# BRD-251 — A federal donation programme needs a current FEC registration

> A federal candidate, committee or party running a donation programme must be currently registered with the FEC.

- **Rule ID:** BRD-251
- **Layer:** Brand (`BRAND`)
- **Checks:** `the FEC registration`
- **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:** External record we cannot query — reported as a warning to verify
- **Fix type:** Wait on an external system or a required interval
- **Required by:** CTIA
- **Applies:** Applies when the use case is POLITICAL.
- **Canonical URL:** https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/brand/brd-251/

## Why this rule exists

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.

## How to fix it

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.

## Check this yourself

**Is the committee's FEC registration active for the current cycle, today?**

1. 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.
2. Keep the committee ID with the brand record.

*What wrong looks like:* 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.

## 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.