April 21, 2020

How the LACNIC IPv4 Transfer Works

LACNIC stands for Latin America and Caribbean Network Information Centre. It is the Regional Internet Registry for the Latin American and Caribbean regions, and offers IPv4 resource allocation and registration services to organizations in the regions. Therefore, if you need to buy or sell IPv4 address blocks within the said regions, you will need to follow the IPv4 transfer conditions set forth by the RIR. Below is a brief guide to how LACNIC IPv4 transfer works.

LACNIC IPv4 Transfer Process

To qualify for an IPv4 trade, the buyers are required to justify their need for the IPv4 resources. The minimum IPv4 address block size that may be transferred is a /24. The buyer will have to demonstrate how their organization will allocate or assign the IPv4 resources after the transfer. As for the sellers, they should be the rightful holder of the IPv4 address blocks that are to be transferred. LACNIC will also check that the seller is not involved in any dispute regarding the IPv4 resources.

Both the buyer and the seller will have to submit a signed copy of the legal document to LACNIC for the transfer. The RIR maintains a transfer log of all the IPv4 address block trades. It is publicly accessible and will have details like the date of the transaction, the buyer and seller information, as well as the number and details of the transferred IPv4 addresses.

The seller will be deemed ineligible for any IPv4 trade for one year after the last transaction date mentioned on the LACNIC transfer log. In addition, the IPv4 address blocks that were previously transferred are not allowed to be transferred again for a period of 12 months from the date of the trade mentioned in the transfer log.

Note that both the transferring and the receiving parties should have LACNIC membership and adhere to the terms and conditions of the RIR for the trade. After analyzing the justification of the buyer about the usage and need for the IPv4 resources, LACNIC will approve the transfer and ask the parties involved to sign a Transfer Agreement and a Joint Instruction. At this time, the buyer and seller will also have to pay the applicable fees for the trade.

If the buyer is a new LACNIC member or a legacy organization, then they will have to sign a Service Agreement with the RIR as well. After the transfer, the legacy IPv4 resources will not be regarded as legacy resources any longer. LACNIC will update the details on the transfer log after the IPv4 transfer is done to reflect the change of IPv4 resource owner.