March 24, 2020

A Brief Guide to the APNIC IPv4 Transfer Process

APNIC or Asia-Pacific Network Information Centre is one of the five main RIRs (Regional Internet Registries) in the world. It oversees the IPv4 numbers and resource allocation in the Asia-Pacific region. Therefore, if you are looking to buy IPv4 addresses in any of the Asian countries, you will need to get it approved by APNIC. Below is a quick guide to the APNIC IPv4 address transfer process.

APNIC IPv4 Transfer Process

To start the IPv4 trade, you will first need to register for a MyAPNIC account. This is mandatory for all those who want to buy IPv4 address blocks for their network. The MyAPNIC account will help you to choose a Point of Contact (POC) as well as the account name to be registered on APNIC’s Whois records. If you want, you can link the POC with multiple accounts too.

After you have registered the account, you will need to apply for the pre-approval from APNIC to buy the required number of IPv4 address blocks. You will need to show that at least half of the IPv4 addresses that you are buying will be used by your company’s network within 2 years from the date of acquiring. You can submit quarterly projections as well as actual numbers to describe how your company intends to use the IPv4 addresses. Pre-approval is a compulsory step that is designed to prevent companies from stocking additional IPv4 addresses, and instead, allocate them to those who need more IPv4 address blocks for operational purposes.

Once the pre-approval phase is done, you can enter into an agreement with an IPv4 address seller registered with APNIC. You will need to provide the details of your company, such as the legal company name, your APNIC account name, as well as the contact details of the person designated to do the IPv4 trade on behalf of the company. You will also need to submit the pre-approval ticket number to enter into an agreement with the IPv4 address seller.

After you have received the purchase agreement, you can make payment for the same via the stipulated mode. This is when the IPv4 seller will need to provide the transfer ticket to APNIC. Your funds will be held securely until the IPv4 transfer is complete. The IPv4 address seller’s transfer ticket will notify the APNIC of your account name as well as the numbers of IPv4 address blocks. You will also need to submit a ticket to let APNIC review the IPv4 transfer request.

APNIC will review the IPv4 transfer tickets and approve them if they meet all the required norms. When the IPv4 transfer is approved, the Whois data for the IPv4 address blocks will be updated, reflecting your name. Following that, the funds are released to the IPv4 address seller. Understand that it is important for the recipient account to acknowledge the IPv4 transfer within 30 days after its initiation by the source account; else the request will be cancelled.