March 9, 2026
In recognition of changes to the DNS and enforcement landscape, WIPO – the author of the UDRP and the global leader in domain name dispute resolution over the last 25 years – is updating its UDRP-related fee arrangements and rolling out a related new service.
Those new fee arrangements and UDRP case service include:
1) a priority service for expedited case processing, and
2) a revised fee schedule to reflect the advent of cases terminated prior to formal notification.
Expedited Case Processing
Like overnight shipping or airport priority queues, we recognize that in some cases, the complainant may have an urgent need for quicker case resolution.
While there are hard-coded time constraints in the UDRP process, like the 20-day response period, we are rolling out a new priority service to commit to decision delivery in one-month from start to finish in UDRP cases.
This is not intended to be a replacement for standard UDRP case processing which will continue to be used in the vast majority of UDRP cases.
These cases will be managed by a dedicated team and decided by a special roster of panelists.
Cases can only be managed under this priority scheme where there are no contingencies such as a response asking for a 3-member panel. Similarly, delays in fee payment will impact case timelines; the fastest way to guarantee receipt of fee payment is to pay by credit card or Current WIPO Account.
These cases also require the prompt reply of the registrar under its ICANN obligations, and prompt reactions from the filing party in response to notifications from WIPO.
For a case involving between 1 and 5 domain names (with the same registrant only), the complainant fee for expedited case processing is 4,000 USD (1,000 USD to WIPO; 3,000 USD to the Panel). In the event a complainant has not requested expedited case processing, a respondent may request to expedite the remainder of a standard single panel complaint from the filing of its response by voluntarily paying an expedited case processing fee of 2,500 USD.
This new service applies only to UDRP cases and ccTLDs which have adopted the UDRP.
Based on case experience, we will look into updating or expanding this in the future.
Operational Update: Reduced Fee for Early Case Termination
When a UDRP case is filed, as part of WIPO’s due process responsibilities, we receive the registrant contact information behind a privacy shield (or “name redacted” information), from the registrar. This is then relayed to the complainant.
In some cases, before the case is formally notified, a complainant immediately requests to terminate the case.
This can happen in scenarios where the underlying registrant identified turns out to be a licensee of the complainant.
This can also happen where the registrant can invoke a defense that could not have been known before the case was filed, e.g., the case is filed against a privacy (or proxy) service (sometimes called a “John Doe” complaint), but then the underlying registrant name reflects a personal name that matches the domain name, or illustrates that the registrant name matches a legitimate business that “co-exists" with the complainant (e.g., the parties use the same business name but in different countries, or to sell completely different goods).
In these cases, where the complaint is withdrawn before the case officially commences, WIPO will refund the majority of the case filing fees, retaining only USD 100 (in 1 to 5 domain names cases) as a reflection of its limited administrative case processing.
WIPO will continue to retain 500 USD for (1 to 5 domain names) cases that are terminated after the complaint is formally notified to the respondent.
To assist parties in preparing their cases, WIPO is providing an updated model complaint template.
Please contact us at domain.info@wipo.int to obtain a fee quote.