# OPS-214 — Telemarketing consent taken by phone must retain the recording of both halves

> Where the Telemarketing Sales Rule applies and consent was spoken, a recording of both the request and the consent given must be retained, making the purpose clear.

- **Rule ID:** OPS-214
- **Layer:** Operational (`OPERATIONAL`)
- **Checks:** `campaign.message_flow`
- **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:** FTC
- **Applies:** Applies when consent was collected by live verbal and IVR, and the use case is MARKETING, MIXED, SWEEPSTAKE and LOW_VOLUME.
- **Canonical URL:** https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/operational/ops-214/

## Why this rule exists

A recording that starts at "do you agree?" preserves the answer and loses the question, which is the half the FTC actually cares about — it is where the purpose is stated and where a leading or truncated ask would show. Contact centres cut it this way because the recording is triggered by the consent step rather than covering the disclosure that precedes it.

## How to fix it

Record the disclosure and the answer as one continuous recording, and retain it against the consumer record. Done when playing a single recording gives you the purpose, the ask and the agreement without a second file.

## Example of a compliant value

```text
Verbal marketing opt-ins retain one recording per consent covering the full disclosure and the consumer's answer, indexed by call UCID.
```

## Common mistakes

- Starting the recording at the consent question is the common configuration and it is the failure: the purpose is stated in the sentence before it.

## Notes

Where recording is not possible — the consumer declines, or an all-party-consent state applies — OPS-239 describes the fallback the programme must have instead. This rule is about what is retained, not about whether a recording satisfies the written-consent standard, which is CON-156.