Change your sponsoring LIR and keep your ASN or PI block

RIPE NCC facts checked against ripe-815, ripe-858 and ripe-848 on 3 September 2026. Prices exclude VAT.

A sponsoring LIR is the RIPE NCC member that holds the contract for an AS number or PI (provider independent) block you hold without being a member yourself. Without one, RIPE NCC deregisters the resource.

Your AS number or prefix stays yours when it moves to a new sponsoring LIR, with its RIPE Database objects and your maintainer untouched. Via-Registry is a RIPE NCC member. We file the change with RIPE NCC the same working day once your documents are complete.

Have a RIPE NCC email about this?

Reply to it now with: "We object to the deregistration and are signing a sponsoring LIR contract with Via-Registry (ORG-VSS29-RIPE); the contract will be filed within the four-week period." Then continue here: the contract, not the reply, is what stops the clock.

Already hold the resource?

Start the change for an ASN in your account, or send us your prefix for a quote. No setup fee on an ASN sponsorship change.

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Sign in or create an account first: the wizard opens at the transfer step.

Which situation are you in?

Not sure which applies? Look your number up in the RIPE Database:

On a resource sponsored through an LIR, the sponsoring-org: line names it, and no such line means the clock is running.

Need a new ASN or PI block instead? See ASN registration, IPv6 PI or IPv4 PI.

Moving the resource to another registry (ARIN, APNIC)? That is an inter-RIR transfer, a different procedure.

How long do you have before RIPE NCC deregisters the resource?

Independent resources (an ASN, an IPv4 PI or IPv6 PI assignment) must be covered by a contract with a sponsoring LIR at all times. When that contract ends, RIPE NCC applies fixed windows, counted in working days (Monday to Friday, as RIPE NCC counts them). The figures below come from RIPE NCC's procedural documents ripe-815 and ripe-858, checked on 3 September 2026.

RIPE NCC's working-day windows

  1. Stage 1 of 4: 10 working days

    Your previous LIR reports the end of your contract

    RIPE NCC waits 10 working days for a new contract to be filed (ripe-815, section 2).

  2. Stage 2 of 4: you are here if RIPE NCC emailed you

    No new contract: RIPE NCC emails your registered contacts

    10 more working days from the date of that email (ripe-815, section 2).

  3. Stage 3 of 4: 4 weeks

    Deregistration email, ripe-858 B.2.2

    RIPE NCC emails all registered contacts that the resource will be deregistered. To object you must have a new sponsoring LIR contract in place within the 4 weeks; a reply alone does not stop the clock.

  4. Stage 4 of 4: no window left

    Deregistered from the RIPE Database

    Do not count on getting the same number back; you would apply for a new one. A three-month wind-down may come first (announcements stopped, objects moved to a RIPE NCC maintainer, RPKI certificates revoked), and RIPE NCC may skip it for a resource that was not announced (ripe-858, section B.2.2).

Your LIR's own RIPE NCC membership ended (LIR closed): RIPE NCC emails you, then sends a reminder, 10 working days each (ripe-815, section 3).

A deregistered ASN or prefix is removed from the RIPE Database. Do not count on getting the same number or prefix back; you would apply for a new one. The contact addresses on old objects are often the previous LIR's, which is why holders learn late. ripe-815 also lets you sign directly with RIPE NCC as a member instead of through a sponsoring LIR; this page covers the sponsoring LIR route, and the cost of both is in our ASN cost breakdown.

Already have a RIPE NCC email about it?

Reply within the four weeks and say that you object and are signing with a new sponsoring LIR. Then get that contract filed inside the same four weeks, which is what the steps below do. A reply on its own does not stop the clock; the contract does.

Not announcing the resource? Start early

ripe-858 lets RIPE NCC skip the three-month wind-down when the resource was not announced before the notice, so a dormant ASN or prefix can be deregistered right after the four weeks. Start before the notice arrives if you can.

What changes when you change sponsoring LIR, and what does not

Stays yours

  • Your AS number or prefix. Unchanged. A sponsorship change never renumbers anything.

  • Your RIPE Database objects (aut-num, inetnum or inet6num, route and route6). Unchanged. RIPE NCC rewrites one attribute, sponsoring-org:, to our organisation handle, ORG-VSS29-RIPE.

  • Your maintainer (the mntner object). Stays yours. We never ask for your maintainer password and never add ourselves as mnt-by on your objects.

  • Your RPKI ROAs on PI space. Your hosted certificate is tied to your RIPE NCC Access account and your organisation object, not to your LIR. Tell us during onboarding if you run a hosted CA and we check it with you.

  • Your contracts with transit providers and data centres, your LOAs. Unchanged. They reference your number and your entity, not your LIR.

Changes

  • Your sponsoring LIR. Changes to Via-Registry. Your yearly invoice comes from us, with the RIPE NCC fee shown as its own line.

  • Your RIPE NCC per-resource fee. Passed through at cost: €50 per ASN and €75 per PI assignment per year under the 2026 charging scheme (ripe-848).

Lost access to your maintainer?

Common when the previous LIR held the password. Recovery runs through RIPE NCC's maintainer recovery procedure, between you and RIPE NCC; we spot the problem during onboarding and point you to it.

How the sponsorship change works with us

  1. You start the change.

    ASN: open the transfer wizard and enter the number. PI: ask for a quote with the prefix. We read the public RIPE Database record of your resource and check that the organisation on it is your legal entity.

