What you need before you start
Four things: a Meta Business Portfolio (the container for your business assets), a business you can verify, a phone number that is not currently active on WhatsApp, and a display name you are willing to have reviewed.
- A Meta Business Portfolio — created at business.facebook.com. This owns the WhatsApp Business Account.
- Business verification — documents that prove your legal entity, such as a registration certificate, utility bill or tax document.
- A phone number — it must be able to receive an SMS or voice call, and must not be in use on WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business App.
- A display name — what customers see. It must relate to your business and follow Meta’s naming rules.
The number requirement trips up the most people. A landline can work if it receives calls, but a number already running WhatsApp cannot be added until it is removed from the app.
The setup, in order
- 1
Create or confirm your Meta Business Portfolio
Every WhatsApp Business Account lives inside a Business Portfolio. If your company already has one for Facebook Pages or Ads, use it rather than creating a second — two portfolios is a common cause of "my assets are in the wrong place" later.
- 2
Verify your business
Submit your legal business name, address and a supporting document. Verification is what unlocks the higher messaging limits and is required for an official business account.
- 3
Add and confirm your phone number
Register the number against your WhatsApp Business Account and confirm the code. Do this last if the number is currently on the Business App, because the app stops working the moment the number moves.
- 4
Submit your display name
The display name is reviewed. Keep it close to your real trading name, do not stuff it with keywords, and expect a rejection if it looks like a marketing slogan.
- 5
Send your first template for approval
Template approval is a separate review from business verification. Until a template is approved you cannot message a customer outside an open service window.
Why you start with a low messaging limit
New WhatsApp Business Accounts begin on a low daily messaging limit and earn higher limits by sending good-quality messages. The limit rises automatically as you build a history of delivered messages and low block rates — it is not something you request and wait for.
This is deliberate platform design: it stops a brand-new number from blasting a database on day one. Businesses that plan a large launch should start sending early, even at modest volume, so the limit has time to grow before the campaign.
Message quality ratings are affected by recipients blocking or reporting you. A single badly targeted campaign can suppress your limit, which is why opt-in discipline is a commercial issue, not just a compliance one.
The three things that most often get rejected
Each rejection is fixable, and resubmission is normal rather than a sign of failure. Read the rejection reason literally: Meta states which rule was not met, and rewording to the rule clears most cases on the second attempt.
- Display name mismatch — the name does not clearly relate to the verified legal entity.
- Business verification documents — name or address that does not match the submitted business details.
- Template content — promotional wording submitted in a utility category, or a template that has no clear reason to be sent.
Common questions
Platform rules and pricing on this page are Meta’s and can change. Meta updates WhatsApp pricing only on the first day of a quarter and gives advance notice, but always confirm current rates against Meta’s own documentation before committing a budget. This page was reviewed on 26 September 2026.
Related reading
API vs Business App
The WhatsApp Business App is a free phone-based app for a single operator with no API, while the WhatsApp Business Platform (often called the WhatsApp Business API) is a paid, multi-agent, programmable service built for teams, automation and broadcast at scale.
Template approval
WhatsApp message templates are reviewed against the category you submit them in — the most common rejection is a marketing-flavoured template submitted as utility, and the fix is to describe a specific action the customer already took rather than a reason to buy.