HELP is answered whoever asks

The requirementstatement

A HELP request must always produce a response, whether or not the sender is currently subscribed and whether or not the programme is a subscription.

Severityseverity: BlockingBLOCKINGBreaking this rule gets the submission rejected. There is no partial credit.
When it bitesphase: After you are livepostFalls due once you are sending: STOP handling, quiet hours, suppression, record retention.
What is checkedobject: HELP keyword handler
Where it liveslayer: OperationalOPERATIONAL
How Ekas settles itdetectability: Post-submissionUNDETECTABLE_PRE_SUBMISSION; The subject does not exist yet at submission time: a reply window, an expiring PIN, a queue position. Reported with its deadline.
What the fix involvesfailureClass: Wait on someone elseTERMINAL_EXTERNAL; Needs an external system or a waiting period, such as IRS propagation, a vetting result, or a carrier queue.
Who requires itauthorities: CTIAMMAAerialink
When it appliesapplicabilityText: Applies to every 10DLC registration.

Why this rule existsrationale

The people most in need of a HELP response are the ones who are not subscribers: somebody who received a message meant for a previous holder of their number, or who cannot tell what the programme is. A handler that only answers known subscribers leaves exactly those people with silence and a number they cannot identify, which converts a fixable confusion into a carrier complaint.

How to fix itremediation

Answer HELP from the number that received it, without looking the sender up first. Done when HELP sent from a number that never subscribed still returns the brand name and a support route.

A compliant exampleexample

Acme Coffee: for help, email support@acmecoffee.com or call 415-555-0134. Reply STOP to unsubscribe.

Check this yourselfattestation

No tool can settle this one for you. Here is the check, and what wrong looks like.

Does HELP sent from a number that never subscribed still return the brand name and a support route?

1Test the unsubscribed case: send HELP from a number that is not on the list.
2Confirm the handler answers from the number that received it, without looking the sender up first.

What wrong looks like: The people most in need of a HELP reply are the ones who are not subscribers — someone who got a message meant for a previous holder of their number. Silence turns a fixable confusion into a carrier complaint.

Notesnotes

Absorbs OPS-082, the same duty stated for customer-care requests generally. Not observable before traffic. What the user has to test is the unsubscribed case: send HELP from a number that is not on the list and confirm a reply comes back.

Rules you will hit next

One other rule reads HELP keyword handler. Fixing one field to satisfy a single rule is how a resubmission trades one rejection for another, so read these before you change anything.

OPS-079HELP must work in every form it arrives inHighHIGH OPS-026The universal opt-out keyword set must be declaredBlockingBLOCKING OPS-027Opt-out keyword handling must be declared, not assumedBlockingBLOCKING OPS-029A revocation must survive punctuation, case and surrounding wordsBlockingBLOCKING OPS-031A plainly-worded opt-out counts even with no keyword in itBlockingBLOCKING OPS-033STOP must never come back as an errorBlockingBLOCKING

All operational rules

OPS-078 is one of 139 operational rules in the 915-rule 10DLC registry. Free to cite under CC BY 4.0.