Sole proprietor brand name must be a person, not a company
The requirementstatement
The sole proprietor brand name must be the individual’s first and last name — never an LLC, Inc, Corp or other registered entity name.
- Severityseverity
- BlockingBLOCKINGBreaking this rule gets the submission rejected. There is no partial credit.
- When it bitesphase
- Gates approvalapprovalGet this wrong and the brand or campaign is refused at registration.
- What is checkedobject
- brand.company_name
- Where it liveslayer
- BrandBRAND
- How Ekas settles itdetectability
- DeterministicDETERMINISTIC
- Settled in code from the values you submitted. No model involved, no judgement call, same answer every time.
- What the fix involvesfailureClass
- Fix the fieldRETRY_FIELD
- A better value in the form fixes it. Ekas can rewrite it and re-check.
- Who requires itauthorities
- TCRTwilio
- When it appliesapplicabilityText
- Applies when the brand is a sole proprietor.
Why this rule existsrationale
A sole proprietor is a natural person, so the brand name is a person's name. A corporate suffix proves a registered entity exists behind it, which means the business qualifies for — and is required to use — the standard tier instead.
How to fix itremediation
Enter the individual’s legal first and last name. A business name with a corporate suffix means the entity is not a sole proprietor for 10DLC purposes — register it as a standard brand.
A compliant exampleexample
Brand name: Jane Doe
Provider rejection codescodes
The code you get back when this rule is what failed, and whether that provider lets you resubmit.
| Provider | Code | Resubmit |
|---|---|---|
| Twilio | 30914 | Yes |
Rules you will hit next
6 other rules read brand.company_name. Fixing one field to satisfy a single rule is how a resubmission trades one rejection for another, so read these before you change anything.
BRD-001A legal company name is required for every entity but a sole proprietorBlockingBLOCKINGBRD-003Legal name must carry its exact entity suffix as filedBlockingBLOCKINGBRD-008Legal name must not carry an appended personal name or roleBlockingBLOCKINGBRD-011A legal business name may back only one brand across the whole registryBlockingBLOCKINGBRD-160Register the message sender, not the agency or platformBlockingBLOCKINGBRD-006Submit every name line above the address on a multi-line IRS recordHighHIGH
BRD-068 is one of 196 brand rules in the 915-rule 10DLC registry. Free to cite under CC BY 4.0.