# OPS-062 — An opted-out consumer must be able to come back

> The programme must leave a published route back for a consumer who opted out and later wants the messages again.

- **Rule ID:** OPS-062
- **Layer:** Operational (`OPERATIONAL`)
- **Checks:** `campaign.message_flow + campaign.optin_keywords`
- **Severity:** MEDIUM — Usually survives review, but lowers your trust score or invites manual review.
- **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:** T-Mobile, Bird, CTIA
- **Applies:** Applies to every 10DLC registration.
- **Canonical URL:** https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/operational/ops-062/

## Why this rule exists

Opting out is not meant to be permanent exile, and a consumer who wants their order alerts back should not have to phone somebody. The route matters more than it sounds: where none exists, the consumer either goes without or is re-added by staff without a fresh opt-in, which converts a support request into an unconsented enrolment. Programmes lose the route by accident, when the signup page starts checking the suppression list and silently drops the resubmission.

## How to fix it

Keep the published call-to-action open to previously-opted-out numbers, and support START (or UNSTOP) where the campaign accepts keyword opt-in, so the consumer can rejoin from the handset. Say which route exists in the message flow. Done when a number that texted STOP can rejoin without an agent touching the record.

## Example of a compliant value

```text
A consumer who opted out can rejoin at any time by texting START, or by opting in again at acmecoffee.com/signup; each rejoin is recorded as a new consent.
```

## Notes

Registration-side twin: whether START is honoured is runtime behaviour. What is decidable now is whether a route back was designed at all, and whether the flow says re-enrolment is treated as fresh consent rather than as reactivating an old record.