Only Internet Exchange Points can still get new IPv4 Provider Independent (PI) space from the RIPE NCC, and only for their peering LAN (ripe-826 section 6.1). End User assignments stopped in September 2012. The blocks already assigned stay valid as long as they are registered correctly, used only by the holder, and covered by a contract with a sponsoring LIR or the RIPE NCC. They can also be transferred to a new holder under the RIPE Resource Transfer Policies (ripe-807).
The Current State of IPv4 PI Assignments
No new assignments from the RIPE NCC
The current IPv4 policy states: "The RIPE NCC no longer allocates or assigns PI address space, except for assignments to Internet Exchange Points as described in section 6.1." (ripe-826, section 7). The RIPE NCC's End User page dates the stop to September 2012 (Independent resources for End Users). Exhaustion of the free pool came later: the last /22 for LIRs ran out on 25 November 2019.
Where IPv4 PI comes from in 2026
An organization that needs provider independent IPv4 space today has four routes. It can receive an existing PI block through a transfer (the only source outside IXPs). It can lease addresses for the contract term instead of holding a block of its own. It can request IPv6 PI, which the RIPE NCC still assigns on request. Or it can use PA space from its provider and renumber when it changes provider. For the definition of PI resources and how they differ from PA, see our guide to PI resources.
What existing IPv4 PI holders can do
A provider independent IPv4 block needs a contract with a sponsoring LIR or directly with the RIPE NCC (ripe-637); the sponsoring LIR is the model the RIPE community prefers. Provider independent resources are independent of any LIR, so the holder can change its sponsoring LIR at any time. The new LIR sends the RIPE NCC its signed agreement and the holder's registration papers, and the RIPE NCC notifies the old LIR (ripe-815 section 2).
If your sponsoring LIR ends its contract or closes, the RIPE NCC starts deregistration under ripe-858 at the end of a fixed window: 10 working days, then 10 more after a reminder. If that is happening to you, start from change your sponsoring LIR. We sponsor existing IPv4 PI blocks for €135 per year per assignment (€60 service fee plus the €75 RIPE NCC fee, as of September 2026); the setup fee is quoted per block.
A block can also change hands. Transfers inside the RIPE region follow ripe-807 and carry no needs test. The receiving End User needs its own sponsoring LIR agreement before the transfer is evaluated. The section "IPv4 PI Transfer Requirements" below has the rules.
Contractual Requirements for IPv4 PI Holders
Organizations holding IPv4 PI assignments must keep a contract in place and meet the obligations it carries.
RIPE NCC Contractual Relationship
Requirement: "End Users of provider independent resources are responsible for maintaining a contractual link to the RIPE NCC either through a sponsoring LIR or else directly to the RIPE NCC for the purposes of managing these resources." (ripe-637, section 2.0)
Two models:
- Direct contract with the RIPE NCC (the less common model)
- Sponsoring LIR: a contract with a RIPE NCC member, the model the RIPE community prefers (ripe-637)
Sponsoring LIR Model
The sponsoring LIR acts as intermediary between the PI holder and the RIPE NCC. Every contract under ripe-637 must contain these clauses:
- the LIR liaises with the RIPE NCC on registration data;
- the holder provides up-to-date data, some of it published in the RIPE Database;
- no sub-assignment of the resources to a third party;
- an annual fee is paid to the LIR;
- the resources return to the RIPE NCC by default if the holder cannot be contacted or the fee is unpaid;
- use of the resources is subject to RIPE policies as amended.
Annual fees
The RIPE NCC charges the sponsoring LIR €75 per year for each IPv4 PI assignment under the RIPE NCC Charging Scheme 2026 (ripe-848). The fee stays €75 in 2027 (ripe-867, adopted at the May 2026 General Meeting). The invoice follows the resources held on 31 December. Ending a sponsorship before 31 December, then signing a new one for the same block after 1 January, is treated as continuous: the full fee stays due.
The End User pays its sponsoring LIR, which adds its own service fee. Our price for an existing IPv4 PI block is €135 per year. That is the RIPE NCC fee passed through at cost, plus €60 for reviewing the file, handling the RIPE NCC and maintaining the registration.
Ongoing validity
"An assignment is valid as long as the original criteria on which it was based remain valid and it is properly registered in the RIPE Database." (ripe-826, section 6.3). For PI that means three things. The block is used by the holder's own network. It is not assigned on to other parties ("It cannot be used to make further assignments to other parties", ripe-826 section 7). And its registration data is current.
Under every ripe-637 contract the resources return to the RIPE NCC by default when the holder cannot be contacted or the annual fee is unpaid. Deregistration then follows ripe-858. The End User gets three months, during which the RIPE NCC locks the maintainers, adds warnings to the objects and revokes RPKI certificates, before the block is deregistered.
