# OPS-251 — Consent left unused for a month must be reconfirmed

> Where no message is sent within 30 days of collecting consent, the programme must reconfirm by double opt-in before its first send.

- **Rule ID:** OPS-251
- **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:** Fix the field — a better value in the form clears it
- **Required by:** T-Mobile, CTIA
- **Applies:** Applies to every 10DLC registration.
- **Canonical URL:** https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/operational/ops-251/

## Why this rule exists

A consumer who signed up and heard nothing for a month has usually forgotten, changed number, or moved on, and the first message they eventually get reads as unsolicited — which is how it gets reported. The 30-day rule exists because that first message is also the one most likely to arrive at a reassigned number. Programmes hit it by launching a signup form months before the messaging goes live, which is the ordinary way to build a list and the exact shape the rule is about.

## How to fix it

Describe the reconfirmation: numbers with no message inside 30 days of opt-in receive a single confirmation asking them to reply YES, and are not messaged further until they do. Done when the flow says what happens to a signup that goes unmessaged for a month.

## Example of a compliant value

```text
Numbers not messaged within 30 days of opt-in are sent one reconfirmation ("Reply YES to confirm you still want Acme Coffee texts") and receive nothing further unless they reply.
```

## Common mistakes

- Sending the delayed first message with an opt-out line attached is not reconfirmation — the consumer is being messaged on stale consent, and the opt-out arrives after the message they did not expect.

## Notes

Registration-side twin: whether the 30-day clock is honoured is runtime behaviour. What is decidable now is whether the programme has a rule for the case, which matters most for a list built before launch.