Summary

  • LACNIC's possible IPv4 transfer list charges a US$200 application fee, publishes accepted listings for one year and keeps the information available only to organisations that apply.
  • Intermediaries may join at the parties' choice, but LACNIC says it does not audit their services. The separate transfer policy still requires resource checks and a public log after a transfer is registered.

A registry can open a market door without becoming the market's guarantor. LACNIC's possible IPv4 transfer list does exactly that. It offers three pools of names: organisations willing to transfer blocks, organisations hoping to receive them, and intermediaries. The stated aim is to help parties make contact under IPv4 transfer policy 2.3.2.18. LACNIC says the commercial deal belongs to the parties. It charges US$200 to apply for the list, publishes a listing for one year and keeps the information accessible only to organisations that apply. Rejection does not bring a refund.

That makes this a paid introduction room, with a door rather than a public window. The page gives no count of applicants, active listings or completed matches. Those figures would show how much traffic passes through the room. The terms themselves already establish its shape: a potential seller can signal availability; a potential receiver can search for supply; an intermediary can ask to be present. Members of the general public cannot inspect the list to see how many names are there.

The intermediary clause is unusually blunt. Participation by intermediaries is optional and subject to the transferor's and recipient's choice. LACNIC says it neither audits nor accepts responsibility for the services those intermediaries offer. The registry collects an administrative fee for access to its introduction surface while leaving broker quality to the parties. A listing is therefore a contact opportunity, not a certification of the person who arranged it.

The actual IPv4 transfer rule sits on a different side of the desk. A transferred block must be at least /24. A recipient inside LACNIC's region must justify its IPv4 need. LACNIC or the relevant RIR checks who holds the resource and whether it is disputed; intra-regional parties supply a signed legal document supporting the transfer. Once registered, the transfer appears in a public log with its date, source, recipient and addresses, plus the RIR pair for an inter-regional move. LACNIC then updates the registration. Those checks concern the resource and the registered handover. They do not grade the intermediary's service.

The result is a two-stage visibility system. Before a deal, participants enter a paid, restricted list and make private choices about counterparties and brokers. After a transfer is completed, the registry publishes the resource change. The public can reconstruct which block changed registration, but the list's price, gate and no-audit clause determine how the parties first meet. LACNIC has drawn the line itself: it runs the noticeboard, checks the numbered asset at transfer and lets the people in the room judge the introductions.