# OPS-324 — An appeal is void if you edit the identity you are appealing

> Legal name, entity type, tax ID and tax ID issuing country must not be updated before an appeal is filed, and no brand update may be submitted while one is in flight.

- **Rule ID:** OPS-324
- **Layer:** Operational (`OPERATIONAL`)
- **Checks:** `brand.appeal + brand.brand_changes`
- **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:** Deterministic (settled in code from the submitted values)
- **Fix type:** Fix the field — a better value in the form clears it
- **Required by:** TCR
- **Applies:** Applies to every 10DLC registration.
- **Canonical URL:** https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/operational/ops-324/

## Why this rule exists

An appeal argues that the registry got the existing record wrong, so editing that record first removes the thing being argued about — the registry treats the brand as a fresh claim and refuses the appeal, and the appeal window keeps running. The instinct after a rejection is to fix the data and appeal in the same sitting, which is the exact order that destroys the appeal: resubmitting corrected data and appealing an unchanged record are two different remedies and you get to use one.

## How to fix it

Decide first which remedy applies: resubmit when the data was wrong, appeal when the data is right and the decision is not. If you are appealing, leave legal name, entity type, tax ID and issuing country exactly as submitted until the appeal completes. Done when the appeal is filed against a record that has not been touched since the decision.

## Example of a compliant value

```text
Appealing: brandChanges is empty — the record stays exactly as the registry refused it.
```

## Common mistakes

- The lock covers the appeal window as well as the moment before it: an update sent while the appeal is open is refused, and support cannot reopen it for you.

## Notes

Absorbs OPS-325, which states the during-appeal half of the same lock; the fix is identical for both. Distinct from BRD-044, which reports what an identity edit costs on any brand — this rule reports what it destroys on an appealing one, and only fires when an appeal is part of the submission.