Key takeaways
- Outside the 24-hour customer service window, you can send only approved templates, and only to customers who opted in.
- Any promotion makes a template marketing, even inside an order update.
- Meta's review can take up to 24 hours, and a rejected template can be edited and resubmitted, or appealed.
- Meta doesn't translate templates, so Arabic and English versions are separate templates.
- Meta charges templates by category and recipient country; since 1 October 2026, window replies are charged after 1,000 free per number a month.
What is a WhatsApp message template, and when do you need one?
A template is a message you write in advance and Meta approves, with variables such as the customer's name. You need one whenever your business starts the conversation, or 24 hours after the customer's last message.
| Part | Required? | Meta's limits |
|---|---|---|
| Header | Optional | Text up to 60 characters with one variable, or an image, video, GIF, document or location |
| Body | Required | Up to 1,024 characters, with several variables |
| Footer | Optional | Up to 60 characters |
| Buttons | Optional | Up to 10, with at most 2 website buttons and 1 phone button; labels up to 25 characters |
Variables go in double curly braces, named like {{first_name}} or numbered like {{1}}, and each needs a sample value when you submit. Meta doesn't translate templates, so Arabic and English versions are separate templates that can share a name.
How does Meta categorise templates: marketing, utility or authentication?
You choose the category, and Meta checks it against the content. The category decides how Meta charges, so a wrong choice ends in a rejection or a changed category.
| Category | Use it for | Example | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing | Promotion, awareness and bringing customers back | A back-in-stock alert, a birthday greeting | Mixed or unclear content is marketing, even if the customer asked for it |
| Utility | Following up a customer's order, booking or account | An order confirmation, a shipping update, a booking confirmation | No promotion at all, and specific to that customer |
| Authentication | One-time passcodes only | A login code | Built from the Template Library with a code button; no links, media or emojis |
Since 9 April 2025, a template you submit as utility that Meta judges to be marketing is approved as marketing. Meta also rechecks approved templates and moves a utility template to marketing after one day's notice.
A business that keeps labelling promotions as utility gets a warning first, and from then on recategorisation comes with no notice. Then Meta caps its utility messages for at least 7 days, and next moves all its utility templates to marketing for 7 days, or 30 for repeats.
An order update with a discount in it is a marketing template, and Meta charges it as one.
Why does Meta reject WhatsApp templates?
Meta most often rejects WhatsApp templates for badly formatted variables, requests for sensitive data, policy breaches, duplicates and the wrong category. It reviews each template with automated systems and people, and a decision can take up to 24 hours.
| Reason | What it looks like | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| Badly formatted variables | A missing brace, {{1}} then {{3}}, or #, $ or % in a variable | Number variables in order, with no symbols |
| A variable at the start or end | A body that opens or closes with {{1}} | Start and end with fixed words |
| Too many variables for the length | One short line carrying five variables | Cut variables or add fixed text |
| Asking for sensitive data | A full card number, national ID number or bank account number | Never request them in a template |
| Policy breaches | Threats of legal action or public shaming, or goods the Commerce Policy bans | Read WhatsApp's policies before writing |
| A duplicate | Same body and footer as an existing template | Reword it, or reuse the existing template |
| Wrong category | A one-time code sent as a utility template | Use an authentication template from the Template Library |
If your template is rejected
- Read the reason in Business Support Home or in Meta's email.
- Edit and resubmit the template, or appeal with sample values attached; Meta decides appeals within 24 hours.
- If the dispute is about the category, request a category review in WhatsApp Manager within 60 days.
- After approval, watch the quality rating: a low-quality template is paused for 3 hours, then 6, and disabled the third time.
The Leak Audit is free, with no obligation. Within 72 hours of the discovery meeting and receipt of the agreed information, we map your current journey, show the gaps the evidence supports, prioritise next steps and demonstrate one agreed workflow in a test environment. You keep the report. If you don't need HumAI, the audit says so.
Get your free Leak AuditWhen can you send a template, and to whom?
You can send a template at any time, but only to customers who gave you their number and agreed to hear from your business. When a customer messages you, or calls where WhatsApp calling is available, a 24-hour customer service window opens and renews with each message; inside it, your team replies without templates.
- Name your business in the opt-in wording, and honour every opt-out request, on WhatsApp or off it.
- Meta recommends separate opt-in by message type, such as offers and order updates, to reduce blocks.
- Customers can stop your marketing messages in WhatsApp's Offers and announcements setting, and Meta then won't deliver them.
Meta charges templates by category (marketing, utility or authentication) and the recipient's country. Since 1 October 2026, it also charges replies inside the 24-hour window after a monthly free tier of 1,000 per business number. Utility templates sent while a window is open are charged too. Meta's pricing page has the current rate card.
Which customer message templates can you adapt and submit?
