Attending a KSK Ceremony

We typically hold key ceremonies four times a year. Part of the trust model for the Domain Name System relies on these ceremonies being witnessed by community members who verify and attest they are performed in a correct manner. This oversight builds trust in the system by providing confidence the private key component of the Root Zone KSK is not compromised.

In addition to attendance by people with specific roles, we encourage attendance by interested observers as "external witnesses".

Volunteering as an External Witness

Due to the limited size of our ceremony rooms, we have only a small number of seats for the discretionary roles. The exact number of seats varies per facility, and is dependent on the number of people attending in the mandatory roles.

These seats must be reserved in advance, and are available on a first-come first-served basis. We will also prioritize external witnesses who have not experienced a ceremony before over those who have attended previously.

In general, if you are interested in attending a ceremony as an external witness, you should express your interest no later than 45 days in advance. This provides time to coordinate availability, and provide you confirmation with enough time to plan travel. You should not incur costs planning to travel until our team has positively confirmed your seat at a ceremony. Unconfirmed attendees will be unable to enter our facilities on ceremony day.

Attendance requests may be submitted through our web form.

Facility rules

For security reasons, there are a number of restrictions for access to the key management facilities. Please familiarize yourself with the key management facility rules.

Press access

We encourage members of the press to be involved in ceremonies as external witnesses to promote awareness and transparency in our process. We recommend press contact ICANN's Press Office for further information, who will liaise with our ceremony staff.

Data Privacy

By confirming your attendance at a KSK ceremony, you agree that your personal data will be processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy.