WhatsApp Business Platform > Cloud API

Cloud API Error Codes

The Cloud API is built on the Graph API, so if you are unfamiliar with handling Graph API error responses, see the Graph API error handling documentation.

In general, we recommend that you build your app's error handling logic around code values and details payload properties. These properties and their values are more indicative of the underlying error.

Code titles, which do not have a dedicated property in API error response payloads, are included as part of the message value. However, we recommend that you do not rely on titles for your error handling logic as titles will eventually be deprecated.

Receiving Errors: Synchronous and Asynchronous

Cloud API errors are returned either synchronously as a Graph API response, asynchronously via Webhook, or sometimes through both methods.

It is a good practice when working with Cloud API that you monitor both the Graph API response and the messages webhook for error handling. If you are subscribed to the messages webhook field, you will receive notification of errors as they occur for supported asynchronous error types.

Error Response Webhooks and Syntax

Cloud API errors can be surfaced in the following webhook objects:

Cloud API

entry.changes.value.errors
entry.changes.value.messages.errors

On-Premises API

errors

Error Response Syntax

{
  "error": {
    "message": "<MESSAGE>",
    "type": "<TYPE>",
    "code": <CODE>,
    "error_data": {
        "messaging_product": "whatsapp",
        "details": "<DETAILS>"
    },
    "error_subcode": <ERROR_SUBCODE>
    "fbtrace_id": "<FBTRACE_ID>"
  }
}

Error Response Contents

Property	Value Type	Description
`code`	Integer	Error code. We recommend that you build your app's error handling around error codes instead of subcodes or HTTP response status codes.
`details`	String	Error description and a description of the most likely reason for the error. May also contain information on how to address the error, such as which parameter is invalid or what values are acceptable.
`error_subcode`	Integer	Deprecated. Will not be returned in v16.0+ responses. Graph API subcode. Not all responses will include a subcode, so we recommend that you build your error handling logic around `code` and `details` properties instead.
`fbtrace_id`	String	Trace ID you can include when contacting Direct Support. The ID may help us debug the error.
`message`	String	Combination of the error code and its title. For example: `(#130429) Rate limit hit`.
`messaging_product`	String	Messaging product. This will always be the string `whatsapp` for Cloud API responses.
`type`	String	Error type.

Sample Response

{
  "error": {
    "message": "(#130429) Rate limit hit",
    "type": "OAuthException",
    "code": 130429,
    "error_data": {
        "messaging_product": "whatsapp", 
        "details": "Message failed to send because there were too many messages sent from this phone number in a short period of time"
    },
    "error_subcode": 2494055,
    "fbtrace_id": "Az8or2yhqkZfEZ-_4Qn_Bam"
  }
}

Error Codes

Authorization Errors

Code	Description	Possible Solutions	HTTP Status Code
`0` AuthException	We were unable to authenticate the app user.	Typically this means the included access token has expired, been invalidated, or the app user has changed a setting to prevent all apps from accessing their data. We recommend that you get a new access token.	`401` Unauthorized
`3` API Method	Capability or permissions issue.	Use the access token debugger to verify that your app has been granted the permissions required by the endpoint. See Troubleshooting.	`500` Internal Server Error
`10` Permission Denied	Permission is either not granted or has been removed.	Use the access token debugger to verify that your app has been granted the permissions required by the endpoint. See Troubleshooting. Ensure that the phone number used to set the business public key is allowlisted.	`403` Forbidden
`190` Access token has expired	Your access token has expired.	Get a new access token.	`401` Unauthorized
`200-299` API Permission	Permission is either not granted or has been removed.	Use the access token debugger to verify that your app has been granted the permissions required by the endpoint. See Troubleshooting.	`403` Forbidden

