TEMPLATE APPROVAL GUIDE
How to get WhatsApp templates approved.
What Meta checks, how categories work, the character limits, the reasons templates get rejected, and how to fix them.
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Illustrative example. Names and details are made up.
LIMITS
The format.
| Part | Rule |
|---|---|
| Header | Optional. Text up to 60 characters with at most one variable, or an image, video, document or location. |
| Body | Required. Up to 1,024 characters. Every variable needs a sample value. |
| Footer | Optional. Up to 60 characters. No variables. |
| Buttons | Up to 10 in total, including up to 2 website links, 1 phone number and 1 copy-code button. Button text up to 25 characters. |
| Variables | Numbered {{1}}, {{2}} in order. Not at the very start or end of the body. Use enough plain text around them. |
| Review time | Meta usually reviews within 24 hours. |
CATEGORIES
The three categories.
Anything that promotes
Offers, launches, cart and browse reminders, win-back, event invites, review requests and newsletters. Charged at the highest rate. Needs marketing consent. Not delivered to US numbers.
Updates the customer expects
About a specific order, booking, account, payment or request. No promotional wording, or Meta will reclassify it as marketing.
One-time passcodes
Meta supplies the wording. You choose options like the code expiry and a copy-code button.
Since April 2025, Meta automatically moves utility templates it judges to be marketing into the marketing category. You can appeal a category decision within 60 days.
REJECTIONS
Why templates get rejected, and the fix.
| Reason | Fix |
|---|---|
| Variable at the start or end | Move it inside a sentence: “Hi {{1}}, …” rather than “{{1}}, …”. |
| Variables out of order | Number them {{1}}, {{2}}, {{3}} with no gaps. |
| Too many variables, too little text | Add context around each variable so the message reads naturally. |
| Wrong category | Remove promotional wording from utility templates, or submit as marketing. |
| Asking for sensitive information | Don’t ask for card numbers, passwords or government ID numbers. Link to a secure page. |
| Duplicate of an existing template | Change the wording or reuse the approved template. |
| Breaks the WhatsApp Business Messaging or Commerce Policy | Some products and services are restricted or banned. Check the policy before you write. |
| Formatting errors | Mismatched braces, or special characters such as #, $ or % inside a variable. |
EXAMPLES
Good and not so good.
Clear utility
Hi {{1}}, order {{2}} has shipped with {{3}}. Expected delivery: {{4}}.
About one order. No promotion.
Utility that will be reclassified
Hi {{1}}, order {{2}} has shipped! Use code {{3}} for 20% off your next order.
The discount makes it marketing. Split it into two templates.
KEEP IT HEALTHY
After approval.
- Meta watches how people respond. If many block or report a template, its quality rating drops and Meta can pause it.
- Keep marketing relevant and infrequent, and stop when someone opts out.
- Test with your own number before sending to customers.
Based on Meta’s WhatsApp Business Platform template documentation, checked September 2026. Meta’s rules change; check the current documentation before you submit.
WRITING TEMPLATES
Variables, buttons and category in one editor.
Set each part before you submit, so the review has fewer surprises.
Writing a template for Meta review
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