WhatsApp message templates: categories, approval rules, and examples that pass

A template is a message you have pre-registered with Meta so you can send it to a customer who has not messaged you recently. Everything businesses find confusing about WhatsApp messaging comes back to this one idea, so it is worth understanding properly rather than by trial and error.

Why templates exist at all

WhatsApp separates conversations into two states.

When a customer messages you, a 24-hour window opens. Inside it you can reply freely, in your own words, as many times as the conversation needs.

Outside that window, you can only send a template. The template was reviewed before you sent it, which is how WhatsApp keeps a personal messaging app from filling with unsolicited business messages.

So the practical rule is simple: replies are free-form, outreach is templated.

The three categories

Every template is submitted under one category, and the category decides both the review standard and what Meta charges for the conversation it opens.

Utility templates relate to a transaction the customer already entered into: an order confirmation, a shipping update, an appointment reminder, a payment receipt. They are the easiest to get approved because the customer is expecting them.

Authentication templates deliver one-time passcodes. They have a fixed structure and cannot carry marketing content or links in the body.

Marketing templates are everything else: offers, launches, re-engagement, newsletters, abandoned-cart nudges. They get the most scrutiny, and they are the ones that get rejected.

The category is not a label you choose for pricing convenience. Meta reviews whether the content matches the category and will recategorise or reject a promotional message submitted as utility. Submitting "Your order is ready — and here's 20% off your next one" as utility fails on the second half of the sentence.

What review actually checks

Review is largely automated with human escalation, and it looks at a handful of things.

Does the content match the declared category? The most common rejection.

Are the variables safe? A template is text with numbered placeholders like {{1}}. Review rejects templates that are almost entirely variable, because it cannot tell what will actually be sent. A template reading {{1}} {{2}} {{3}} gives the reviewer nothing to assess.

Is the formatting correct? Variables must be sequential and cannot sit at the very start or very end of the body. Curly braces must be doubled. Stray spaces inside the braces break it.

Is the language abusive, misleading or prohibited? The policy bars the obvious categories, and also things like implying an affiliation you do not have.

Does it read as a message a real business would send? Vague, keyword-stuffed or spam-shaped text fails even when nothing specific is wrong with it.

Examples that pass

Here is a utility template for an order confirmation.

Hi {{1}}, your order {{2}} is confirmed.
We'll let you know as soon as it ships.
Estimated delivery: {{3}}.

It works because the surrounding text carries the meaning, the variables are clearly a name, an order number and a date, and none of them start or end the body.

An appointment reminder, also utility:

Reminder: your appointment with {{1}} is on {{2}} at {{3}}.
Reply RESCHEDULE if you need a different time.

And a marketing template that clears review:

Hi {{1}}, our winter collection is live.
New arrivals in wool and cotton, with free delivery over ₹1,500 this week.
Tap below to browse, or reply STOP to opt out of offers.

Note what it does: it identifies the sender's context, describes something concrete, and offers a way out. The opt-out line is not required in every market but it consistently helps a marketing template through.

Examples that get rejected

{{1}} {{2}}

Nothing to review.

Hi {{1}}, click here now!!! Limited time only!!!

Spam-shaped, no substance, no indication of who is sending it.

Your order has shipped. Use code SAVE20 for 20% off your next purchase.

Submitted as utility, this is a marketing message with a tracking update stapled to the front.

Hi, we have an update for you.

Too vague to assess, and it tells the customer nothing.

Practical habits that keep templates working

Write the plain-text version first. If the message does not make sense with example values typed into the variables, the reviewer cannot approve it.

Keep a small library and reuse it. Five well-written templates covering your real cases beat forty near-duplicates, and each edit means resubmission.

Treat rejection as feedback about category, not English. Most rejections are category mismatches wearing a different hat.

Watch your quality rating alongside approvals. A template can be approved and still damage you if it goes to people who never opted in. Approval is Meta saying the wording is acceptable, not that the audience is.

Keep opt-in records. If your quality rating drops and you need to work out why, the record of who opted in and when is the first thing you will want.

Where this fits with the rest of setup

Templates come after your number is connected and can be worked on while business verification is still running. If you have not got that far, start with the approval guide.

If you want a second pair of eyes on a template before you submit it, send it to us — we look at these every week.