Stakeholder Council Operating Procedures

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Council Work Plan

The secretariat will maintain a Work Plan on the Stakeholder Council Resource Page.

Deadlines for key Council deliverables including Quarterly Reports, Annual Reports, and the usTLD Stakeholder Council Town Hall are established in the .US contract.

Meetings Policy

The usTLD Stakeholder Council will regularly meet, following the meetings schedule established in the usTLD Stakeholder Council Work Plan. Meetings will be conducted in accordance with the transparency procedures outlined below.

As needed, any member of the usTLD Stakeholder Council may request that an additional meeting be held or that a meeting be canceled or rescheduled by notifying the Council Chair and Secretariat. It will be at the Chair’s discretion whether changes to the schedule of meetings are warranted; if modifications to the schedule of meetings are deemed necessary, the Chair will work with the secretariat to schedule the meeting and to update the Council Work Plan accordingly.

Transparency Procedures

Council Meetings and Calls

All calls will be open to the public. Dial in details for each call will be included in each meeting agenda, as well as in the Council Work Plan, both of which will be published on the Council website. Participants that are not members of the usTLD Stakeholder Council may participate actively in the calls, however, votes or polls will be limited to members of the usTLD Stakeholder Council.

The usTLD Stakeholder Council secretariat will publish on the Council website agendas and minutes from each Stakeholder Call. Calls will be recorded and archived on the Council website.

Agendas will be published and circulated the week prior to Stakeholder Council calls.

Council List Serve

The secretariat will manage a council list serve to facilitate Council discussions between meetings. All members of the usTLD Stakeholder Council will be able to the post to the list which will be sent to all councilors and archived.

Archives will be available to the public here; non-members will not have posting rights.

Council Recommendations

Following the completion of public consultation procedures and consideration of public comments by the Stakeholder Council, approved recommendations will be published on the Stakeholder Council Resource Page. The published recommendations will include, at minimum:

  • The recommendation(s) being put forward;
  • A summary of public comments received and any actions that were taken in response to the Public Comment Period;
  • The outcome of any votes taken (if applicable).

Quarterly Reports

The usTLD Stakeholder Council will publish a quarterly report summarizing all Council activities from the foregoing quarter. Quarterly reports will include, but are not limited to providing:

  • A summary of all council meetings from the following quarter;
  • Any recommendations or other input provided by the usTLD Stakeholder Council during that quarter and the decision-making procedures that were followed, including the outcomes of any votes that were taken;
  • A summary of input received during any public consultation processes undertaken by the usTLD Stakeholder Council; and
  • Changes to council members or council officers.

Procedures for Public Consultation

Public Comment Procedures

All formal policy recommendations by the usTLD Stakeholder Council that are determined by Registry Services to fall properly within the purview of council activities will be published on the Stakeholder Council Website for a thirty (30)-day public comment period.

Informal input by the council need not be published for public comment; however, a public comment period may be initiated at the discretion of the Council Chair.

The Stakeholder Council may also choose to open up a public comment period on any topic that it determines requires broader public input.

At the conclusion of any public comment period the .US Secretariat will prepare a report for the Stakeholder Council summarizing all public comments received no later than ten (10) days following the conclusion of the Public Comment period. The Stakeholder Council will consider the report of Public Comments at its subsequent meeting and determine whether any revisions to the recommendation should be made as a result of public comments received.

usTLD Public Stakeholder Town Hall

The usTLD Stakeholder Council will hold one annual usTLD Public Stakeholder Town Hall to allow the broader community of stakeholders to provide input and feedback on .US Policies and other initiatives. Participation in the usTLD Public Stakeholder Town Hall will permit remote participation. The Town Hall will be open to the Public. Registry and Councilors will engage in promotional efforts to solicit participation in the Town Hall.

usTLD Annual Report

Within forty-five (45) days of the usTLD Public Stakeholder Town Hall the usTLD Stakeholder Council will produce an Annual Report. The contents of the Annual Report will include, at minimum:

  • A summary topics covered during the usTLD Public Stakeholder Town Hall;
  • A list of attendees;
  • Feedback received from the public; and
  • Any future actions or discussions that the Committee plans to take as a result of feedback received.

Election Procedures

The Chair and the Vice Chair will be jointly responsible for setting the policy agenda for meetings of the usTLD Stakeholder Council in collaboration with the council Secretariat, as well reviewing and approving Council reports or other documentation prepared by the secretariat before they are published.

The Chair will also be responsible for running meetings of Council; the Vice Chair will assume these duties in the event that the Chair is unable to participate in a meeting of the Council.

Neither party will be entitled to speak for the usTLD Stakeholder Council except where policies, positions, or other initiatives have been previously approved by the Council in accordance with the procedures established in the usTLD Council Charter and Operating Procedures.

The Chair and Vice Chair will each be elected for a one year term. Chairs and Vice Chairs will each be eligible for reelection for up to two one-year terms, depending upon the term length of the Chair and Vice Chair. In the event the Chair or Vice Chair has served a partial term to fill a vacancy, he or she will still be eligible for up to two reelections.

In the event that the Chair is no longer able to continue his or her duties before the conclusion of the term, the Vice Chair will assume the role of Chair and the Council will be responsible for appointing a Vice Chair to fill the remaining term. In the event that the Vice Chair is no longer able to perform his or her duties the Council will be responsible for appointing a Vice Chair to fill the remaining term.

Elections must be conducted prior to the end of each calendar year and terms for the Council Chair and Council Vice Chair will commence on the first date of each calendar year.

Initial terms will be deemed to have commenced on January 1, 2015.

Term Limits

Councilors will be appointed in accordance with the procedures for Selection and Term of Council Members established in the Council Charter . Terms will commence on the first day of the calendar year.

A Councilor may express his or her interest in serving an additional term by notifying the Chair and the secretariat. Councilors may be reelected by a majority vote of the Council.

The term length for initial councilors (i.e. two or three years) will be set by the secretariat using a random generation tool. The secretariat will retain and keep up-to-date a list of all current councilors and their terms.

Initial terms will be deemed to have commenced on January 1, 2015.

Voting Procedures

The Council will generally seek to work by Consensus, however, any Councilor may request that a vote be taken on any policy recommendation or piece of input and such request shall be granted. If a vote is called, then a majority of Councilors must vote in favor of the Recommendation in order for the recommendation to proceed. All votes will be conducted transparently and reflected in the final Policy Recommendation. Any vote shall require a quorum of fifty percent of the Stakeholder Council.

Informal polls may also be taken from time to time to gauge the level of support for a position. Such polls shall not be considered votes and will not be reflected in the final recommendation. No quorum shall be required for such polls.

Stakeholder Council Resources

Learn more about how the council fosters growth within the .US domain space.

Council Reports


The Stakeholder Secretariat will publish a report summarizing Council activities from the foregoing quarter.

  • Work Plans and Meeting Minutes
  • Marketing and Administrator Updates
  • Policy & Security Status
View All Reports

Read the Charter

Learn More about the Stakeholder Council and the Charter.

Operating Procedures

Read more about the Stakeholder council operating procedures.

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