# BRD-003 — Legal name must carry its exact entity suffix as filed

> The registered legal name must include the entity suffix exactly as filed — no abbreviation, expansion, or omission.

- **Rule ID:** BRD-003
- **Layer:** Brand (`BRAND`)
- **Checks:** `brand.company_name`
- **Severity:** BLOCKING — Breaking this rule gets the submission rejected outright.
- **When it bites:** Gates approval — get this wrong and registration is refused
- **How it is detected:** AI judgement over the submitted form
- **Fix type:** Fix the field — a better value in the form clears it
- **Required by:** TCR, Twilio, Telnyx, Bandwidth
- **Applies:** Applies to every 10DLC registration.
- **Canonical URL:** https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/brand/brd-003/

## Why this rule exists

Vetting matches your legal name against the IRS record as a string, so "Acme Coffee Company" does not match "Acme Coffee Co" and neither matches "Acme Coffee". Businesses reliably enter the name they use day to day rather than the one on their formation documents, and the resulting mismatch reads as a failed identity check rather than a typo.

## How to fix it

Copy the legal name character for character from your IRS CP-575 letter or formation documents, including the suffix and its punctuation. Put the everyday name in the brand display name field instead.

## Example of a compliant value

```text
Legal name: "Acme Coffee Co, LLC" · Display name: "Acme Coffee"
```

## Common mistakes

- Dropping the comma before LLC, or writing "Incorporated" where the filing says "Inc.", are both real mismatches.