{
  "id": "BRD-251",
  "slug": "brd-251",
  "title": "A federal donation programme needs a current FEC registration",
  "statement": "A federal candidate, committee or party running a donation programme must be currently registered with the FEC.",
  "rationale": "Political donation messaging carries the highest scrutiny of any use case, and a current FEC registration is the baseline that makes the rest of it reviewable. \"Currently\" is the load-bearing word: registrations lapse between cycles, and a committee reactivating for a new cycle can be messaging weeks before its filing catches up.",
  "layer": "BRAND",
  "layerSlug": "brand",
  "object": "the FEC registration",
  "severity": "BLOCKING",
  "detectability": [
    "EXTERNAL_DATA"
  ],
  "failureClass": "TERMINAL_EXTERNAL",
  "authorities": [
    "CTIA"
  ],
  "applicability": {
    "useCases": [
      "POLITICAL"
    ]
  },
  "applicabilityText": "Applies when the use case is POLITICAL.",
  "universal": false,
  "remediation": "Confirm the committee's FEC registration is current before any donation messaging goes out, and keep the committee ID with the brand record. State and local candidates use the equivalent state filing.",
  "notes": "FEC status is public but not something we query. What the user has to do is check their own committee in the FEC database and confirm it is active for the current cycle — a lapsed registration is the common case at the start of a cycle, and it is fixed by filing rather than by anything in the messaging setup.",
  "phase": "approval",
  "automated": false,
  "attestation": {
    "question": "Is the committee's FEC registration active for the current cycle, today?",
    "howToCheck": [
      "Look the committee up in the FEC database and confirm the registration is current, not merely present. State and local candidates check the equivalent state filing.",
      "Keep the committee ID with the brand record."
    ],
    "failureLooksLike": "A committee reactivating for a new cycle is messaging weeks before its filing catches up. \"Currently registered\" is the load-bearing phrase, and it is fixed by filing rather than by anything in the messaging setup."
  },
  "url": "https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/brand/brd-251/",
  "markdown": "https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/brand/brd-251.md",
  "registry": "https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/",
  "updated": "2026-07-25",
  "licence": "CC BY 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}