Throttling Errors

Code	Description	Possible Solutions	HTTP Status Code
`4` API Too Many Calls	The app has reached its API call rate limit.	Load the app in the App Dashboard and view the Application Rate Limit section to verify that the app has reached its rate limit. If it has, try again later or reduce the frequency or amount of API queries the app is making.	`400` Bad Request
`80007` Rate limit issues	The WhatsApp Business Account has reached its rate limit.	See WhatsApp Business Account Rate Limits. Try again later or reduce the frequency or amount of API queries the app is making.	`400` Bad Request
`130429` Rate limit hit	Cloud API message throughput has been reached.	The app has reached the API's throughput limit. See Throughput. Try again later or reduce the frequency with which the app sends messages.	`400` Bad Request
`131048` Spam rate limit hit	Message failed to send because there are restrictions on how many messages can be sent from this phone number. This may be because too many previous messages were blocked or flagged as spam.	Check your quality status in the WhatsApp Manager and see the Quality-Based Rate Limits documentation for more information.	`400` Bad Request
`131056` (Business Account, Consumer Account) pair rate limit hit	Too many messages sent from the sender phone number to the same recipient phone number in a short period of time.	Wait and retry the operation, if you intend to send messages to the same phone number. You can still send messages to a different phone number without waiting	`400` Bad Request
`133016` Account register deregister rate limit exceeded	Registration or Deregistration failed because there were too many attempts for this phone number in a short period of time	The business phone number is being blocked because it has reached its registration/deregistration attempt limit. Try again once the number is unblocked. See "Limitations" in the Registration document.	`400` Bad Request

Integrity Errors

Code Description Possible Solutions HTTP Status Code

Code	Description	Possible Solutions	HTTP Status Code
`368` Temporarily blocked for policies violations	The WhatsApp Business Account associated with the app has been restricted or disabled for violating a platform policy.	See the Policy Enforcement document to learn about policy violations and how to resolve them.	`403` Forbidden
`130497` Business account is restricted from messaging users in this country.	The WhatsApp Business Account is restricted from messaging to users in certain countries.	See WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy for details on allowed countries for messaging in your business category.	`403` Forbidden
`131031` Account has been locked	The WhatsApp Business Account associated with the app has been restricted or disabled for violating a platform policy, or we were unable to verify data included in the request against data set on the WhatsApp Business Account (e.g, the two-step pin included in the request is incorrect).	See the Policy Enforcement document to learn about policy violations and how to resolve them. You can also use the Health Status API, which may provide additional insight into the reason or reasons for the account lock.	`403` Forbidden

368

Temporarily blocked for policies violations

The WhatsApp Business Account associated with the app has been restricted or disabled for violating a platform policy.

See the Policy Enforcement document to learn about policy violations and how to resolve them.

403

Forbidden

130497

Business account is restricted from messaging users in this country.

The WhatsApp Business Account is restricted from messaging to users in certain countries.

See WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy for details on allowed countries for messaging in your business category.

403

Forbidden

131031

Account has been locked

The WhatsApp Business Account associated with the app has been restricted or disabled for violating a platform policy, or we were unable to verify data included in the request against data set on the WhatsApp Business Account (e.g, the two-step pin included in the request is incorrect).

See the Policy Enforcement document to learn about policy violations and how to resolve them.

You can also use the Health Status API, which may provide additional insight into the reason or reasons for the account lock.

