Governance

The IANA functions are performed by Public Technical Identifiers (PTI), a nonprofit public benefit corporation formed in 2016 as part of the IANA stewardship transition. PTI is an affiliate of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), with ICANN as its sole member. PTI's sole purpose is to deliver the IANA functions on behalf of ICANN to the communities those registries serve.

The IANA Functions

The IANA functions are commonly grouped into three areas: domain names, number resources, and protocol parameter assignments. This division reflects how the functions are governed: each area serves a distinct community with its own governance model. The respective communities develop the policies we implement and holds us accountable through its own agreements and oversight arrangements — the naming community through ICANN, the numbering community through the five Regional Internet Registries, and the protocols community through the Internet Engineering Task Force. The bodies that perform this oversight are described in the Oversight section.

PTI Board of Directors

PTI's corporate governance is the responsibility of the PTI Board of Directors. The Board oversees PTI's corporate affairs: it approves PTI's annual operating plans and budgets, appoints its officers, and ensures the organization meets its legal and contractual obligations in delivering the IANA functions. The Board's membership combines directors appointed by ICANN with directors drawn from the community.

Details of the Board's composition is published at pti.icann.org/pti-board-of-directors.

Contractual Framework

Performance of the IANA functions is governed by a set of agreements between ICANN, PTI, and the communities each function serves:

• Naming functions. ICANN's obligations for the IANA naming functions are subcontracted to PTI under the ICANN–PTI Naming Function Agreement, which sets the service levels and obligations for root zone management and related services.
• Protocol parameters. The protocol parameter registries are maintained under a Memorandum of Understanding between ICANN and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), supplemented by annual agreements that define current service commitments, with performance subcontracted to PTI.
• Number resources. The global number registries are maintained under a service level agreement between ICANN and the five Regional Internet Registries, with performance subcontracted to PTI.

The agreements themselves, along with PTI's governing documents, are published at pti.icann.org/agreements.