Guides
Any message you send outside the 24-hour service window must use a template Meta has approved in advance. Review is largely automated and usually fast, but rejections are common for a small set of avoidable reasons — most often the wrong category, or variables placed where Meta does not allow them.
Utility covers messages about a transaction the customer initiated. Authentication is one-time passcodes. Marketing is anything promotional, including a discount buried at the end of an otherwise transactional message. Labelling a marketing message as utility to save money is the most common rejection cause and, if it slips through, it drives the reports and blocks that lower your quality rating.
Almost all of these are fixable in a minute.
Approval is the low bar; a reply is the point.
| Your message | Category |
|---|---|
| Order confirmed, dispatched or delivered | Utility |
| Appointment reminder | Utility |
| Payment or invoice reminder | Utility |
| One-time passcode | Authentication |
| Discount, launch, festival offer | Marketing |
| Abandoned-cart nudge | Marketing |
| Reply within 24 hours of their message | No template needed |
Usually minutes to a few hours, though Meta gives no guarantee. Submit anything tied to a campaign date well in advance.
Meta does not allow a variable at the very start or very end of the body, or two variables adjacent with no text between them — the message must make sense even if a variable is empty.
Limited edits are allowed; substantial changes require a new template. Since automations reference template names, creating a new version is usually safer than editing in place.
Connect your number through Meta Embedded Signup, keep ownership of your WhatsApp Business Account, and pay Meta directly for messages — we never add a markup.