Sole proprietor is not supported by every provider

The requirementstatement

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

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.entity_type
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: Wait on someone elseTERMINAL_EXTERNAL; Needs an external system or a waiting period, such as IRS propagation, a vetting result, or a carrier queue.
Who requires itauthorities: BandwidthSinch
When it appliesapplicabilityText: Applies when the brand is a sole proprietor, and the submission target is BANDWIDTH and SINCH.

Why this rule existsrationale

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 itremediation

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 yourselfattestation

Ekas flags this from what you submit, but the fact that settles it sits somewhere only you can reach.

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

1Read the provider's own 10DLC onboarding documentation for the sole proprietor or low-volume tier.
2Where 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.

Notesnotes

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.

Rules you will hit next

3 other rules read brand.entity_type. 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-040Entity type must be one of the five supported valuesBlockingBLOCKING BRD-045PUBLIC_PROFIT means the shares actually tradeBlockingBLOCKING BRD-062GOVERNMENT is for US government bodies onlyBlockingBLOCKING BRD-001A legal company name is required for every entity but a sole proprietorBlockingBLOCKING BRD-002Legal name must match the IRS record for the EINBlockingBLOCKING BRD-003Legal name must carry its exact entity suffix as filedBlockingBLOCKING

All brand rules

BRD-084 is one of 196 brand rules in the 915-rule 10DLC registry. Free to cite under CC BY 4.0.