What Is an LIR (Local Internet Registry)?

A Local Internet Registry (LIR) is a member of a Regional Internet Registry that can request and hold IP addresses, known as Provider Aggregate (PA) space. LIRs hand this space on to the networks that use it.

Many LIRs are internet providers, hosting companies and large businesses. In our region, the RIPE NCC region, an LIR is a RIPE NCC member.

Where an LIR fits

IP addresses and AS numbers are given out in layers:

1. The five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) each look after one part of the world. They are listed below.
2. LIRs are the members of an RIR. They request PA address space from it and hold it, and they pass parts of it on to their customers.
3. End users are the networks that use the addresses: a company, a university, a hosting customer. They either get PA space from an LIR, or hold their own Provider Independent (PI) space, which is registered to them and not to an LIR. Unless the end user becomes a member itself, a sponsoring LIR requests the PI space for it and signs a contract with it.

The five RIRs and their regions are:

• RIPE NCC: Europe, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia.
• ARIN: the United States, Canada and parts of the Caribbean.
• APNIC: Asia and the Pacific.
• LACNIC: Latin America and parts of the Caribbean.
• AFRINIC: Africa.

We are a RIPE NCC member LIR, and everything below is about the RIPE NCC region.

What an LIR does

An LIR is responsible for the space it holds. In practice that means:

• Requesting resources. It applies to the RIPE NCC for PA address space, IPv4 and IPv6.
• Keeping the registration accurate. Every block is described in the RIPE Database, and the LIR keeps its own objects and its customers' up to date.
• Following RIPE policy. The rules for who may get what, and how addresses may be used, are set by the RIPE community and change over time. The RIPE NCC can audit an LIR to check them.
• Passing space on. It assigns its PA addresses to customers, or leases them.
• Sponsoring end users. It requests PI space, AS numbers and similar resources for end users, who hold them in their own name. The LIR does not hold these; it vouches for them to the RIPE NCC.
• Paying the membership fees. The RIPE NCC charges (opens in a new tab) a sign-up fee and an annual membership fee, and the amounts change from year to year.

What you get as an LIR

A new LIR can request one IPv4 allocation, a /24, but only through the waiting list (opens in a new tab). Free IPv4 addresses have run out in the RIPE NCC region, the waiting list is for an LIR that has never had an IPv4 allocation, and the RIPE NCC says it cannot predict how long it takes.

An LIR can also request an IPv6 allocation, sponsor PI space and AS numbers for end users, and use the RIPE NCC's membership services, such as training and the General Meetings.

Becoming an LIR, or not

Being an LIR is a good fit if you want to hold address space for the long term and are ready to do the registry work and pay the RIPE NCC fees every year. It is more than you need if you only want addresses to run your network, which a lease covers.

You have three alternatives:

• Lease addresses from us. You get a subnet of our address space, and it works with your own AS number. See what IP address leasing is or the IP Address Lease page.
• Use a sponsoring LIR. If you need an AS number, or hold PI or Legacy space, you do not need to be a member. A sponsoring LIR requests it for you, and the resource is registered to your organisation, not to the LIR. See ASN Registration and Resource Sponsoring.
• Hand the work to a managed LIR. You stay the member and hold the resources, and we do the registration work. See the Managed LIR service.

What running an LIR involves

The first application is the easy part. Afterwards you answer to the RIPE NCC for the space you hold:

• the registration of every block has to stay accurate in the RIPE Database;
• new requests, and any transfers, have to follow the policies in force at the time;
• an audit can ask you to show how the space is used;
• the membership fee is due every year, whether or not you receive an allocation.

A managed LIR takes this work on: the relationship with the RIPE NCC, the database, the applications and the audit. Our guide to becoming an LIR goes through the process step by step.

Common questions

Is an LIR the same as an ISP? No. Many LIRs are internet providers, but any RIPE NCC member can be an LIR, including businesses that are not providers.

Do I need to be an LIR to get an AS number? No. A sponsoring LIR can request one for you, registered to your organisation, with no membership. See what an ASN is.

How much does it cost to become an LIR? The RIPE NCC charges a sign-up fee and an annual membership fee, and the amounts change every year (opens in a new tab). If you want us to run it for you, our Managed LIR service costs €550 to set up and €550 a year, with the RIPE fees on top.

Do I need to be an LIR to get IP addresses? No. You can lease them from us, take a transfer from another holder through the RIPE NCC, or buy them from us.