Guides
WhatsApp Message Templates: Categories, Examples and How to Get Them Approved
The three template categories and how Meta decides between them, ready-to-adapt examples, and the mistakes that get templates rejected.
By the wbm.link teamUpdated 14 September 2026 5 min read
On the WhatsApp Business API, any message that starts a conversation — an offer, an order update, a one-time password — has to use a template that Meta has approved in advance. Templates are how WhatsApp keeps business messaging from turning into spam, and they decide what each message costs. Get them right and approval takes minutes; get them wrong and your campaign waits.
When you need a template
When a customer messages you, a 24-hour window opens in which you can reply freely. Outside that window — or to message someone first — you need an approved template. Everything else, including answering questions during the window, is a normal message.
The three categories
| Category | What it is for | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | Promotions, awareness, sales and re-engagement | Festive offers, new arrivals, “we miss you” messages, event invitations |
| Utility | Non-promotional updates about something the customer did, or critical alerts | Order confirmed, payment received, appointment reminder, delivery update |
| Authentication | One-time passwords only | Login codes and account verification codes |
The category matters twice: it decides the price (in India, marketing messages cost about seven times as much as utility ones) and it decides how Meta reviews the template.
How Meta decides the category
You pick a category when you submit, but Meta has the final word. Since April 2025, a template submitted as utility that contains marketing content is approved as marketing. You can appeal within 60 days. Meta also re-checks templates that are already approved and can move them from utility to marketing.
Repeatedly mislabelling marketing as utility has consequences beyond price: Meta can warn the business, limit its utility messages and, in the end, restrict the account.
What a template is made of
| Part | What it can contain | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Header (optional) | Text, image, video, document or location | Text headers up to 60 characters, with one variable |
| Body | Your message, with variables like {{1}} | Up to 1,024 characters |
| Footer (optional) | A short line such as a sign-off | Up to 60 characters |
| Buttons (optional) | Quick replies, website links, a phone number | Up to 10, including at most 2 website and 1 phone button |
Variables are numbered placeholders — {{1}}, {{2}} — that you fill with each customer's details when you send. Every variable needs a sample value when you submit the template, so the reviewer can see what the real message will look like.
Buttons, media headers, list menus and carousels each have their own rules — and some can only be sent inside the 24-hour window, not as templates. Our guide to WhatsApp interactive messages covers every format and its limits.
WhatsApp Business API template variables: best practices
- Number them in order. Use {{1}}, {{2}}, {{3}} — never skip a number or repeat the order ({{1}} then {{3}}).
- Surround every variable with your own words. Meta rejects templates that start or end with a variable. “{{1}}, your order is ready” fails; “Hi {{1}}, your order is ready.” passes.
- Keep the ratio sensible. A short message with many variables looks like it could say anything. Put fixed wording around each one.
- Use variables for data, not for content. Names, order numbers, dates and amounts are fine. A variable that holds a whole sentence — or slips an offer into a utility template — defeats the point of review and puts the template at risk of rejection or re-categorisation.
- Give realistic samples. “Priya”, “#58213”, “15 October” — not “test”, “xyz” or “{{1}}”.
- Keep the placeholders plain. Write {{1}}, not {{#1}} or {{$1}} — Meta rejects special characters inside variables — and never use a variable for sensitive data like full card or ID numbers.
- Plan for empty values. WhatsApp does not accept a blank variable, so fill gaps in your contact list — a missing name or date — before you send.
WhatsApp Business API message template approval guidelines
Meta reviews every template against its policies and formatting rules. The guidelines that decide most approvals:
- Pick the category honestly. Utility templates must be non-promotional and about the customer's own order, account or booking, or an essential alert. Anything with an offer is marketing.
- Follow the component limits — a body of up to 1,024 characters, a text header and footer of up to 60 characters, and the button limits in the table above.
- Format variables correctly and give a sample for each one.
- Follow WhatsApp's Business and Commerce Policies — no prohibited products, no threatening or abusive wording, no requests for sensitive identifiers.
- Do not duplicate a template you already have with the same wording.
- Be ready to appeal. If you believe a decision is wrong, you can edit and resubmit, or request a review; Meta aims to decide within 24 hours.
Examples you can adapt
Utility: order update
“Hi {{1}}, your order {{2}} has been shipped and should reach you by {{3}}. Reply to this message if you have any questions.” — Samples: Rahul, #4821, Friday 14 November.
Utility: appointment reminder
“Hello {{1}}, this is a reminder of your appointment at {{2}} on {{3}}. Reply 1 to confirm or 2 to reschedule.” — with two quick-reply buttons: Confirm, Reschedule.
Marketing: festive offer
“Hi {{1}}, our Diwali sale is here 🪔 Get 20% off everything until 3 November. Tap below to see this week's deals.” — with a “View offers” website button and a “Stop promotions” quick reply.
Authentication: one-time password
Authentication templates use Meta's fixed wording — “{{1}} is your verification code” — with a copy-code or one-tap button. They cannot contain links, media or emojis.
For more, browse our free WhatsApp template library — ready-made templates for orders, appointments, payments, classes and offers, each in English and Hindi.
Write, submit and send templates in one place
wbm.link lets you write marketing, utility and authentication templates with variables and buttons, submit them to Meta, and use them in broadcasts and chatbots.
See broadcasts and templatesWhy templates get rejected
- Broken variables — mismatched curly braces, or variables out of order ({{1}} then {{3}}).
- Too many variables for too little text — a template that is mostly placeholders looks like it could say anything.
- Starting or ending with a variable — the body should open and close with your own words.
- Special characters inside variables, such as #, $ or %.
- Asking for sensitive information — full card numbers, ID numbers and similar.
- Threatening or abusive wording, including aggressive debt-collection language.
- A duplicate of a template you already have.
- Missing or unrealistic sample values for the variables.
Most of these can be caught before you submit: paste your template into the free WhatsApp template checker to see its likely category and any formatting problems.
How long approval takes
Meta reviews templates within 24 hours, and most are decided much faster. A business portfolio that has not completed business verification can hold up to 250 templates per WhatsApp Business Account; verified businesses can hold many more.