RIPE NCC LIR membership costs €1,000 to join and €1,800 per LIR account per year under the RIPE NCC Charging Scheme 2026 (ripe-848), plus €50 per ASN and €75 per independent (PI) assignment. From 1 January 2027 the annual fee is €1,894 with the first ASN included (ripe-867, adopted at the May 2026 General Meeting). Membership pays off when you need allocations of your own. For a single ASN, a sponsored ASN costs €130 per year through us (as of September 2026) and needs no membership.
How much does RIPE LIR membership cost in 2026?
One-Time Setup Costs
Sign-Up Fee: €1,000
When you sign the Standard Service Agreement and open your first LIR account, you pay a one-time sign-up fee of €1,000.
The sign-up fee is charged per LIR account. If an existing member opens an additional LIR account, they also pay the €1,000 sign-up fee for each new account.
Closing mid-year: the year's contribution stays due in full. A member who closes an LIR account during 2026 still owes the 2026 fee unless a valid closure request was filed before 31 December 2025, and a fee already paid is not refunded pro rata.
Annual Recurring Costs
Annual Membership Fee: €1,800 (2026)
The core cost of RIPE LIR membership is the annual membership fee, which is set at €1,800 per LIR account for 2026, unchanged from 2025 under ripe-848. The fee history since 2022 is in the table below.
This annual fee covers:
- Membership of the association, with one vote per member at the General Meeting
- Access to the LIR Portal, the right to request allocations and to sponsor End User resources
- In-person training courses and three RIPE NCC Certified Professionals exam vouchers per LIR account per year
- Support from RIPE NCC staff
Pro-rata billing: New members pay the annual fee pro rata per quarter, counted from the quarter in which they sign the Standard Service Agreement. Existing members are invoiced the full year for every LIR account they hold on 1 January.
What changes in 2027
The RIPE NCC Charging Scheme 2027 (ripe-867) raises the annual fee to €1,894 per LIR account and includes the first ASN registered to the account in that fee. Each additional ASN stays at €50 and each independent assignment at €75; the sign-up fee stays €1,000. Members chose this single-fee model over a 21-category model by 1,547 votes (51.12%) to 1,479 (48.88%) at the May 2026 General Meeting.
The RIPE NCC Charging Scheme 2027 article puts every 2027 fee line next to its 2026 value and says when the January 2027 invoice is issued.
Fees can also come back. Members vote each year on what to do with an excess contribution: the October 2025 General Meeting decided to redistribute the 2025 excess to LIR accounts active on 31 December 2025, credited on the 2026 invoice.
Per-Resource Fees
In addition to the per-LIR service fee, RIPE NCC charges per-resource fees for ASNs and independent (PI) assignments:
ASN Assignment Fee: €50 per ASN
- Charged annually for each Autonomous System Number assigned to your organization
- Applies to both new and existing ASN assignments
- Separate from the base membership fee
- From 2027 the first ASN registered to the LIR account is included in the annual fee; each additional ASN stays €50
Independent Resource Fee: €75 per assignment
- Charged annually for each independent (PI) resource assignment sponsored by the LIR
- Applies to PI assignments (IPv4 and IPv6), Anycast and IXP assignments, and legacy IPv4 registered through a sponsoring LIR
- Resource counts are taken on 31 December and invoiced in January
These per-resource fees add up when you hold several ASNs or sponsor many PI assignments.
Cost Evolution and Trends
The trend in RIPE NCC membership costs is upward:
| Year | Scheme | Annual fee per LIR account | Change | Sign-up fee | Per independent assignment | Per ASN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ripe-771 | €1,400 | €1,000 | €50 | none | |
| 2023 | ripe-785 | €1,550 | +11% | €1,000 | €50 | none |
| 2024 | ripe-800 | €1,550 | 0% | €1,000 | €50 | none |
| 2025 | ripe-828 | €1,800 | +16% | €1,000 | €75 | €50 |
| 2026 | ripe-848 | €1,800 | 0% | €1,000 | €75 | €50 |
| 2027 | ripe-867 | €1,894 | +5% | €1,000 | €75 | first ASN included, €50 each additional |
The annual fee rose by €400 (29%) between 2022 and 2026 and rises another €94 in 2027. The sign-up fee has stayed at €1,000 throughout. The per-ASN fee arrived with the 2025 scheme (ripe-828); the 2026 scheme left every figure unchanged.