403

Forbidden

Other Errors

Code Description Possible Solutions HTTP Status Code

Code	Description	Possible Solutions	HTTP Status Code
`1` API Unknown	Invalid request or possible server error.	Check the WhatsApp Business Platform Status page to see API status information. If there are no server outages, check the endpoint reference and verify that your request is formatted correctly and meets all endpoint requirements.	`400` Bad Request
`2` API Service	Temporary due to downtime or due to being overloaded.	Check the WhatsApp Business Platform Status page to see API status information before trying again.	`503` Service Unavailable
`33` Parameter value is not valid	The business phone number has been deleted.	Verify that the business phone number is correct.	`400` Bad Request
`100` Invalid parameter	The request included one or more unsupported or misspelled parameters.	See the endpoint's reference to determine which parameters are supported and how they are spelled. Ensure when setting the business public key, it is a valid 2048-bit RSA public key in PEM format. Ensure there is no mismatch between the phone number id you are registering and a previously stored phone number id. Ensure your parameter is under any length restriction for the type.	`400` Bad Request
`130472` User's number is part of an experiment	Message was not sent as part of an experiment.	See Marketing Message Experiment.	`400` Bad Request
`131000` Something went wrong	Message failed to send due to an unknown error. When setting a business public key, it either failed to calculate the signature, call the GraphQL endpoint, or the GraphQL endpoint returned an error.	Try again. If the error persists, open a Direct Support ticket.	`500` Internal Server Error
`131005` Access denied	Permission is either not granted or has been removed.	Use the access token debugger to verify that your app has been granted the permissions required by the endpoint. See Troubleshooting.	`403` Forbidden
`131008` Required parameter is missing	The request is missing a required parameter.	See the endpoint's reference to determine which parameters are required.	`400` Bad Request
`131009` Parameter value is not valid	One or more parameter values are invalid.	See the endpoint's reference to determine which values are supported for each parameter, and see Phone Numbers to learn how to add a phone number to a WhatsApp Business Account.	`400` Bad Request
`131016` Service unavailable	A service is temporarily unavailable.	Check the WhatsApp Business Platform Status page to see API status information before trying again.	`500` Internal Server Error
`131021` Recipient cannot be sender	Sender and recipient phone number is the same.	Send a message to a phone number different from the sender.	`400` Bad Request
`131026` Message Undeliverable	Unable to deliver message. Reasons can include: The recipient phone number is not a WhatsApp phone number. Sending an authentication template to a WhatsApp user who has a +91 country calling code (India). Authentication templates currently cannot be sent to WhatsApp users in India. Recipient has not accepted our new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Recipient using an old WhatsApp version; must use the following WhatsApp version or greater: Android: 2.21.15.15 SMBA: 2.21.15.15 iOS: 2.21.170.4 SMBI: 2.21.170.4 KaiOS: 2.2130.10 Web: 2.2132.6	Using a non-WhatsApp communication method, ask the WhatsApp user to: Confirm that they can actually send a message to your WhatsApp business phone number. Confirm that they have accepted our latest Terms of Service (Settings > Help, or Settings > Application information will prompt them to accept the latest terms/policies if they haven't done so already) Update to the latest version of the WhatsApp client.	`400` Bad Request
`131037` WhatsApp provided number needs display name approval before message can be sent.	The 555 business phone number used to send the request does not have an approved display name.	Change the 555 business phone number's display name. See our How to change your WhatsApp Business display name Help Center article to learn how.	`400` Bad Request
`131042` Business eligibility payment issue	There was an error related to your payment method.	See About Billing For Your WhatsApp Business Account and verify that you have set up billing correctly. Common problems: Payment account is not attached to a WhatsApp Business Account Credit line is over the limit Credit line (Payment Account) not set or active WhatsApp Business Account is deleted WhatsApp Business Account is suspended Timezone not set Currency not set MessagingFor request (On Behalf Of) is pending or declined Exceeded conversation free tier threshold without a valid payment method	`400` Bad Request
`131045` Incorrect certificate	Message failed to send due to a phone number registration error.	Register the phone number before trying again.	`500` Internal Server Error
`131047` Re-engagement message	More than 24 hours have passed since the recipient last replied to the sender number.	Send the recipient a business-initiated message using a message template instead.	`400` Bad Request
`131049` Meta chose not to deliver.	This message was not delivered to maintain healthy ecosystem engagement.	Do not retry immediately if you do receive this error code and suspect it is due to the limit. Instead, retry in increasing larger time increments until the message is delivered, since the limit may be in effect for differing periods of time. See Per-User Marketing Template Message Limits for additional information.	`400` Bad Request
