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 11 September 2026 3 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.
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.
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.
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.