Additional Potential Costs
Multiple LIR Accounts
Organizations can hold multiple LIR accounts, with each account incurring:
- €1,000 sign-up fee (one-time per account)
- €1,800 annual membership fee (per account per year)
- Separate resource fees for each account's ASNs and PI sponsorships
Some organizations maintain multiple LIR accounts for:
- Separate business units or subsidiaries
- Different geographical operations
- Distinct service offerings
Billing rules that behave like hidden costs
- A closure request, or a request to stop sponsoring a resource, must be filed before 31 December to avoid next year's fee for that account or resource
- Invoices are due within 30 days; after 60 days unpaid the RIPE NCC processes no new requests
- Non-payment follows the ladder in ripe-858: reminder at 30 days, suspension and final reminder at 60, termination notice after 120 days from the invoice. A closed member also loses the right to act as sponsoring LIR
IPv4 transfer costs
The RIPE NCC charges nothing for transfers and completes most within one or two business days. The cost is the addresses themselves, about $23.50 per address for /22 to /24 blocks in August 2026 according to broker IPv4.Global (monthly averages, online and private sales, priced at agreement date), plus broker fees if you use one.
Cost Comparison: LIR vs. Alternatives
LIR Membership Cost Summary (First Year)
- Sign-up fee: €1,000
- Annual membership: €1,800
- Total first year: €2,800 (excluding ASN and PI resource fees)
- Subsequent years: €1,800 (plus resource fees)
- From 2027: €1,894 per year with one ASN included
Sponsored resources through an LIR
- One ASN, sponsored: €130 per year through us (€80 service fee plus the €50 RIPE NCC fee at cost, as of September 2026). The ASN cost breakdown compares it with direct membership and with the other RIRs.
- One IPv6 PI /48: €300 setup plus €135 per year (€435 the first year), registered to your organization and portable between sponsoring LIRs.
- Existing IPv4 PI blocks can be sponsored; the RIPE NCC assigns no new ones (ripe-826, IXPs excepted).
- Already holding an ASN or PI block whose LIR is closing? Change your sponsoring LIR instead of joining. The LIR vs PI comparison goes through the membership-versus-sponsorship choice in detail.
PA Resources from Upstream Provider
- Typically included in service fees
- No separate registration costs
- Cost: Bundled with connectivity
What do RIPE NCC members get?
1. Direct Resource Allocations
IPv4 Address Space
An LIR that has never received IPv4 from the RIPE NCC can join the IPv4 waiting list for exactly one /24 (256 addresses) under ripe-826. On 25 September 2026, 791 LIRs were in the queue and the first had waited 485 days; the RIPE NCC gives no guarantee on waiting time. The /24 cannot be transferred for 24 months after allocation, and no further IPv4 is allocated beyond it.
At August 2026 prices (about $23.50 per address for /22 to /24 blocks, IPv4.Global) a /24 is worth about $6,000. Treat it as a delayed, one-off benefit rather than a reason to join.
IPv6 Address Space
An LIR that plans to make assignments within two years receives a /32 (79,228,162,514,264,337,593,543,950,336 addresses) and can take up to a /29 without further documentation (ripe-738).
IPv6 space has no transfer-market value; its point is dual-stack service from an allocation in your own name.
ASN Allocations
Members request ASNs from the RIPE NCC's single 32-bit pool (ripe-679 makes no 16-bit distinction since 2010). The policy applies to members and sponsored End Users alike: the network must be multihomed. Proposal 2026-01, which would drop that test for a holder's first ASN, was still at the drafting stage in September 2026. With an ASN you run your own BGP sessions and routing policy; in 2026 each ASN costs the member €50 per year, from 2027 the first is included in the annual fee.
2. Operational Control and Flexibility
Provider Independence
Your allocations are registered to your LIR account, not to your upstream provider, for as long as you pay the membership fee and follow RIPE policy. You can change transit providers or connect to several at once without renumbering.
Sub-allocation Authority
An LIR assigns space from its own allocation to hosting and access customers instead of reselling an upstream's addresses. That space stays with the LIR: a customer who needs addresses that move with them needs a PI assignment, which you can sponsor as an LIR for €75 per assignment per year to the RIPE NCC.
3. Business and Commercial Benefits
Service Offering Expansion
LIR status lets you sponsor PI assignments and ASNs for clients (€75 and €50 per year to the RIPE NCC in 2026) and assign IPv4 and IPv6 from your allocation to customer servers. What you charge for sponsorship is your decision.
IPv4 Transfer Participation
LIRs can sell surplus IPv4 on the transfer market and buy more through it; the RIPE NCC charges nothing for the transfer and publishes every one. A /24 sold at August 2026 prices would fetch about $6,000.
