# BRD-263 — Appeal a missing status attribute even on a verified brand

> A VERIFIED non-profit or government brand must still appeal where its tax-exempt or government attribute is missing.

- **Rule ID:** BRD-263
- **Layer:** Brand (`BRAND`)
- **Checks:** `the optional attributes + the appeal`
- **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
- **Applies:** Applies when the brand is a non-profit and government.
- **Canonical URL:** https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/brand/brd-263/

## Why this rule exists

Verification and the status attribute are separate outcomes, and only the second one opens the use cases and the throughput the classification exists for — so a brand can be VERIFIED, look entirely healthy, and still be treated as an ordinary commercial sender. Nobody appeals a brand that passed, which is exactly why this sits unnoticed for months.

## How to fix it

Check the brand record for the tax-exempt or government attribute once verification completes. If it is missing, file an appeal in that category with the IRS determination letter or the authorising statute attached — do not re-register. Done when the attribute reads back on the brand.

## Example of a compliant value

```text
tax_exempt_status: 501(c)(3) present on the brand record after verification — not merely claimed on the form
```

## Notes

Absorbs OPS-326, which states which identity statuses can be appealed and for which entity types. The check reads what the registration declares; whether the attribute was actually SET by the registry is something the user has to read off the brand record after verification, and this rule is the reminder to go and look.