# Applying & Becoming a Delegate

Delegation in Aquarius is fully **permissionless** — any Stellar address can receive ICE delegations, and dICE or gdICE tokens will be automatically minted to that address when a delegator locks their ICE. This means you don’t need approval from the Aquarius team to act as a delegate.

However, only **whitelisted delegates listed on aqua.network** are featured in the app and eligible for the monthly reward program. The listing is curated so delegators can easily find trusted options, and so Aquarius can enforce a consistent set of rules for listed delegates.

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### Two Ways to Become a Delegate

#### 1. Custom Delegate (permissionless)

* Any Stellar address can accept ICE delegations.
* Delegators can manually enter your address in the delegation interface.
* You will not appear in the public delegate list on aqua.network.
* You are free to promote yourself independently or even build your own delegation hub or tools — such as dashboards, analytics, or other features — to support your community of delegators.
* Custom delegates are **not eligible** for the monthly AQUA reward program.
* **Tip:** Custom delegation can be useful if you manage multiple accounts and want to aggregate their voting power under a single address.

#### 2. Whitelisted Delegate (recommended)

* To be featured in the public delegate list on [aqua.network/delegate](https://aqua.network/delegate), you must apply.
* Apply here: [aqua.network/delegate/apply](https://aqua.network/delegate/apply).

Before submitting an application, applicants should:

* Review the [**Delegate Code of Conduct**](/ice-delegation/delegate-code-of-conduct.md)
* Review the **Eligibility Criteria** (see below) to ensure they meet the standards expected from listed delegates

Applications are reviewed by the Aquarius team. Onboarding of new candidates and review of applications takes place roughly **once per month**. After each review cycle, the Aquarius team will announce a **summary of application outcomes in the Discord server**.

If approved:

1. The team will contact you to confirm participation.
2. Your profile will appear in the public list with your name, description, social links, voting history.
3. You will become eligible for the **Reward Program for Delegates**.

***

### Why Apply?

* **Visibility** – appear in the delegation hub where ICE holders can easily find you.
* **Rewards** – whitelisted delegates qualify for the monthly AQUA reward program.

***

### Eligibility Criteria (for whitelisted delegates)

1. **Discord requirement** – must have a Discord handle and be a member of the Aquarius server for at least **1 month**, with **5+ messages** posted.
2. **Voting history** – demonstrate participation in both DAO governance voting and liquidity (market) voting using the **same wallet** that will be listed as a delegate.
3. **ICE holdings** – hold at least some amount of ICE in the delegate wallet.
4. **Liquidity provision** – maintain at least some LP deposited in the Aquarius AMM to show active involvement.
5. **Agreement** – accept and follow the Delegate Code of Conduct.
6. **Clean record** – no history of prior violations of Aquarius rules (see *Prohibited Behaviour* in the [Code of Conduct](/ice-delegation/delegate-code-of-conduct.md)).


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