Texas tells ICANN it will not support a .texas application

The State of Texas has told ICANN that it does not support and objects to any application for .texas submitted by an entity outside the state government. The position was set out in a letter dated 10 August 2026 from Texas State Chief Information Officer Anthony E. Sauerhoff. ICANN lists the letter in its public Correspondence register with a publication date of 14 August 2026.

At the Governor’s direction, I hereby inform you that the State of Texas does not support and does object to the application for the gTLD string “.texas,” and any derivative thereof.

Has anyone announced a .texas application?

No public applicant has disclosed .texas. The Texas letter says unaffiliated parties “may submit, or may have submitted” an application. That wording does not confirm that an application exists, and the letter does not name an applicant.

Texas also says it has not granted support to any applicant for the string. The state has not said that it applied for .texas itself.

Why the letter matters

Under section 7.5.2 of the 2026 Applicant Guidebook, a string that exactly matches a state or another sub-national place name listed in ISO 3166-2 is a Geographic Name. An application for that string must include documentation of support or non-objection from the relevant government or public authority.

Texas is listed as the US-TX subdivision in ISO 3166-2. Its refusal to provide support or non-objection would therefore be a material obstacle for any outside .texas application during Geographic Names Review.

What remains unknown

ICANN has not yet published the 2026 application list. Until Reveal Day, the public record does not establish whether .texas was submitted, withdrawn, or never applied for.

The letter is a government position sent before Reveal Day. It should not be read as confirmation of an application, a formal objection decision, or a final ICANN evaluation result.