Every WhatsApp Business message type and the rules for each

Last updated: September 2026.

WhatsApp isn't one channel. It's two, and the customer decides which one you're in.

If they messaged you in the last 24 hours, you can send almost anything, with no approval. If they didn't, every message has to be a template Meta approved in advance, and Meta decides whether it counts as marketing.

Key takeaways

• Every WhatsApp Business message is either a template, approved by Meta and sendable any time, or a free-form message, which needs no approval but only works within 24 hours of the customer's last message or call.
• Templates are marketing, utility, or authentication. Anything mixed or unclear counts as marketing.
• Beyond text, you get carousels, limited-time offers, coupon codes, catalogs, payments, reply buttons, lists, location requests, Flows (in-chat forms), and calls.
• Every message is subject to opt-in, messaging limits, quality ratings, and a per-person cap on marketing. WhatsApp doesn't deliver marketing templates to US numbers at all.
• Bots that serve your own business are fine. General-purpose AI assistants aren't.

How business messages work on WhatsApp

The WhatsApp Business Platform, often called the WhatsApp Business API, is how businesses message customers at scale. You can connect to it directly through Meta's Cloud API. It's separate from the WhatsApp Business app, which small businesses run from a phone. Either way, your messages land in the same app people use to talk to their friends and family, which is why Meta is strict about what you send.

Every WhatsApp Business message is one of two kinds: a template or a free-form message.

Templates

A WhatsApp message template is a message you write in advance and get approved by Meta. The wording is fixed, with blanks for the parts that change:

Hi {{first_name}}, your order {{order_number}} has shipped and should arrive {{delivery_date}}.

You fill in the blanks when you send it. Once it's approved, you can send it any time, including as the first message someone ever gets from you.

A marketing template.

Free-form messages (session messages)

A free-form message, also called a session message or non-template message, is anything you send without a template: text, photos, documents, voice notes, reply buttons, menus, product carousels, and forms. You write it on the spot, the way a support agent types a reply or a bot answers a question. No approval.

The catch is timing. You can only send one in the 24 hours after the customer last messaged or called you.

A free-form list message.

How the two fit together

Here's a typical order:

1. Maya orders. You send a utility template: "Thanks for order 4417. We'll message you when it ships."
2. She replies, "Can I get it faster?" That opens the window.
3. You answer free-form with a list of shipping options. She picks one. Each message from her resets the 24 hours.
4. Three days later it ships. The window closed long ago, so the update is a template again.

Templates handle everything you start. Free-form handles everything the customer starts. So design your templates to get a reply, because a reply opens the easy channel.

The 24-hour customer service window

The customer service window, often called WhatsApp's 24-hour rule, is the 24 hours after a customer's last message or call. While it's open, you can send any message type, with no template and no approval. Every new message or call from the customer resets it to a full 24 hours. Once it closes, you're back to templates until they get in touch again.

WhatsApp template categories

Every template is marketing, utility, or authentication. The category decides how hard Meta reviews it and which formats it can use.

Meta reviews every template before you can use it, which takes up to 24 hours.

A marketing template: a personal offer with a code and a link.

How Meta tells utility from marketing

Utility has to pass two tests. It can't be promotional, and it has to relate to something specific the customer did, like an order or an account change, or be essential, like a fraud alert.

• Mixed content is marketing. One promo line in an order update makes the whole template marketing. So does a body that's nothing but "Congratulations!" or a single blank. Cart reminders are marketing even when the customer asked for them.
• Meta changes the category for you. Submit something as utility that reads as marketing and it's approved as marketing. Meta also re-checks approved templates and can move them later.
• Only authentication templates can carry passcodes.

Keep utility templates boring on purpose, and send promotions as their own templates.

What templates can look like

A standard template has up to four parts: an optional header (text, an image, a video, a document, or a map pin), the body, an optional footer line, and buttons. Buttons can send a quick reply, open a web page, start a call, copy a code, or open a form or your catalog.

Mock yours up in the WhatsApp preview generator before you submit it.

Beyond the standard layout, Meta has formats built for specific jobs. Most are marketing-only.

Media card carousel

Your message, then up to 10 cards the customer swipes through, each with an image or video, a short description, and buttons. Link buttons open the browser, which takes the customer out of WhatsApp. Marketing only.

A media card carousel.

Product card carousel

The same swipeable layout, but each card pulls a product's image, name, and price from your catalog. A View button keeps the customer in WhatsApp, where they can add it to a cart and order, and you get the order back as data. Use a link button instead and they leave WhatsApp, and no order comes back. If you have a catalog, the View button is the better choice.

A product card carousel.

Limited-time offer

A marketing template with an expiry countdown and an offer code. On WhatsApp Web and desktop, people don't see the offer, only a note that a message arrived.

A limited-time offer.