Adapt these examples and submit them for Meta's review; none is an approved template. The category shown is the likely one, and Meta decides.
| Moment | Likely category | Gulf Arabic | In English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appointment reminder | Utility | هلا {{name}}، تذكير بموعدك في [اسم النشاط] بكرة {{date}} الساعة {{time}}. تقدر تأكد أو تغيّر من الأزرار تحت. الأزرار: بحضر، أبي أغيّر الموعد | Hi {{name}}, a reminder of your appointment at [business name] tomorrow, {{date}} at {{time}}. Use the buttons below to confirm or change it. Buttons: I'll be there, Change time |
| Order shipped | Utility | هلا {{name}}، طلبك رقم {{order_number}} طلع مع شركة الشحن، ومتوقع يوصلك {{date}}. تتبّع الشحنة من الزر تحت. الزر: تتبّع الطلب | Hi {{name}}, your order {{order_number}} is on its way and should arrive by {{date}}. Track it with the button below. Button: Track order |
| Cash-on-delivery order check | Utility | هلا {{name}}، وصلنا طلبك رقم {{order_number}} والدفع عند الاستلام. نأكده ونرسله لك؟ الأزرار: أكّد الطلب، أبي أعدّل | Hi {{name}}, we've received your order {{order_number}}, cash on delivery. Shall we confirm and ship it? Buttons: Confirm order, I need a change |
| Property viewing confirmed | Utility | هلا {{name}}، تأكد موعد معاينة {{property}} يوم {{date}} الساعة {{time}}، وبيستقبلك {{agent_name}} من فريقنا. الأزرار: تمام، أبي موعد ثاني | Hi {{name}}, your viewing of {{property}} is confirmed for {{date}} at {{time}}, and {{agent_name}} from our team will meet you. Buttons: See you then, Another time |
| Ready for pickup | Utility | هلا {{name}}، طلبك رقم {{order_number}} جاهز للاستلام من فرع {{branch}}، ونحتفظ لك فيه لين {{date}}. ولو تحتاج وقت أكثر رد علينا هنا. | Hi {{name}}, your order {{order_number}} is ready to collect at our {{branch}} branch. We'll hold it until {{date}}; reply here if you need more time. |
| Back in stock, for customers who opted in to offers | Marketing | هلا {{name}}، {{product}} اللي سألت عنه رجع متوفر في [اسم المتجر]. تبي نحجز لك واحد؟ الأزرار: إي احجزه لي، أوقف العروض | Hi {{name}}, the {{product}} you asked about is back in stock at [store name]. Shall we set one aside for you? Buttons: Yes, hold one, Stop offers |
| Opt-in confirmation | Utility | هلا {{name}}، شكرًا على موافقتك. بتوصلك تحديثات طلباتك ومواعيدك من [اسم النشاط] على واتساب، وتقدر توقفها أي وقت إذا كتبت إيقاف. | Hi {{name}}, thanks for confirming. You'll now get order and appointment updates from [business name] on WhatsApp. Reply STOP at any time to opt out. |
Double curly braces mark variables filled in per customer; square brackets mark fixed text you replace before submitting. The words after "Buttons:" are button labels, which you add as buttons, not in the message body.
For customers in Egypt, adapt the wording and submit it as its own template. Meta's language list has Arabic (EGY) and Arabic (UAE) codes besides Arabic.
Where does HumAI fit, and when don't you need us?
HumAI prepares templates as part of AI Customer Operations, for the reminders and order updates sent after the 24-hour window closes. We write each template in Arabic and English, choose its category by Meta's guidelines, submit it with sample values and rework any rejection. You approve the wording, Meta approves the template, and every reply comes back to your team.
For offers to opted-in customers, the same template work runs inside our WhatsApp campaigns, and you approve every campaign.
If your number isn't on the official platform yet, we start by setting up the WhatsApp Business API and moving the number.
You may not need us. If your team only answers customers who message you, within 24 hours, you need no templates. For a few delivery-update or payment-reminder templates, the Template Library in WhatsApp Manager has ready-made utility templates you can set up yourself.
Questions owners ask
How long does WhatsApp template approval take?
Meta says a template decision can take up to 24 hours, and an appeal is decided within 24 hours. An approved template starts as Active with quality pending, until customer feedback rates it.
Can I edit a template after Meta approves it?
Yes, up to 10 times in 30 days and once in any 24 hours. You can't change an approved template's category, and each edit goes through Meta's review again before the template is approved.
How many WhatsApp templates can a business have?
Up to 250 per account while your business portfolio is unverified. Once the portfolio is verified and a number has an approved display name, each account can hold up to 6,000. Every language version counts as a separate template.
Can I use the same template for customers in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt?
Yes. A template isn't tied to a country, but Meta charges each message by the recipient's country code, so one template can cost differently in Riyadh, Dubai and Cairo. Check Meta's rate card per market, and consider a separate Egyptian Arabic version.
Can a WhatsApp template include a voice note?
No. Meta's template components page lists text, image, video, GIF, document and location headers and never mentions audio. A voice note is a normal message, not a template. It can go out only while a customer service window is open, after the customer has messaged you.
Sources
- Meta for Developers: Message templates
- Meta: Template categorization guidelines
- Meta for Developers: Template review and common rejection reasons
- Meta: Template components and quick-reply buttons
- Meta for Developers: Template management and edit limits
- Meta: Template quality rating
- Meta for Developers: Template pausing
- Meta for Developers: Template Library
- Meta for Developers: Supported template languages
- Meta for Developers: Marketing templates and customer preferences
- Meta for Developers: Send messages and the customer service window
- Meta for Developers: Get opt-in for WhatsApp
- Meta for Developers: Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform and rate cards
- WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy
- Meta for Developers: Audio messages