# CON-156 — A call recording is not the written consent

> A recording of the consumer agreeing does not satisfy a requirement for consent in writing.

- **Rule ID:** CON-156
- **Layer:** Consent flow (`CONSENT_FLOW`)
- **Checks:** `consent artifact medium`
- **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:** E-SIGN Act, FCC
- **Applies:** Applies when the use case is MARKETING, MIXED, SWEEPSTAKE and LOW_VOLUME.
- **Canonical URL:** https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/consent-flow/con-156/

## Why this rule exists

E-SIGN gives electronic records the force of a writing but expressly excludes oral recordings, so a recorded yes is strong evidence of consent and is still not the writing the rule asks for. Call centres reach for it in good faith because the recording feels more probative than a tick box — and it is, on every question except the one that decides the case.

## How to fix it

Keep the recording, and add a writing beside it: send a confirmation link the consumer submits, capture a DTMF keypress, or follow the call with a double opt-in text they reply to. Done when a written record exists for each number, with the recording as corroboration rather than as the consent itself.

## Example of a compliant value

```text
Agents capture spoken agreement (call recorded), then send a confirmation text the customer replies YES to; the reply, its timestamp and the number are stored as the written record.
```

## Common mistakes

- A transcript of the recording is not a cure — it is a record of speech, and the exclusion is about the consent being oral rather than about it being unwritten down.

## Notes

Tagged to the promotional use cases for the same reason as CON-151: informational programmes may rest on oral consent, so the writing requirement does not reach them. A DTMF keypress is a stronger theory than a recording, which CON-IVR-CONFIRM already asks IVR flows for.