Registration and Database Requirements
PI holders must maintain accurate RIPE Database entries:
Required objects:
- inetnum object: Documents the IPv4 PI assignment
- Organisation object: Represents the legal entity
- Person/role objects: Contact information
- Maintainer (mntner): Controls access to database objects
The inetnum carries a sponsoring-org: attribute naming the sponsoring LIR (ripe-603); check it after every change of sponsor. Name changes and returns go through the sponsoring LIR, which sends the RIPE NCC the legal documents (ripe-815 section 1). Since 4 March 2026 the RIPE Database no longer accepts MD5 password authentication on maintainer objects. Updates use RIPE NCC Access single sign-on, API keys, OAuth 2.0 or OIDC, or PGP and X.509 signatures (RIPE Database release notes).
IPv4 PI Transfer Requirements
Since 2012 the transfer market is the only way for a non-IXP to obtain IPv4 PI. Transfers are governed by ripe-807 (ripe-826 sections 5.4 and 6.4 only point to it).
Who can receive a PI block
Provider independent resources may be transferred to a RIPE NCC member, or to an entity that has a contractual relationship with a RIPE NCC member under ripe-637 (ripe-807 section 2.0). There is no needs test for a transfer inside the RIPE region and no multi-homing condition. The RIPE NCC checks the identity of natural persons and the registration papers of legal persons. It also screens every signing party against EU and Dutch sanctions lists (ripe-863).
The 24-month restriction
IPv4 received by a holder cannot be transferred again for 24 months from the date it was received, including space received through a merger or acquisition (ripe-807 section 2.2.1). IPv6 and 32-bit ASNs carry no such restriction.
How a transfer runs
The sponsoring LIR of the transferring End User files the request through the LIR Portal, with a transfer agreement signed by both parties. Both parties need a contract in place, with the RIPE NCC or with a sponsoring LIR (ripe-815 section 4). The receiving End User also signs its own End User Assignment Agreement with its sponsoring LIR. Every LIR account involved must have paid its annual contribution before the transfer is processed. RIPE NCC transfers are free of charge and most complete within one or two business days (RIPE NCC transfers page). Completed transfers are published monthly (ripe-807 section 4.0).
Market prices and due diligence
According to broker IPv4.Global, /22 to /24 blocks sold for about $23.50 per address on average in August 2026, and /16 or larger blocks for about $14.30 (IPv4.Global monthly averages, prices at agreement date, online and private sales mixed). A /24 therefore costs about $6,000 before the sponsoring LIR's fees. The RIPE NCC charges nothing for the transfer itself.
IPv4 brokers match sellers and buyers and prepare the transfer paperwork. Before agreeing a price, check the block in the RIPE Database: status ASSIGNED PI, a live sponsoring-org: or a direct contract, and no 24-month restriction still running. Ask for the seller's registration papers too, since the RIPE NCC will require them anyway.
Special Case: Internet Exchange Points
Internet Exchange Points are the only organizations that still receive new IPv4 PI assignments from the RIPE NCC. A /15 is held in reserve for them (ripe-826 section 6.1).
Who counts as an IXP
The applicant must meet the definition in section 2 of ripe-451: "a physical network infrastructure (layer 2) operated by a single entity whose purpose is to facilitate the exchange of Internet traffic between ISPs. There must be a minimum of three ISPs connected and there must be a clear and open policy for others to join." Assignments are only made to IXPs that have applied for, or already hold, an IPv6 assignment for their peering LAN.
Sizes
A new IXP is assigned a /26 by default. Once more than 50% of it is used, the IXP can request up to a /24 and returns the earlier assignment. Above a /24 the IXP returns its current block and receives a replacement of at most a /22. After one year that block must be at least 50% used, unless special circumstances are defined. If no /26 is left, smaller assignments can be made.
Use and return
"This space will be used to run an IXP peering LAN only; other uses are forbidden." Addresses for anything else, such as services offered to members, come from an upstream ISP (ripe-451). Space from the IXP pool that is no longer in use must be returned within 180 days of disuse. The same 180 days apply to other PI space an IXP held for its peering LAN, counted from its move to a larger assignment.
How IPv4 PI was assigned before September 2012
Until September 2012 the RIPE NCC assigned IPv4 PI to End Users on documented need, usually through a sponsoring LIR: "The RIPE NCC will make PI assignments when justified" (ripe-553, the 2012 policy text, now obsolete). There was no general multi-homing requirement and no /24 minimum. Multi-homing mattered in one place. An End User that intended to announce the block to two or more autonomous systems it did not own or control could have a small assignment rounded up to a multiple of a /24, by at most 255 extra addresses, because smaller prefixes are widely filtered (ripe-553 section 6.10).
