WhatsApp message template approval: create, submit and fix a rejection

Once a customer writes to you, you can reply freely. But if you want to start the conversation, or too much time has passed since the last message, you need a pre-approved template. You write the template in WhatsApp Manager and submit it; Meta approves it.

Short answer

If you start the conversation, or more than 24 hours have passed since the customer's last message, you need a pre-approved template. You write the template in WhatsApp Manager and submit it; Chatinbox guides you on the right category and wording, and Meta approves it. If it is rejected, the reason is read, the text or category is fixed and it is submitted again.

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What you provide

What the message is for
The details that change (name, date, amount)
When it should be sent

What Chatinbox handles

Working out the right category and wording with you
Setting up variables within the rules
Reading a rejection and planning the fix with you

What Meta decides

Whether the template is approved
Whether the category is changed
Pausing a template after complaints

What this guide covers

The three template categories and when each applies
The most common reasons for rejection
How to fix a rejected template

Three categories

Service notice

Appointment reminder
Order and shipping updates
Payment and invoice notices

Authentication

One-time codes
Account verification messages

Marketing

Campaigns and discounts
New service announcements
Win-back messages

The category is not a free choice: trying to send promotional content under a service notice is one of the most common reasons for rejection. Meta can also reclassify a template itself.

Step by step

Be clear about the purpose

What does the message tell the customer — a reminder, a campaign, a code? The category follows from that answer.

Write the text and place the variables

Details that change, such as name, date or amount, go in as placeholders. A message cannot begin or end with a variable, and variables are numbered in order.

Submit it for approval

You submit the template from WhatsApp Manager and Meta takes it into review.

Meta decides

Watch the result

A template is approved, rejected, or sent to manual review. Review is usually quick; wording that raises a policy question can take longer.

Fix it if rejected

The stated reason is read, the text or the category is corrected, and the template is resubmitted. Sending the same text again unchanged does not work.

You submit the fix

Most common rejection reasons

Coming from the text

Promotional content filed under a service notice
Variables written incorrectly or out of order
A message that starts or ends with a variable
Text so generic that its purpose is unclear

Coming from policy

Restricted products and services
Templates paused after customer complaints
Misleading or pressuring wording

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Meta's template rules and category definitions can change. This page was checked on 17 August 2026.