What a sponsoring LIR does

Why you need a RIPE NCC member to hold an AS number or IPv6 space in your own name, what the sponsor is responsible for, what you are, and how to change sponsor.

5 min read · Updated 19 October 2026

The RIPE NCC hands out AS numbers and IP addresses for Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. It only deals with two kinds of parties: its own members, called Local Internet Registries (LIRs), and End Users who reach it through a member. If you want an AS number or an IPv6 block registered to you without becoming a member yourself, you go through a sponsoring LIR. NovaNode is one.

What "sponsoring" means

The resource is yours. The AS number or the IPv6 prefix is registered in the RIPE database to your organisation, not to NovaNode. The sponsor is the contractual and administrative link between you and the RIPE NCC. The RIPE NCC's rules for this are in its document *Contractual Requirements for Provider Independent Resource Holders in the RIPE NCC Service Region* (ripe-637).

Under that document the sponsoring LIR:

• files your request with the RIPE NCC and answers its questions, with your input;
• keeps your registration data in the RIPE database up to date, which means it has to hear from you when your company name, address or contacts change;
• has a written contract with you that contains the terms the RIPE NCC requires: an annual fee, no sub-assignment of the resource to third parties, publication of the registration data, and what happens when the contract ends;
• passes on messages from the RIPE NCC that concern your resource.

And you, as the End User:

• keep a contract with a sponsoring LIR (or with the RIPE NCC directly) for as long as you hold the resource;
• give the sponsor correct registration data and tell it when something changes;
• pay the yearly fee;
• do not sub-assign the resource to another organisation;
• use it according to RIPE policies, which change from time to time.

What the sponsor does not do

A sponsor does not route your traffic. Holding an AS number through NovaNode does not give you a BGP session, transit or an IP tunnel; those are separate products. It also does not make the RIPE NCC's decision for you: the RIPE NCC evaluates the request against its policies and can refuse it or ask for more.

Which resources can be sponsored

Through NovaNode: an AS number, an IPv6 PI assignment (from /48) and an IPv6 PA sub-allocation (from /48 up to /32). The first two are "independent" resources under RIPE rules and need the sponsoring contract. The PA sub-allocation is a different thing: it comes out of NovaNode's own allocation and is covered by our Terms of Service rather than by ripe-637. The article IPv6 PI or PA explains the difference and when each one fits.

Changing sponsor

You can move an independent resource from one sponsoring LIR to another. The RIPE NCC's condition is that the new contract is in place before the old one ends, so that the resource is never without a sponsor. The order is:

1. Sign with the new sponsor.At NovaNode that is ordering the matching LIR product and telling us the resource in the order notes.
2. The new sponsor tells the RIPE NCCabout the change of contract. The RIPE NCC confirms with both LIRs.
3. End the old contractonce the RIPE NCC has recorded the new sponsor.

The resource and its registration do not change; only the sponsoring LIR noted on it does.

When the contract ends without a new one

The RIPE NCC's rule is return by default: a resource whose holder has no sponsoring contract, cannot be reached or does not pay the fee goes back to the RIPE NCC. For an AS number, the RIPE NCC's AS number policy (ripe-679) also says an AS number that is no longer used should be returned so it can be reassigned. So the practical advice is: keep the contact details current and renew before 1 December.

Renewal at NovaNode

All sponsored resources renew on 1 December, billed per year. The first payment runs until 1 December of the following year. The renewal invoice is issued before that date; a resource that is not renewed leaves our sponsorship. How to request an AS number step by step, and what the RIPE NCC asks for, is in Request an AS number through NovaNode.

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