# BRD-102 — A brand support phone number is required

> Every brand must supply a support phone number.

- **Rule ID:** BRD-102
- **Layer:** Brand (`BRAND`)
- **Checks:** `brand.phone`
- **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-102/

## Why this rule exists

The support number is what a carrier investigating a complaint, and a consumer answering HELP, are given as the route to a person. A brand with no number reachable behind it is exactly the shape of the traffic 10DLC exists to filter, so its absence weighs more than the effort of supplying it suggests.

## How to fix it

Supply a number that reaches your business during business hours, and use the same one in your HELP auto-reply. Done when the field is populated and the number answers.

## Example of a compliant value

```text
phone: +14155550134
```

## Common mistakes

- A number that rings to an unmonitored voicemail satisfies the field and fails the check a reviewer actually runs, which is to call it.