# BRD-017 — A tax ID is required for every entity but a sole proprietor

> A tax ID or business registration number must be supplied for every entity type except sole proprietor.

- **Rule ID:** BRD-017
- **Layer:** Brand (`BRAND`)
- **Checks:** `brand.ein`
- **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:** Deterministic (settled in code from the submitted values)
- **Fix type:** Fix the field — a better value in the form clears it
- **Required by:** TCR, AWS, Bandwidth
- **Applies:** Applies to every 10DLC registration.
- **Canonical URL:** https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/brand/brd-017/

## Why this rule exists

The tax ID is the identifier the brand is actually verified against, so without it there is nothing to check the name and address into — the registration cannot be approved, only held. Sole proprietors are the deliberate exception because they are verified by mobile OTP instead, which is the whole point of that tier.

## How to fix it

Enter the nine-digit EIN from your CP-575 or 147C letter. Non-US entities supply the registration number their home country issues. Done when the identifier is present and matches the document it came from.

## Example of a compliant value

```text
ein: 12-3456789
```

## Common mistakes

- A brand-new EIN can be present and still fail verification because the IRS has not published it yet — that is BRD-027, and the fix is to wait rather than to change the number.