# BRD-084 — Sole proprietor is not supported by every provider

> Some providers refuse sole proprietor registrations outright, and one also refuses sole proprietor appeals.

- **Rule ID:** BRD-084
- **Layer:** Brand (`BRAND`)
- **Checks:** `brand.entity_type`
- **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:** Wait on an external system or a required interval
- **Required by:** Bandwidth, Sinch
- **Applies:** Applies when the brand is a sole proprietor, and the submission target is BANDWIDTH and SINCH.
- **Canonical URL:** https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/brand/brd-084/

## Why this rule exists

Provider support for the sole proprietor tier genuinely differs: TCR, Twilio, Telnyx and Vonage support it while Bandwidth and Sakari refuse it, and Bandwidth also refuses sole proprietor appeals. Discovering this after collecting the customer's data wastes a non-refundable submission.

## How to fix it

This provider does not accept sole proprietor brands. Either register through a provider that supports the tier, or obtain an EIN and register as a standard brand.

## Check this yourself

**Have you confirmed that the provider you are submitting through accepts sole proprietor brands at all?**

1. Read the provider's own 10DLC onboarding documentation for the sole proprietor or low-volume tier.
2. Where it is not stated either way, ask support in writing before you collect the customer's personal details. Bandwidth and Sinch refuse the tier outright, and Bandwidth also refuses sole proprietor appeals.

*What wrong looks like:* The API accepts the registration and it is refused downstream with a generic error, after a private individual's mobile number and home address have already been collected.

## Notes

PROVIDER-SPECIFIC — a genuine divergence, not a strictness difference. TCR, Twilio, Telnyx and Vonage all support the tier; Bandwidth and Sakari/Sinch refuse it. Tagged so it only fires when we know the target.