How to Choose the Best IPv4 Broker

Buying IPv4 address space is not like buying hardware. You are acquiring a registered asset with a paper trail, a routing history, and a reputation that follows it to your network.

The broker you pick determines how much of that risk you inherit. This guide walks through eight checks, in the order you should run them, before you sign anything.

Key Takeaways

• Registry policy, not the broker, sets most of the rules. Confirm the broker knows the specific policy for your region before discussing price.
• A block’s blacklist status, routing records, and ownership history matter as much as its size. Ask how each one is verified and get it in writing.
• ARIN transfers have a minimum size of /24 and require the recipient to justify a 24-month projected need.
• RIPE locks transferred IPv4 space for 24 months after receipt, so a block that just changed hands cannot be resold to you.
• Fixed published pricing and escrow protection are the two clearest signals that a broker is built for buyers rather than for its own margin.

Step 1: Confirm the broker is recognized in your registry

Every IPv4 transfer is approved by a regional internet registry, not by the broker. APNIC, for example, will only recognize an inter-RIR transfer when the counterpart registry has a compatible policy in place, and each region runs its own review.

Ask which registries the broker is an approved facilitator for and ask them to name the policy section your deal falls under. 

A broker who cannot tell you whether you need an ARIN 8.3 or an 8.4 transfer is not going to manage your paperwork well.

This one question tends to end the conversation with resellers who are simply flipping listings. Real facilitators answer it in a sentence because they file these requests every week.

Step 2: Fix your block size and region before you shop

Registry rules change the moment you cross a border, so decide where the addresses need to sit first. 

ARIN sets a minimum transfer size of /24 for specified transfers, and most other regions apply the same practical floor.

Your region also determines who can even hold the space. In the RIPE region, transfer requests can only be submitted by the offering LIR or by the sponsoring LIR of the offering end user, which means an entity relationship has to exist before a deal can close.

Step 3: Ask exactly how the block is verified as clean

This is where good brokers separate themselves, and it is the step buyers skip most often. A block can be the right size, correctly registered, and still useless to you if it sits on spam blacklists or carries stale routing records.

Insist on three specific checks: a blacklist report across major lists, removal of old BGP announcements and IRR route objects, and confirmation that the space is free of liens or disputes. 

IPv4 Connect publishes a free blacklist report with every subnet in its marketplace, screened against more than 100 global blacklists, and clears BGP announcements, legacy route records, and DNS entries before a transfer completes.

Get the report before you sign, not after. A blacklisted range will quietly damage email deliverability and outbound reachability long before anyone connects the problem to the addresses you bought.

Step 4: Find out who actually handles the registry paperwork

Some brokers introduce the buyer to the seller and step back. Others manage documentation, approvals, and registry submissions end-to-end, which is a meaningful difference when a filing error can stall a deal for weeks.

Pre-approval is the detail worth asking about. ARIN offers free transfer pre-approvals based on a 24-month projected need, and a pre-approval is not re-verified for a transfer submitted within 24 months of that approval. Hence, a broker who arranges it up front removes a common source of delay.

Step 5: Demand published pricing instead of an auction

Auction formats benefit the seller and the intermediary, not you. Fixed published pricing lets you compare brokers on the same basis and budget without guessing where a bid will land.

Ask whether you can see live inventory with prices attached and whether a block can be reserved while you complete internal approvals. 

Reserving without payment is a reasonable thing to expect and a fair test of how confident a broker is in its own inventory.

Step 6: Check how your money is protected

IPv4 transactions are large, cross-border, and slow to reverse. Wire transfer alone puts the entire timing risk on the buyer, since the registry update happens well after the funds move.

Escrow is the standard answer, and any serious broker will offer it. Ask what triggers release of funds and confirm in writing that release is tied to registry completion rather than to a signed agreement.

Check who pays the escrow fee as well, since it is often left unstated until invoicing. Clarifying it early costs nothing and tells you how transparent the rest of the process will be.

Step 7: Confirm inter-RIR capability if you are crossing regions

Cross-region deals need both registries to cooperate, and not every pairing works. APNIC currently lists RIPE NCC, ARIN, and LACNIC as the only eligible counterpart regions for inter-RIR transfers, so a source block in the wrong region is a dead end regardless of price.

Timelines stretch too, because two registries review the same transaction. Build that into your deployment schedule rather than discovering it after the contract is signed.

Step 8: Ask what the broker does after the transfer closes

The registry record change is not the end of the job. You still have to announce the space, build RPKI ROAs, correct geolocation entries, and monitor reputation as the block starts carrying traffic.

Ask directly whether post-transfer support is included or billed separately. A broker who treats closing as the finish line is one you will be calling a competitor about in six months.

Geolocation is the most common surprise here. Freshly transferred space often still resolves to the previous holder’s country, which breaks region-locked services until the databases catch up.

One rule that catches out most first-time buyers

RIPE restricts IPv4 addresses from being transferred for 24 months after the holder received them, whether that was from the RIPE NCC, through a transfer, or following a merger. A block that changed hands last year simply cannot be sold to you yet.

ARIN applies a related restriction from the other direction, requiring that a source entity has not received a transfer, allocation, or assignment from ARIN in the 12 months before a transfer is approved. 

Ask any broker to confirm the holding-period status of a specific block in writing before you commit.

Conclusion

Choosing an IPv4 broker in 2026 comes down to whether they absorb complexity or pass it to you. 

The eight checks above sort the two groups quickly, and most brokers reveal which they are within the first conversation.

Run the registry question first, because it filters hardest. Then work through cleanliness, paperwork ownership, pricing transparency, and payment protection in that order, and get every answer in writing before funds move.

Frequently Asked Questions