`131051` Unsupported message type	Unsupported message type.	See Messages for supported message types before trying again with a supported message type.	`400` Bad Request
`131052` Media download error	Unable to download the media sent by the user.	We were unable to download media included in the WhatsApp user's message. For more information, refer to the `error.error_data.details` value in any messages webhooks triggered when this message was received. Ask the WhatsApp user to send you the media file using a non-WhatsApp method.	`400` Bad Request
`131053` Media upload error	Unable to upload the media used in the message.	We were unable to upload the media for one or more reasons, such as an unsupported media type. For more information, refer to the `error.error_data.details` value in any messages webhooks triggered when this message fails to send. We recommend that you inspect any media files that are causing errors and confirm that they are in fact supported. For example, in UNIX you can use file inspection via the command line to determine its MIME type: `file -I rejected-file.mov` You can then confirm if its MIME type is supported. See Supported Media Types.	`400` Bad Request
`131057` Account in maintenance mode	Buiness Account is in maintenance mode	The WhatsApp Business Account is in maintenance mode. One reason for this could be that the account is undergoing a throughput upgrade.	`500` Bad Request
`132000` Template Param Count Mismatch	The number of variable parameter values included in the request did not match the number of variable parameters defined in the template.	See Message Template Guidelines and make sure the request includes all of the variable parameter values that have been defined in the template.	`400` Bad Request
`132001` Template does not exist	The template does not exist in the specified language or the template has not been approved.	Make sure your template has been approved and the template name and language locale are correct. Please ensure you follow message template guidelines.	`404` Not Found
`132005` Template Hydrated Text Too Long	Translated text is too long.	Check the WhatsApp Manager to verify that your template has been translated. See Quality Rating and Template Status.	`400` Bad Request
`132007` Template Format Character Policy Violated	Template content violates a WhatsApp policy.	See Rejection Reasons to determine possible reasons for violation.	`400` Bad Request
`132012` Template Parameter Format Mismatch	Variable parameter values formatted incorrectly.	The variable parameter values included in the request are not using the format specified in the template. See Message Template Guidelines.	`400` Bad Request
`132015` Template is Paused	Template is paused due to low quality so it cannot be sent in a template message.	Edit the template to improve its quality and try again once it is approved.	`400` Bad Request
`132016` Template is Disabled	Template has been paused too many times due to low quality and is now permanently disabled.	Create a new template with different content.	`400` Bad Request
`132068` Flow is blocked	Flow is in blocked state.	Correct the Flow	`400` Bad Request
`132069` Flow is throttled	Flow is in throttled state and 10 messages using this flow were already sent in the last hour.	Correct the Flow	`400` Bad Request
`133000` Incomplete Deregistration	A previous deregistration attempt failed.	Deregister the number again before registering.	`500` Internal Server Error
`133004` Server Temporarily Unavailable	Server is temporarily unavailable.	Check the WhatsApp Business Platform Status page to see API status information and check the response `details` value before trying again.	`503` Service Unavailable
`133005` Two step verification PIN Mismatch	Two-step verification PIN incorrect.	Verify that the two-step verification PIN included in the request is correct. To reset the two-step verification PIN: Disable two-step verification. Send a POST request that includes the new PIN to the Phone Number endpoint.	`400` Bad Request
`133006` Phone number re-verification needed	Phone number needs to be verified before registering.	Verify the phone number before registering it.	`400` Bad Request
`133008` Too Many two step verification PIN Guesses	Too many two-step verification PIN guesses for this phone number.	Try again after the amount of time specified in the `details` response value.	`400` Bad Request
`133009` Two step verification PIN Guessed Too Fast	Two-step verification PIN was entered too quickly.	Check the `details` response value before trying again.	`400` Bad Request
`133010` Phone number Not Registered	Phone number not registered on the WhatsApp Business Platform.	Register the phone number before trying again.	`400` Bad Request
`133015` Please wait a few minutes before attempting to register this phone number	The phone number you are attempting to register was recently deleted, and deletion has not yet completed.	Wait 5 minutes before re-trying the request.	`400` Bad Request
`135000` Generic user error	Message failed to send because of an unknown error with your request parameters.	See the endpoint's reference to determine if you are querying the endpoint using the correct syntax. Contact customer support if you continue receiving this error code in response.	`400` Bad Request