4. Training and Educational Benefits
Training and Exam Vouchers
In-person RIPE NCC training courses are included in membership, and each LIR account receives three free RIPE NCC Certified Professionals exam vouchers per year, valid until 31 December and not purchasable. The RIPE NCC Academy e-learning courses and webinars are free for everyone, member or not, so they are not a membership benefit.
5. Community and Networking Benefits
RIPE Meeting Access
New members receive two free RIPE Meeting ticket codes, usable within two years of the membership activation date, at one meeting or two. The codes cover the meeting ticket only; the RIPE Dinner, travel and hotel are yours. RIPE Meetings are held twice a year (RIPE 93 is in Sofia, 26 to 30 October 2026) and are open to non-members too.
Governance Participation
Members vote at the General Meeting: on the charging scheme (the May 2026 GM chose the 2027 model by 1,547 votes to 1,479), on Executive Board seats and on what happens to a surplus. Policy itself is not made there. The RIPE working groups and their mailing lists, where address and ASN policy is written, are open to everyone, so membership is not needed to take part in policy.
6. Technical Support and Services
Direct RIPE NCC Support
Benefit: Direct support from RIPE NCC staff through the LIR Portal and e-mail.
What's included:
- Email and ticketing system support
- Technical guidance on resource requests
- Assistance with database management
- Help with policy interpretation
- Audit support and compliance guidance
LIR Portal Access
Benefit: Web interface for managing your LIR account.
Features:
- Resource request submissions
- Account management
- Billing and payment processing
- Contact information updates
- Documentation access
What membership costs in three cases
Small ISP or hosting provider: one ASN, five sponsored PI assignments
- 2026: €1,800 + €50 + 5 x €75 = €2,225 per year
- 2027: €1,894 (first ASN included) + €375 = €2,269 per year
What it buys: a place in the IPv4 waiting list for one /24 (about $6,000 at August 2026 prices, after a wait the RIPE NCC does not guarantee), a /32 of IPv6, the right to assign space to customers and to sponsor their PI, three exam vouchers a year, two new-member meeting codes.
Enterprise: three ASNs of its own, no sponsorship
- 2026: €1,800 + 3 x €50 = €1,950 per year
- 2027: €1,894 + 2 x €50 = €1,994 per year
What it buys: allocations in the company's own name and multihoming across providers without renumbering. Nothing here earns revenue; the value is operational.
Managed service provider: two ASNs of its own, twenty sponsored PI assignments
- 2026: €1,800 + €100 + 20 x €75 = €3,400 per year
- 2027: €1,894 + €50 + €1,500 = €3,444 per year
What it buys: the same as the small ISP, plus sponsorship income at whatever the provider charges its twenty clients on top of the €75 pass-through.
When LIR Membership Makes Financial Sense
Strong Financial Fit
- ISPs and hosting providers with multiple customers
- Organizations regularly needing IP addresses for customers or projects
- Companies offering managed network services
- Enterprises with complex, multi-provider network architectures
- Organizations planning to monetize IP resources or sponsorship services
Moderate Financial Fit
- Medium-sized enterprises with their own network infrastructure
- Organizations anticipating growth in network services
- Companies wanting provider independence for strategic reasons
- Educational institutions providing network services
Weak Financial Fit
- Small organizations with static, simple network needs
- End users without downstream customers
- Organizations with limited networking expertise
- Businesses where provider-assigned addresses are sufficient
For these, a sponsored ASN or a sponsored PI block gives independent resources without the €1,800 fee.
Cost Optimization Strategies
1. Maximize IPv4 Value
The /24 arrives only after the waiting list, so plan around it:
- Use it for critical infrastructure
- Reserve it for services that must keep their addresses across upstream changes
- Plan any future sale for after the 24-month transfer restriction
2. Use the Included Training
- Book in-person courses for staff; they are part of the fee
- Use the three exam vouchers per LIR account before 31 December, they do not carry over
3. Charge for Sponsorship
If you sponsor PI assignments or ASNs for others, charge a service fee above the €75 and €50 RIPE NCC pass-through. At enough clients the income covers the membership fee.
4. Use the New-Member Meeting Codes
The two codes expire two years after activation. Use them to meet peers and prospective transit or peering partners at a RIPE Meeting.
5. Consider Multiple vs. Single LIR Accounts
Evaluate whether multiple LIR accounts make sense:
- Multiple accounts: Better for separate business units
- Single account: More cost-effective for centralized operations
Comparing RIPE NCC to Other RIRs
Few organizations can pick their RIR: the RIPE NCC registers IPv4 only for networks with an active element in its service region, and ARIN serves only organizations legally formed in its region. Where a choice exists, the RIR policies comparison covers all five registries; the two nearest comparisons are:
ARIN (North America)
ARIN charges one Registration Services Plan fee per organization, set by its largest holding category: $275 per year on the 2026 fee schedule for the smallest category (a /24 or less, up to three ASNs), $288.75 from 2027 (ARIN fee schedule). There is no membership sign-up fee comparable to the RIPE NCC's €1,000, and no per-ASN fee.