Coupon code

A marketing template with a button that copies a code to the clipboard, ready to paste at checkout. It doesn't work on WhatsApp Web.

A coupon code template.

Catalog and multi-product templates

A catalog template is a marketing message with a View catalog button that opens your catalog in the chat. A multi-product template shows up to 30 products, grouped into sections, so the customer can build a cart without leaving WhatsApp. Both need a product catalog connected to your WhatsApp account.

A multi-product template and the list it opens.

Order and payment templates

In Brazil and India, templates can carry an itemized order and let the customer pay without leaving the chat.

An order details template in Brazil.

Call permission request

A message asking the customer if you can call them on WhatsApp. You need their permission before you call, and you can ask with a marketing or utility template, or free-form inside the window.

A call permission request.

Authentication templates

Authentication templates have the strictest rules. The wording is fixed: "code is your verification code," plus an optional security warning and expiry note. No links, images, or emojis.

What you choose is how the code gets into your app:

On iOS 26 and later, the code also shows up as a keyboard suggestion, with no work on your side.

The code only shows in full on the customer's main phone, and a code that can't be delivered quickly is dropped rather than arriving late.

An authentication template with one-tap autofill.

Free-form messages

Inside the window, you can send almost anything without a template. It falls into four groups:

• Everyday messages: text with link previews, photos, videos, voice notes, documents, stickers, a location pin, a contact card, or an emoji reaction.
• Interactive messages: up to three reply buttons, a list that opens a menu, a link button instead of a raw URL, a button that asks for the customer's location, a swipeable carousel, or a button that starts a call. In India, you can also send a delivery address form.
• Shopping messages: one product or a selection from your catalog, a product carousel, or a button that opens the whole catalog. The customer can build a cart and send it to you in the chat.
• Forms: a WhatsApp Flow, covered next.

You can also show typing indicators, mark messages as read, and quote the customer's message in your reply. They make a business chat feel like a person is there.

Reply buttons.

A location request, from ask to answer.

Free-form messages can be promotional, too. If a customer is already talking to you, you can make them an offer without a marketing template.

WhatsApp Flows

A Flow is a form that opens inside the chat. It can run over several screens, with text fields, dropdowns, date pickers, checkboxes, opt-ins, and uploads, and it can show or hide parts based on earlier answers. The customer never leaves WhatsApp, and the answers come back to you as data. Flows are the right tool for bookings, sign-ups, lead capture, surveys, and support intake.

You send a Flow one of two ways. Outside the window, it's a template with a Flow button, so it needs approval. Inside the window, it's a free-form message with a button that opens it.

Meta's template library has ready-made Flow templates for customer feedback and failed deliveries.

Form templates from Meta's template library, built on Flows.

WhatsApp calls

Customers can call your business from WhatsApp any time. Their call opens or refreshes the 24-hour window, whether you pick up or not.

Calling them takes permission. You get it when you send a call permission request, when they call you and you've turned on callback permission, or when they grant it from your business profile. They choose temporary permission, which lasts 7 days, or permanent, which lasts until they take it back. Meta limits how often you can ask and how many calls you can make, and your call only refreshes the window if they answer.

You can also put a Call on WhatsApp button under a message so they can call you in one tap. Calls don't work in groups.

A call button message.

Other ways to send

• Marketing Messages API (formerly Marketing Messages Lite). A second way to send marketing templates, with delivery tuned for engagement, GIF headers, and benchmarks against similar businesses.
• Direct Send. Send utility messages without creating templates first. Meta generates a matching template behind the scenes.
• Groups. Businesses with an Official Business Account can message small groups of up to 8 people, who join from an invite link. Groups take text, media, and templates, but not interactive messages, authentication templates, shopping messages, or calls. Write separate templates for groups, since template metrics don't cover them.
• Meta Business Agent. Meta's own AI agent, which answers customers inside the window for you.
• Usernames. WhatsApp is rolling out usernames for customers and businesses. When a customer turns one on, you may get a business-scoped user ID instead of their phone number.

Your business identity

People decide whether to trust a message partly on who it's from.

• Display name. Your business name, shown on your profile and, once verified, at the top of chats.
• Business verification. Verifying your business with Meta raises your messaging limit from 250 to 2,000, and it's required for an Official Business Account.
• Official Business Account. A blue checkmark beside your name, and a number people can find in WhatsApp search. To qualify, you need a verified business, an approved display name, two-step verification, and at least 30 days on the platform.

The rules that apply to every WhatsApp message

Opt-in

You need someone's phone number and permission before you message them. The opt-in has to name your business and make clear what they're agreeing to. It doesn't have to mention WhatsApp, as long as it meets local law, so a checkbox on your website, in your app, or at checkout works.

Customers control your marketing from inside WhatsApp, under Offers and announcements. They can mark it Interested or Not interested, or stop it altogether. Once they stop, your marketing templates to them fail. Utility and authentication messages still arrive.

