§ Wiki · Wiki entry

Node Provider Self-declaration

The identity declaration and good-faith statement a prospective node provider files before the NNS votes on their onboarding proposal.

·August 6, 2026·3 min read
Warning

No new machines or new node providers are currently being onboarded, as the target topology has been reached.

A self-declaration is the document a prospective node provider files to declare their real-world identity, confirm fit with the published hardware requirements, and commit to honest operation of their machines. The Network Nervous System (NNS) uses it — together with proof of identity — when voting on whether to accept the provider.

In a fully decentralized network, provider onboarding is managed entirely through the NNS. There is no contract with DFINITY; the self-declaration is the artefact the community votes against.

What the declaration covers

The current questionnaire that captures these details is the Node Provider Self-Declaration Form. Work from that form when preparing your declaration.

The document records:

  • Identity. Entity name, representative details, and physical location.
  • Hardware compliance. A guarantee that the machines being onboarded match the published specification.
  • Good-faith statement. An acknowledgement of potential liability for damages, and an explicit acknowledgement that deliberate interference with nodes can constitute criminal activity in some jurisdictions.

Alongside the declaration, the candidate supplies proof that the identity (or identities) listed in the declaration exist in the real world, in a form acceptable to the community.

What is published, and how it is reviewed

A prospective provider publishes their documents in the public icp-node-providers/self-declarations repository. A self-declaration and a proof of identity (for example an extract from the commercial register of the jurisdiction where the entity is incorporated) are required; optional supporting documents — an excess-node handover statement, a proof of hardware order, or an auditor confirmation letter — can be added alongside them. Everything in the repository is public.

Reviewers check that a submission is complete, correctly named, and free of harmful content. They do not verify or vouch for the truthfulness of the statements in a declaration — that is what token-holders weigh when they vote on the registration proposal.

The self-declaration form marks some sections for private disclosure. Do not publish those materials: the repository is public, and only documents intended for public disclosure belong there.

Process

  1. Prepare the documents. Draft the self-declaration using the Node Provider Self-Declaration Form, and gather your proof of identity. Compute a SHA-256 hash of each file.
  2. Publish to the self-declarations repository. Open a pull request against icp-node-providers/self-declarations: add a directory for your entity under node-providers/, name each document by the repository's convention, and list every file with its SHA-256 hash in your directory's README.md. A reviewer checks the submission and merges it, at which point the documents are public and tamper-evident. The repository's README and CONTRIBUTING guides give the full walk-through.
  3. Submit the NNS proposal. The proposal references the published files and embeds the same hashes — see Node Provider Onboarding for the ic-admin command and required summary fields. Anyone can re-compute the hashes from the repository and compare them against the proposal.
  4. Community vote. Token-holders evaluate the declaration and proof of identity and vote on acceptance.
Note

The required contents of the self-declaration are captured in the Node Provider Self-Declaration Form. Use that form as the canonical template when drafting your declaration.

Related