[arin-ppml] Draft Policy ARIN-2025-4: Resource Issuance to Natural Persons
Tyler O'Meara
arin at tyleromeara.com
Fri May 30 15:04:08 EDT 2025
Having some kind of legal structure which ARIN staff can verify is part of
ARIN's current business processes. It is not a requirement stated in the NRPM.
In fact the term "organization", despite being used extensively in the NRPM, is
not defined at all in the NRPM.
ARIN staff has, in the absence of a proper definition, (likely correctly)
interpreted the term organization to exclude natural persons broadly, with some
exceptions (such as sole proprietorships). However, they have not and do not
require that all organizations engage in business. In fact, many organizations
like government agencies, NGOs and even international treaty organizations are,
and should be, considered to be organizations.
I will note that prior attempts to define organization in the NRPM have failed,
usually because they have not been inclusive enough to capture what we actually
mean. Personally, I think an "organization" for the purposes of the NRPM should
be "an entity or subdivision thereof capable of entering into a legal contract
with ARIN". Any restrictions on who or what can acquire resources, and for what
purposes, belong in the sections defining justifications for those resources.
Tyler
On Fri, 2025-05-30 at 13:38 -0500, David Farmer wrote:
> It is part of the current criteria. Further, calling a natural person, who is
> not acting as a business and is strictly a hobbyist, an organization seems a
> bit of a stretch to me.
>
> If you want to change things to include hobbiests, it should be a clear and
> explicit change, not something snuck in the back door of a fuzzy definition.
>
> Thanks.
>
>
> On Fri, May 30, 2025 at 1:21 PM Tyler O'Meara <arin at tyleromeara.com> wrote:
> > Why is "Operate as legal businesses within the ARIN service region" a
> > "fundamental criteria that must be included in the definition of an
> > organization"?
> >
> > That requirement does not seem self-evident to me.
> >
> > Tyler
> >
> > On Fri, 2025-05-30 at 12:59 -0500, David Farmer via ARIN-PPML wrote:
> > > I do not support the policy as written. As written, it is unclear whether
> > > natural persons not conducting business and acting solely as hobbyists are
> > > excluded. However, natural persons operating businesses in their own name
> > > should be considered valid organizations.
> > >
> > > Organizations must;
> > > 1. Operate as legal businesses within the ARIN service region.
> > > 2. Operate a network within the ARIN service region with Internet
> > > number
> > > resources allocated by or registered with ARIN.
> > > 3. Meet other policy or eligibility criteria.
> > > From a policy perspective, the first two are fundamental criteria that
> > > must
> > > be included in the definition of an organization.
> > >
> > > I suggest the following revision to the policy text;
> > >
> > > > 2.x Organization
> > >
> > > > An organization is a company, corporation, partnership, sole
> > > > proprietorship,
> > > > government agency, non-profit entity, educational institution, or
> > > > natural
> > > > person operating as a legal business within the ARIN service region. It
> > > > must
> > > > also operate a network within the ARIN service region with Internet
> > > > number
> > > > resources allocated by or registered with ARIN and meet other policy or
> > > > eligibility criteria.
> > >
> > > I also want to point out the recent blog post by ARIN Staff about this
> > > subject.
> > > https://www.arin.net/blog/2025/05/28/individual-requests/
> > >
> > > Thanks.
> > >
> > > On Tue, May 20, 2025 at 12:33 PM ARIN <info at arin.net> wrote:
> > > > On 15 May 2025, the ARIN Advisory Council (AC) accepted ARIN-prop-343:
> > > > Resource Issuance to Natural Persons as Draft Policy.
> > > >
> > > > Draft Policy ARIN-2025-4 is below and can be found at:
> > > >
> > > > https://www.arin.net/participate/policy/drafts/2025_4
> > > >
> > > > You are encouraged to discuss all Draft Policies on PPML. The AC will
> > > > evaluate the discussion to assess the conformance of this draft policy
> > > > with
> > > > ARIN's Principles of Internet number resource policy as stated in the
> > > > Policy
> > > > Development Process (PDP). Specifically, these principles are:
> > > >
> > > > * Enabling Fair and Impartial Number Resource Administration
> > > > * Technically Sound
> > > > * Supported by the Community
> > > >
> > > > The PDP can be found at:
> > > >
> > > > https://www.arin.net/participate/policy/pdp/
> > > >
> > > > Draft Policies and Proposals under discussion can be found at:
> > > >
> > > > https://www.arin.net/participate/policy/drafts/
> > > >
> > > > Regards,
> > > >
> > > > Eddie Diego
> > > > Policy Analyst
> > > > American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN)
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Draft Policy ARIN-2025-4: Resource Issuance to Natural Persons
> > > >
> > > > Problem Statement:
> > > >
> > > > ARIN policies currently restrict the issuance of number resources to
> > > > organizations. This limits access for individuals who are running
> > > > networks
> > > > under their own legal name, especially in regions where forming or
> > > > registering a business is not required or feasible. Other RIRs such as
> > > > RIPE
> > > > NCC allow individuals to receive resources directly. ARIN should
> > > > consider
> > > > similar flexibility to ensure equal and consistent access to Internet
> > > > number
> > > > resources for all operators, regardless of legal structure.
> > > >
> > > > Policy Statement:
> > > >
> > > > This proposal introduces explicit policy text into the NRPM to allow
> > > > number
> > > > resource issuance to natural persons (individuals) who provide valid
> > > > justification and identity verification.
> > > >
> > > > Amend NRPM Section 2 to add the following definition:
> > > >
> > > > 2.18 Organization
> > > >
> > > > An organization is a company, corporation, partnership, sole
> > > > proprietorship,
> > > > government agency, non-profit entity, educational institution, or a
> > > > natural
> > > > person acting in a capacity consistent with operating a network and who
> > > > meets ARIN’s resource eligibility criteria.
> > > >
> > > > Comments:
> > > >
> > > > Sections 4.2, 5.1, and 6.5 shall be interpreted to allow “organizations”
> > > > as
> > > > newly defined in Section 2.12, thereby including individuals where
> > > > appropriate.
> > > >
> > > > Staff may develop identity verification and residency requirements
> > > > appropriate to individuals (e.g., government-issued photo ID and proof
> > > > of
> > > > address).
> > > >
> > > > All resource justification, utilization, and RSA signing requirements
> > > > remain
> > > > unchanged.
> > > >
> > > > There has been extensive discussion of this topic on the ARIN Public
> > > > Policy
> > > > Mailing List (PPML) in April 2025. Participants have cited
> > > > inconsistencies
> > > > and barriers created by reliance on state-level business registries, and
> > > > called for more inclusive eligibility mechanisms similar to other RIR
> > > > regions. The proposal addresses these concerns while maintaining
> > > > accountability and justification requirements.
> > > >
> > > > Timetable for implementation:
> > > >
> > > > Recommend implementation within 3–6 months of ratification to allow ARIN
> > > > staff and legal counsel to develop supporting processes.
> > > >
> > > > Anything else:
> > > >
> > > > This proposal does not reduce the level of justification required to
> > > > obtain
> > > > resources, but merely expands eligibility to natural persons who operate
> > > > networks and meet all existing technical and usage criteria.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > ARIN-PPML
> > > > You are receiving this message because you are subscribed to
> > > > the ARIN Public Policy Mailing List (ARIN-PPML at arin.net).
> > > > Unsubscribe or manage your mailing list subscription at:
> > > > https://lists.arin.net/mailman/listinfo/arin-ppml
> > > > Please contact info at arin.net if you experience any issues.
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > ===============================================
> > > David Farmer Email:farmer at umn.edu
> > > Networking & Telecommunication Services
> > > Office of Information Technology
> > > University of Minnesota
> > > 2218 University Ave SE Phone: 612-626-0815
> > > Minneapolis, MN 55414-3029 Cell: 612-812-9952
> > > ===============================================
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > ARIN-PPML
> > > You are receiving this message because you are subscribed to
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>
>
> --
> ===============================================
> David Farmer Email:farmer at umn.edu
> Networking & Telecommunication Services
> Office of Information Technology
> University of Minnesota
> 2218 University Ave SE Phone: 612-626-0815
> Minneapolis, MN 55414-3029 Cell: 612-812-9952
> ===============================================
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