# BRD-145 — A display name is required, and so is the DBA field

> The display name must be populated within its length bound, and the DBA field must be populated even when it is identical to the legal name.

- **Rule ID:** BRD-145
- **Layer:** Brand (`BRAND`)
- **Checks:** `brand.display_name + brand.dba`
- **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, Telnyx
- **Applies:** Applies to every 10DLC registration.
- **Canonical URL:** https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/brand/brd-145/

## Why this rule exists

The display name is the string a consumer sees attributed to the messages, so an empty one leaves the brand identified only by a legal entity nobody recognises. The DBA field trips people separately: it reads as optional when the business does not trade under a different name, and Telnyx requires it populated regardless — repeating the legal name there is the expected answer, not a workaround.

## How to fix it

Populate the display name with the name customers know you by, and copy it into the DBA field if you do not trade under anything else. Done when both fields hold a value, even if it is the same value twice.

## Example of a compliant value

```text
display_name: Acme Coffee · dba: Acme Coffee — repeated deliberately, not left blank
```