for their infrastructure and customers/end-user organizations without the need for AFRINIC hostmaster approval. - Only First assignment will be reviewed by AFRINIC - LIR to directly make assignments to infrastructure and end-user organisations - LIR must make sure that assignments are registered in the AFRINIC whois database. Such assignments cannot be further reassigned to other end-users LIR may seek a second opinion from AFRINIC at any one time

Criteria	Related Policies
Initial Allocation:	- Section 6.5 Policies for allocations and assignments - Section 6.6 Assignments for Internet Experiments
Should not be an end site Should be an LIR Plan to provide IPv6 connectivity to organizations in the AFRINIC region Plan to assign a reasonable number of /48's to end-sites in the AFRINIC region within 12 months	Experiments Experiment to be defined according to RFC2026 Must be made public or published Must not be for commercial use.

Sub-Allocation:
LIRs can sub-allocate to their downstream ISPs who will then (re)-assign to their end-users/customers. (The current IPv6 policy will be re-adjusted to take care of sub-allocations)

Assignment:	- Section 6.5.4 Assignments
Assignments of /48 or more can be made to IXP and End-Sites. It is not necessary to send in a request for this. LIR must record any assignment in the AFRINIC whois database

IPv6 Provider Independent (PI) Assignment for End-Sites	- Section 6.8 PI Assignments
The end-site must not be an IPv6 LIR The end-site must become an AFRINIC End User Member and pay the normal AFRINIC fee for its' membership category The end site must either: be a holder of IPv4 PI address space or qualify for an IPv4 PI assignment from AFRINIC under the IPv4 policy currently in effect. The end-site must justify the need for the IPv6 PI address space. The 'end-site' must show a plan to use and announce the IPv6 provider independent address space within twelve (12) months. After that period, if not announced, the assigned IPv6 PI address space should be reclaimed and returned to the free pool by AFRINIC.

Criteria for resource requests

Requesting resources: Steps and Eligibility criteria

Steps for Resource Request

Resource Membership Application Process