# OPS-056 — Opt-out records must keep the words the consumer actually sent

> Every opt-out transaction must be recorded with the raw inbound text, the channel it arrived on, and the normalisation that was applied to it.

- **Rule ID:** OPS-056
- **Layer:** Operational (`OPERATIONAL`)
- **Checks:** `campaign.message_flow + privacy policy`
- **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:** Fix the field — a better value in the form clears it
- **Required by:** CTIA, FCC
- **Applies:** Applies to every 10DLC registration.
- **Canonical URL:** https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/operational/ops-056/

## Why this rule exists

The hard opt-out cases are never "STOP". They are "stop texting me", a reply on the wrong keyword, a revocation left on a voicemail — and whether each was honoured turns on what the handler did with the exact words. A record keeping only "opted out: true" cannot show that a borderline message was read correctly, and cannot show that a missed one was missed, which is the same as having no answer when a regulator asks how revocations are recognised.

## How to fix it

Store three things per revocation: the inbound text verbatim, the channel it arrived on (SMS, call, email, agent), and the keyword or intent it was matched to. Done when you can list last month's opt-outs and read what each consumer actually wrote.

## Example of a compliant value

```text
Opt-out records store: received_at, channel=SMS, raw_text="please stop texting me", matched=STOP (natural-language), phone number.
```

## Common mistakes

- Recording the normalised keyword only ("STOP") loses exactly the evidence the rule exists for — the raw text is what shows a variant was understood.

## Notes

Absorbs OPS-220, which names the channel field this record must carry. Registration-side twin: the handler behaviour itself is not observable before traffic, but whether the programme has decided to keep the evidence is.