[arin-ppml] ARIN-2025-4: Resource Issuance to Natural Persons

[John Curran]

On Jul 16, 2025, at 4:29 PM, Preston Ursini via ARIN-PPML <arin-ppml at arin.net> wrote:

I wanted to chime in on the issue of the burdens that an Individual may have in establishing a sole proprietorship within their local jurisdiction.

While some states are very permissive, others not so much.  It is likely that people may look at the ARIN requirements and say, “Oh, I just need a city business license!” and obtain one without realizing the legal and tax implications of doing so.  I’ve seen this first hand in my home state of Kentucky.  A small business will rush to incorporate or an individual obtain a city level business licenses and then become overburdened with tax and regulatory fees throughout their first year, ultimately leading to the small business closing.

Preston -

To be clear - ARIN does not universally seek a business registration/license or a tax-identification number from individuals requesting resources.

We may do so – particularly under circumstances where a party may be trying to establish recognition with ARIN as a first step towards engaging in fraud – but ultimately the decision of whether you need a business registration or license is dependent on the applicant and their business.  As the blog posting on this matter states -

Ensuring Compliance and Responsibility
As a business owner, it’s your responsibility to comply with all relevant business and tax laws in your area. This includes:

• Registering your business name if required
• Obtaining necessary tax IDs
• Meeting all legal requirements in your region
Failure to comply could result in delays or denial of your resource requests.

Many individuals seeking IP addresses are able to operate as a sole proprietorship, under their own name, and absent any business registration requirements.

Thanks,
/John

John Curran
President and CEO
American Registry for Internet Numbers

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.arin.net/pipermail/arin-ppml/attachments/20250717/7ec37e7a/attachment.htm>