Messaging limits

Your messaging limit is how many different people you can start conversations with in a rolling 24 hours. It belongs to your business portfolio, so every phone number you have shares it.

Replies inside an open window don't count, so support conversations never touch your limit. A campaign to 5,000 new customers in your first week will. Verify your business before you plan your first campaign.

Quality ratings and paused templates

Meta rates each template green, yellow, or red based on how people react: blocks, reports, and low read rates pull it down. Drop to red and the template is paused for 3 hours, then 6, and disabled the third time.

New templates, templates coming back from a pause, and templates without a green rating can also be paced: Meta sends to part of your audience first and holds the rest while feedback comes in. If the feedback is bad, the template is paused and the held messages are dropped.

Per-user marketing limits

WhatsApp also caps how many marketing templates each person gets from all businesses combined. There's no published number. If your message hits the cap, it fails, so wait a day before trying that person again. Marketing sent inside an open window doesn't count.

No marketing templates to US numbers

As of September 2026, WhatsApp doesn't deliver marketing templates to US phone numbers at all. Utility templates, authentication templates, and free-form replies still go through. In the US, treat WhatsApp as a support and conversation channel, not a marketing one.

What you can't send

WhatsApp's Business Messaging Policy bans promoting or selling firearms, drugs, adult products, dating services, multi-level marketing, payday loans and debt collection, real or virtual currency offerings, and anything fraudulent or misleading, among others. Political parties, politicians, and campaigns can't use the platform at all.

A few of those, like alcohol, online gambling, and over-the-counter drugs, are allowed in specific countries, for people over 18, with no in-chat sales.

The policy also covers what customers tell you. Don't ask for full card numbers, bank account numbers, or ID numbers in the chat, don't share one customer's conversation with another, and publish a privacy policy.

AI chatbots

A bot that serves your own business, like a support assistant or an order tracker, is fine. What Meta bans is offering a general-purpose AI assistant as the product itself, except where the law requires it.

Any bot needs a clear way to reach a person.

What happens when you break the rules

Meta's enforcement steps up with repeat problems:

1. A 1- or 3-day block on sending templates
2. A 5-, 7-, or 30-day block on sending anything
3. An account lock, lifted only by appeal
4. A permanent ban

Severe harm, like scams or selling illegal drugs, skips the steps and ends in immediate removal.

Rules by country

Which WhatsApp message type to use

What each message type costs is covered in WhatsApp pricing, explained, and what changes on October 1, 2026 is in WhatsApp pricing changes on October 1, 2026.

Getting a template approved

You submit each template with a name, a category, a language, and a sample value for each variable. Each language is its own version of the template, so a template in five languages is five submissions.

Variables come in two styles. Named variables look like {{first_name}}, and positional ones look like {{1}}, {{2}}. Positional is the default. These are the formatting problems that most often get a template rejected:

• A variable at the very start or end of the message
• Positional variables out of order, like {{1}}, {{2}}, {{5}}
• Too many variables for the length of the message
• Asking for sensitive details, like a full card number, or anything else the policies rule out

A template moves through these states in WhatsApp Manager:

Until your business portfolio is verified, each account can hold 250 templates; after verification, and once a phone number has an approved display name, it's 6,000. You can create 100 templates an hour. And a template that goes 12 months without being sent is archived automatically, then deleted 28 days later unless you restore it.

Limits by message type

Template parts and buttons

Map pin headers are for utility and marketing templates only.

With more than three buttons, the message shows two and puts the rest behind a See all options button.

With more than three buttons, the rest move behind See all options.

Special template formats

Free-form messages

Flows, calls, and groups

Delivery and expiry

Every template has a time-to-live, after which WhatsApp stops trying to deliver it:

A short expiry matters for anything time-bound. A pickup reminder that lands a day late is worse than no reminder.

Order isn't guaranteed either. Send three messages in a row and they may arrive in a different order. If the sequence matters, wait for each one to be delivered before sending the next.

WhatsApp Web and desktop

Sending speed

You can send one message every 6 seconds to the same person, with short bursts of up to 45. Past that, messages fail until you slow down, which mostly affects bots that send several messages in a row.

Across all your customers, each phone number can send up to 80 messages a second. A number that messages 100,000 or more people a day outside the window, on a portfolio with an unlimited limit and with medium quality or better, is upgraded to 1,000 a second automatically.

WhatsApp Business terms

Error codes worth knowing

Your engineers will see these when a message doesn't go through.

Sources

Every limit and rule here comes from Meta's documentation and WhatsApp's policies:

• Template categorization
• Template components
• Messaging limits
• Per-user marketing template limits
• Get opt-in for WhatsApp
• Message time-to-live
• Error codes
• WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy
• Meta Terms for WhatsApp Business Platform

Images: Meta, WhatsApp Business Platform documentation.