# CON-151 — Promotional messaging needs consent in writing, and must say so

> A campaign carrying promotional content must rest on prior express written consent, and the submission must describe that consent as a written record.

- **Rule ID:** CON-151
- **Layer:** Consent flow (`CONSENT_FLOW`)
- **Checks:** `consent basis; consent artifact`
- **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:** AI judgement over the submitted form
- **Fix type:** Supply evidence only you hold
- **Required by:** FCC, CTIA, AWS, Bandwidth, Twilio
- **Applies:** Applies when the use case is MARKETING, MIXED, SWEEPSTAKE and LOW_VOLUME.
- **Canonical URL:** https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/consent-flow/con-151/

## Why this rule exists

Marketing by automated text is the case the TCPA requires a writing for, and a writing is what the brand will have to produce if the consent is ever challenged. The reason to check it at registration is that the alternative is discovering years of sends rested on a verbal yes nobody wrote down — at which point every message already delivered is exposed.

## How to fix it

Describe the written record: a ticked box with a stored timestamp, a signed form, a captured e-signature. Say where it is retained and what it contains. Where the consent was spoken, move the marketing programme onto a written opt-in before registering it and keep the verbal consent for the informational messages it can carry.

## Example of a compliant value

```text
Marketing consent is captured in writing at checkout: the ticked box, the disclosure version shown, the timestamp and the session id are stored against the order and retained for four years.
```

## Common mistakes

- An electronic record only counts as the writing once the E-SIGN predicate is met — the consumer must have received the E-SIGN disclosures and agreed electronically, which most checkout flows have never done.

## Notes

Oral consent remains adequate for purely informational or transactional programmes, which is why this is tagged to the promotional use cases rather than left universal.