APNIC (Asia-Pacific)
APNIC's fee scales with the address space held: a new member with a /24 and a /48 pays AUD 1,295 per year in 2026 (AUD 1,356 in 2027) plus AUD 500 to join (APNIC fees). The first two ASNs are free, then AUD 500 once and AUD 100 per year each.
The RIPE NCC keeps one flat fee per LIR account whatever the holdings in 2027 (ripe-867), which favors large holders and costs small ones more than ARIN's smallest category.
Planning Your LIR Investment
Year 1 Budget
- Sign-up fee: €1,000
- Annual membership: €1,800 (2026), pro rata per quarter if you join mid-year
- ASN fees: €50 per ASN (2026)
- PI sponsorship fees: €75 per assignment
- RIPE NCC fees alone: €2,800 plus resources, before staff time
Ongoing Annual Budget
- Annual membership: €1,800 in 2026, €1,894 with one ASN included from 2027
- Resource fees: €50 per additional ASN, €75 per independent assignment
- Internal costs: staff time for the LIR Portal, RIPE Database upkeep and RIPE NCC audits
Break-Even Analysis
Whether membership breaks even depends on the revenue your allocations and sponsorships carry. The RIPE NCC fees alone are €2,800 in the first year and €1,800 (2026) or €1,894 (2027) after that; a member that sponsors twenty clients or assigns space to paying customers covers them, an enterprise holding three ASNs does not and pays for control instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does RIPE LIR membership include an ASN?
In 2026 no: each ASN costs €50 per year on top of the €1,800 fee (ripe-848). From 2027 the first ASN registered to the LIR account is included in the €1,894 annual fee and each additional ASN costs €50 (ripe-867). The multihoming requirement of ripe-679 still applies.
How long is the RIPE NCC IPv4 waiting list?
On 25 September 2026 the queue held 791 LIRs and the first LIR in line had waited 485 days. Each LIR that never received IPv4 from the RIPE NCC gets exactly one /24, and the RIPE NCC gives no guarantee on waiting time.
Can I close my LIR account mid-year and get part of the fee back?
No. The full annual contribution stays due for every LIR account held on 1 January, and a paid fee is not refunded pro rata. To avoid next year's fee, file the closure request before 31 December.
Is a sponsored ASN cheaper than becoming an LIR?
For one ASN, yes: €130 per year through a sponsoring LIR (as of September 2026) against €1,850 in 2026 or €1,894 in 2027 as a member with one ASN, plus the €1,000 sign-up fee. The RIPE NCC has 19,977 members holding 20,687 LIR accounts (August 2026); most End Users with a single ASN are not among them. Membership is for organizations that need allocations of their own or sponsor others.
Conclusion
Membership costs €2,800 in the first year and €1,800 a year in 2026, €1,894 with one ASN from 2027. It pays when you will use your own allocations: assigning space to customers, sponsoring PI and ASNs, or waiting out the queue for a /24 worth about $6,000. If you need one ASN and nothing else, a sponsored ASN at €130 a year does the same job for routing.
If membership is the right route, How to Become a RIPE LIR walks through the application, and our LIR consulting service handles it for you. What is a Local Internet Registry? covers the role itself.
Sources:
- RIPE NCC Charging Scheme 2026 (ripe-848): https://www.ripe.net/publications/docs/ripe-848/
- RIPE NCC Charging Scheme 2027 (ripe-867): https://www.ripe.net/publications/docs/ripe-867/
- RIPE NCC Billing Procedure 2026: https://www.ripe.net/membership/payment/ripe-ncc-billing-procedure-2026/
- RIPE NCC Billing, Payment and Fees: https://www.ripe.net/membership/payment/
- IPv4 Allocation Policy (ripe-826): https://www.ripe.net/publications/docs/ripe-826/
- RIPE NCC IPv4 Waiting List: https://www.ripe.net/manage-ips-and-asns/ipv4/ipv4-waiting-list/
- Free Tickets to RIPE Meetings: https://www.ripe.net/membership/member-support/lir-basics/free-tickets-to-ripe-meetings/
- RIPE NCC Training and Certification: https://www.ripe.net/training/
- IPv4.Global monthly sales data (broker, monthly averages, August 2026)