WhatsApp templates: approval, rejection and pauses
A template is a message you write once and Meta (the company behind WhatsApp) checks before you can use it in a campaign, or to message one customer from the Inbox after their 24-hour reply window has closed (see Inbox). You create it on the Templates page. Meta then decides whether it's allowed.
Who does what
| Who | What they do |
|---|---|
| You | Write the template and submit it from Templates. Fix and resubmit it if Meta rejects it. |
| Meta | Reviews every template, and decides whether it's approved, rejected or paused. Only Meta can approve a template. |
| Agentech | Sends your template to Meta, receives Meta's decision the moment it's made, shows it on Templates, and tells you. |
Templates belong to your WhatsApp Business account, not to one phone number. Numbers on the same account share their templates. A number on a different account has its own.
Which allowance a template uses
What a template uses depends on where you send it from, and its category decides how much:
- From Campaigns, or from the Inbox to reopen a closed chat: your Campaign messages.
- Through the Developer API: your API messages.
In both, a marketing template counts 5 per recipient, and a utility or authentication template counts 1. The two allowances never borrow from each other; both show on Usage, split by category. See Usage and plans.
"Meta changed my template's category"
Meta can move an approved template to another category (for example from utility to marketing), or count one message under another category. The difference moves inside the same allowance: a marketing message Meta counted as utility gives 4 back; a utility message Meta counted as marketing uses 4 more. The next sends count by the new category. Fix: nothing to do; if that allowance is running out, top it up.
The statuses
| Status on Templates | What it means | Can a campaign use it? |
|---|---|---|
| Pending review | Meta hasn't decided yet. Most templates are decided within a day. | No |
| Approved | Meta allowed it. | Yes |
| Rejected | Meta refused it. The reason Meta gave appears under the template. | No |
| Paused | Meta stopped it after approving it, usually because people reported or blocked messages sent with it. | No, until Meta reactivates it |
How you find out
You don't need to keep the Templates page open. When Meta approves, rejects or pauses a template, we tell the owner of the workspace straight away, the ways they ticked under Alerts in Settings (their devices, Telegram, email). The message names the template, says what Meta decided, includes Meta's reason when it gave one, and links to Templates. This works for templates you made in WhatsApp Manager too: the first time Meta decides about one, it's added to your Templates list with Meta's decision and reason, and the owner is told.
If a status on Templates looks out of date, press Sync from Meta. It asks Meta for every template on your number's WhatsApp Business account and makes the list match exactly what Meta has. Meta is the source of truth: a template Meta no longer has leaves the list, even if it said Approved before. This happens when a template is deleted in WhatsApp Manager, or when your number is reconnected on a different WhatsApp Business account. Templates belong to the account, not to the number, so they don't move with it. If Meta lists the template again later, Sync brings it back.
If Sync says it couldn't reach Meta, nothing in your list changed. Try again in a few minutes.
"Meta rejected your WhatsApp template"
Read Meta's reason under the template. Most rejections are one of these:
- Variables in the wrong place. A
{{1}}at the very start or end of the message, or two variables right next to each other. Put some words around each one. - Promotional wording in a template that isn't marketing. Pick the category that matches what the message actually does.
- Missing context. Meta has to understand the message without knowing what the variables will hold. Add a few words explaining what each one is.
- Too many variables for the message's length. WhatsApp Manager shows "This template has too
many variables for its length". A short message with many
{{1}},{{2}}… reads like a blank form. Write more words around the variables, or use fewer of them.
Fix: press Edit next to the template, change the message, and press Send for review. It goes back to Pending review, and we'll tell you when Meta decides. You don't need to delete it or pick a new name.
"Meta paused your WhatsApp template"
Meta pauses a template when too many recipients report or block the messages sent with it. Nothing on our side can lift a pause. Meta reactivates the template on its own, and when it does we tell you it's approved again. Until then, send campaigns with a different approved template, and look at who you're sending to and what the message offers. You can also press Edit and change the message; Meta reviews the change.
Editing a template
Press Edit next to a template that is Approved, Rejected or Paused. You can change the message, and the category unless the template is approved. Press Send for review. What Meta allows:
- The name and the language never change. To use a different one, create a new template.
- An approved template keeps its category. It can be edited once a day, and at most 10 times in 30 days.
- The header, footer and buttons stay as they are. Only the message changes.
"Meta is still reviewing this template. You can edit it once Meta has decided."
The template is Pending review, and Meta doesn't allow edits until it decides. Fix: wait for Meta's decision (we'll tell you), then press Edit.
"Meta doesn't let an approved template change category. Create a new template instead."
Fix: keep the category and change only the message, or create a new template with the category you want.
"Meta no longer has this template. Press Sync from Meta to update your list."
The template was deleted in WhatsApp Manager. Fix: press Sync from Meta, and it leaves your list. Create a new template if you still need it.
Templates when you have more than one number
A Number list sits at the top of Templates. With one number, it's already picked. With two or more, pick the number you're working on. The list shows that number's templates. New template creates the template on that number's WhatsApp Business account, and Sync from Meta checks that account. Your choice is remembered next time.
If two of your numbers are on the same WhatsApp Business account, switching between them shows the same templates. That's expected, and the page says so under the list: "Templates are shared by numbers on the same WhatsApp Business account."
A campaign can only send a template from its own number's account. See WhatsApp campaigns.
With no WhatsApp number connected, Templates shows no templates, only a note to connect WhatsApp first.
My approved templates disappeared after I reconnected WhatsApp
The Templates page lists only the templates on the WhatsApp Business account your number is on now. If you reconnected the number on a different account, for example after removing it from its old account and setting it up again in the WhatsApp Business app, the old account's templates stay with that account. Fix: open WhatsApp Manager, pick the account your number is on, and check its Message templates. Then create the templates you need again from Templates and wait for Meta to approve them.
When to email us
Email us if a template has said Pending review for more than two days after pressing Sync, or if Meta's reason doesn't make sense to you. Include the template's name and language. For the address and what else to send, see When to email us.