Two rules from that era survive in ripe-826 and still bind every existing block. PI space cannot be assigned on to other parties. And an assignment stays valid only while its original criteria hold and it is properly registered.
Alternative Solutions to IPv4 PI Assignments
IPv6 PI Deployment
IPv6 PI is still assigned on request: a /48 minimum (ripe-738 section 7.1), no multi-homing requirement, and RPKI through the End User's own certificate authority. Through us it costs €300 setup plus €135 for the first year (€435), then €135 per year (as of September 2026). It does not replace IPv4 reachability, so most holders run it dual-stack with PA IPv4 from their provider.
Provider Aggregatable (PA) Addresses
PA space comes from your provider's allocation and returns to the provider when the service ends, so a change of provider means renumbering (ripe-826 section 7). It needs no application, no contract with the RIPE NCC and no annual fee of its own. The comparison is in PI vs PA resources.
IPv4 Address Leasing
Leasing IPv4 addresses gives you use of the addresses for the contract term. The block stays registered to the lessor, and the space is normally PA. IPXO's marketplace average lease deal was $0.35 per IP per month over the six months to September 2026, according to its market stats page. PI is registered to your organization and stays yours as long as the sponsorship contract and RIPE policies are respected. IPv4 leasing vs purchasing compares the two over time.
LIR Membership
Becoming a RIPE NCC member costs €1,000 to join and €1,800 per year under ripe-848, and €1,894 in 2027 with the first ASN included (ripe-867). A new member can request exactly one /24, once, through a waiting list. That list held 791 LIRs on 25 September 2026, the first of them waiting 485 days. Membership makes sense when you will make assignments to customers; for a block you already hold, a sponsoring LIR is enough. See LIR vs PI.
Summary: Key Requirements for IPv4 PI
New IPv4 PI goes to Internet Exchange Points only, for their peering LAN, from a reserved /15. Existing blocks stay valid while they are registered correctly, used by the holder's own network and covered by a ripe-637 contract with a sponsoring LIR or the RIPE NCC. The RIPE NCC fee is €75 per year in 2026 and 2027. Transfers inside the RIPE region follow ripe-807, with no needs test and a 24-month hold on the received space.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still get a new IPv4 PI assignment from RIPE NCC?
No, unless you run an Internet Exchange Point. The RIPE NCC stopped issuing IPv4 PI to End Users in September 2012, and ripe-826 keeps only the IXP peering-LAN exception. Everyone else obtains IPv4 PI through a transfer from an existing holder.
What happens if my sponsoring LIR stops sponsoring my IPv4 PI?
You get a notice from the RIPE NCC and a window of 10 working days, then 10 more after a reminder; once it closes, deregistration starts under ripe-858 (ripe-815 sections 2 and 3). A new sponsoring LIR has to file your signed agreement inside that window. The block, its objects and your maintainer stay as they are; only the sponsoring-org: changes.
Can I use IPv4 PI addresses for customers in my data center?
Only for equipment that runs on your own infrastructure, such as colocated or hosted servers you operate for them. Assigning PI addresses on to customers as an ISP would is a sub-assignment. ripe-637 forbids it, and ripe-826 section 7 rules it out for ASSIGNED PI.
How do I find IPv4 PI space to purchase?
Through IPv4 brokers or directly among holders. The RIPE NCC closed its IPv4 Transfer Listing Service and its list of recognised brokers in January 2024 (announcement). It publishes completed transfers monthly rather than blocks for sale. Once the transfer is agreed, the block needs a sponsoring LIR on the receiving side; we take that role for existing IPv4 PI blocks.
Can I transfer my IPv4 PI to someone outside the RIPE region?
Yes, to ARIN, APNIC or LACNIC; AFRINIC has no inter-RIR transfer policy. The 24-month restriction on received IPv4 applies first, then the receiving RIR applies its own rules (ARIN, for example, asks recipients of more than a /24 to show 50% use within 24 months). Inbound to the RIPE NCC, the network must have an active element in the service region. See inter-RIR transfer eligibility.
Do IPv4 PI addresses need to be globally routed?
Not by policy: routing is up to the networks you peer with. To be reachable, announce the block from your ASN, register a route object and sign a ROA. PI holders get RPKI through a hosted or delegated certificate authority of their own, directly or through the sponsoring LIR, depending on who maintains the organisation object (RPKI for PI End Users).
Next Steps
If you already hold IPv4 PI, check that its sponsoring LIR is still active and that the sponsoring-org: on the inetnum is correct. If the contract is ending, the sponsoring LIR change page linked above explains the ten-working-day window. If you need new independent space, IPv6 PI is still assigned on request. For IPv4, the transfer market is the only source outside IXPs, and a sponsoring LIR is needed on the receiving side before the RIPE NCC evaluates the transfer.