  2. You complete your file online.

    Companies upload a registration extract under 3 months old; individuals verify a government ID. You sign the account agreement and the ripe-815 End User confirmation online. Automated review checks the file; a human handles edge cases.

  3. You pay year one.

    Card, PayPal, bank transfer or USDT on TRON. Payment must come from the entity that holds the resource.

  4. We file with RIPE NCC the same working day once your documents are complete.

    The filing is our sponsorship contract plus your signed confirmation.

  5. RIPE NCC completes the change.

    If you still had a sponsoring LIR, RIPE NCC notifies it; an objection is settled by your signed confirmation. Your dashboard then shows the resource, its renewal date and your invoices.

Subject to our onboarding checks and to RIPE NCC approving the End User.

What does a sponsoring LIR change cost?

ASN sponsorship

€130/year

Per year, all-in

Service fee
€80
RIPE NCC fee, passed through at cost
€50
Setup fee on a sponsorship change
None

The €50 RIPE NCC fee is RIPE NCC's own per-ASN charge under its current charging scheme, passed through at cost. The service fee covers our work as your sponsoring LIR: reviewing your file, handling RIPE NCC and maintaining your records. There is no express option on a sponsorship change; the filing is the same for everyone.

IPv4 and IPv6 PI sponsorship

€135/year

Per year, all-in, per assignment

IPv6 PI
IPv4 PI
Service fee
€60
€60
RIPE NCC fee, passed through at cost
€75
€75
Setup fee on a sponsorship change
On quote

The setup fee for an existing block depends on its RIPE history, so we quote it per block. Send us the prefix; a person replies by email with the quote, a payment link valid 14 days and the document list.

Prices exclude VAT. EU businesses with a valid VAT number are reverse-charged, non-EU business customers pay no EU VAT, and French VAT applies to consumers in the EU and to customers in France; the cart shows the VAT that applies to you before you pay. Fees are non-refundable. If RIPE NCC deregisters the resource while your file is open, the amount becomes credit on your Via-Registry account; other refusals convert nothing.

Comparing offers? Our dated table of what sponsoring LIRs charge is public. Look for whether the RIPE NCC fee is included, whether the new LIR takes over your maintainer, and what the exit costs.

What we need from you

The resource registered to your entity
The org: on the ASN or prefix at RIPE must name the same legal entity as your account. A name mismatch stops the file until the RIPE record is corrected.
Company: registration extract
Issued within the last 3 months by the national register. The person signing must be named in it, or supply a power of attorney from a director.
Individual: identity
A government-issued ID, verified online from your account.
Account agreement
Signed online, once, in your account.
End User confirmation
The statement ripe-815 requires about your previous contract: terminated by you on a date, ended on the LIR's side on a date, or still in place. Signed online, one per resource.
Payment from the holder
Card, PayPal, bank transfer or USDT, from the entity that holds the resource. We refuse third-party payers.

Individuals and organisations outside the RIPE NCC region: see the FAQ.

Questions holders ask before switching

My LIR stopped sponsoring my ASN. How long do I have?

Count in working days. RIPE NCC waits 10 working days for a new contract, then emails your registered contacts and waits 10 more. After that comes the ripe-858 deregistration email: four weeks in which the new sponsoring LIR contract must be in place, or the resource is deregistered. The table above lays it out. If a RIPE NCC email is already in your inbox, reply to it today and start the file.

Does my AS number or my prefix change?

Your number stays exactly as it is. A sponsorship change is a contractual change recorded at RIPE NCC. Your aut-num, inetnum or inet6num object keeps its number and its history, and the route objects stay as they are; RIPE NCC only rewrites the sponsoring-org: attribute. Nothing has to be renumbered, and your transit and colocation contracts stay as they are.

Who controls my RIPE objects and my maintainer after the change?

You do. We do not add ourselves as mnt-by and we never ask for your maintainer password. If your previous LIR held the maintainer and you cannot update your objects, see the "Lost access to your maintainer?" box above: the recovery is RIPE NCC's procedure and runs between you and RIPE NCC.

My ASN is not announced. Does that matter?

It matters for the clock. ripe-858 lets RIPE NCC skip the three-month wind-down when the resource was not announced before the notice, so a dormant resource can be deregistered right after the four weeks. Start the change early.

How long does RIPE NCC take to process the change?

RIPE NCC publishes its notice windows (10 working days per notice under ripe-815) and no processing time, and we do not quote one. Our only commitment is that we file with RIPE NCC the same working day once your documents are complete, subject to our onboarding checks and to RIPE NCC approving the End User.

What does it cost to move an existing ASN or PI block?

ASN sponsorship costs €130 per year: €80 service fee plus the €50 RIPE NCC fee passed through at cost, with no setup fee on a sponsorship change. IPv4 and IPv6 PI sponsorship costs €135 per year (€60 plus €75 RIPE NCC fee); the setup fee for an existing PI block is quoted with your prefix. Prices exclude VAT.

What happens if RIPE NCC refuses the change?

RIPE NCC approves the End User and can refuse for its own reasons. Fees are non-refundable. If RIPE NCC deregisters the resource while your file is open, the amount becomes credit on your account for any other service; other refusals convert nothing.

Ready when your documents are

We file the change the same working day once your documents are complete, subject to our onboarding checks and to RIPE NCC approving the End User.

Trusted on Trustpilot Official RIPE NCC member No hidden fees

Sign in or create an account first: the wizard opens at the transfer step.

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