To join CORE and act as a CORE registrar, an applicant must take the following steps:

• Read the CORE AoAs (Art. 1 to 23);
• Complete the membership application form;
• Pay the application fee of USD 3,500 (this amount is a Minimal Initial Account Balance (MIAB), fully available to fund registrations, but not refundable. The MIAB is USD 500 for members from countries with a GDP below 15000 USD as per the current list of the International Monetary Fund)

Agent Mode
Agent Mode is a CORE tool that allows registrars, resellers, providers to benefit from CORE technology. This tool allows to integrate the various CORE services on your existing system. This tool is primarily designed for registrars directly accredited to registries. It includes all ICANN gTLDs, sTLDs and the ccTLDs that are available via the Gateway02.
As of January 2008, Agent Mode contains the following features:

• A ready to use gateway,
• A simple management tool accessible underEPP, HTTPS, secure email and SSL,
• A billing server for your own accounting,
• Whois server,
• control panel and web interface,