1

API Unknown

Invalid request or possible server error.

Check the WhatsApp Business Platform Status page to see API status information. If there are no server outages, check the endpoint reference and verify that your request is formatted correctly and meets all endpoint requirements.

400

Bad Request

2

API Service

Temporary due to downtime or due to being overloaded.

Check the WhatsApp Business Platform Status page to see API status information before trying again.

503

Service Unavailable

33

Parameter value is not valid

The business phone number has been deleted.

Verify that the business phone number is correct.

400

Bad Request

100

Invalid parameter

The request included one or more unsupported or misspelled parameters.

See the endpoint's reference to determine which parameters are supported and how they are spelled.

Ensure when setting the business public key, it is a valid 2048-bit RSA public key in PEM format.

Ensure there is no mismatch between the phone number id you are registering and a previously stored phone number id.

Ensure your parameter is under any length restriction for the type.

400

Bad Request

130472

User's number is part of an experiment

Message was not sent as part of an experiment.

See Marketing Message Experiment.

400

Bad Request

131000

Something went wrong

Message failed to send due to an unknown error.

When setting a business public key, it either failed to calculate the signature, call the GraphQL endpoint, or the GraphQL endpoint returned an error.

Try again. If the error persists, open a Direct Support ticket.

500

Internal Server Error

131005

Access denied

Permission is either not granted or has been removed.

Use the access token debugger to verify that your app has been granted the permissions required by the endpoint. See Troubleshooting.

403

Forbidden

131008

Required parameter is missing

The request is missing a required parameter.

See the endpoint's reference to determine which parameters are required.

400

Bad Request

131009

Parameter value is not valid

One or more parameter values are invalid.

See the endpoint's reference to determine which values are supported for each parameter, and see Phone Numbers to learn how to add a phone number to a WhatsApp Business Account.

400

Bad Request

131016

Service unavailable

A service is temporarily unavailable.

Check the WhatsApp Business Platform Status page to see API status information before trying again.

500

Internal Server Error

131021

Recipient cannot be sender

Sender and recipient phone number is the same.

Send a message to a phone number different from the sender.

400

Bad Request

131026

Message Undeliverable

Unable to deliver message. Reasons can include:

The recipient phone number is not a WhatsApp phone number.
Sending an authentication template to a WhatsApp user who has a +91 country calling code (India). Authentication templates currently cannot be sent to WhatsApp users in India.
Recipient has not accepted our new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Recipient using an old WhatsApp version; must use the following WhatsApp version or greater:
- Android: 2.21.15.15
- SMBA: 2.21.15.15
- iOS: 2.21.170.4
- SMBI: 2.21.170.4
- KaiOS: 2.2130.10
- Web: 2.2132.6

Using a non-WhatsApp communication method, ask the WhatsApp user to:

Confirm that they can actually send a message to your WhatsApp business phone number.
Confirm that they have accepted our latest Terms of Service (Settings > Help, or Settings > Application information will prompt them to accept the latest terms/policies if they haven't done so already)
Update to the latest version of the WhatsApp client.

400

Bad Request

131037

WhatsApp provided number needs display name approval before message can be sent.

The 555 business phone number used to send the request does not have an approved display name.

Change the 555 business phone number's display name. See our How to change your WhatsApp Business display name Help Center article to learn how.

400

Bad Request

131042

Business eligibility payment issue

There was an error related to your payment method.

See About Billing For Your WhatsApp Business Account and verify that you have set up billing correctly.

Common problems:

Payment account is not attached to a WhatsApp Business Account
Credit line is over the limit
Credit line (Payment Account) not set or active
WhatsApp Business Account is deleted
WhatsApp Business Account is suspended
Timezone not set
Currency not set
MessagingFor request (On Behalf Of) is pending or declined
Exceeded conversation free tier threshold without a valid payment method

400

Bad Request

131045

Incorrect certificate

Message failed to send due to a phone number registration error.

500

Internal Server Error

131047

Re-engagement message

More than 24 hours have passed since the recipient last replied to the sender number.

Send the recipient a business-initiated message using a message template instead.

400

Bad Request

131049

Meta chose not to deliver.

This message was not delivered to maintain healthy ecosystem engagement.

Do not retry immediately if you do receive this error code and suspect it is due to the limit. Instead, retry in increasing larger time increments until the message is delivered, since the limit may be in effect for differing periods of time.

See Per-User Marketing Template Message Limits for additional information.

400

Bad Request

131051

Unsupported message type

Unsupported message type.

See Messages for supported message types before trying again with a supported message type.

400

Bad Request

131052

Media download error

Unable to download the media sent by the user.

We were unable to download media included in the WhatsApp user's message. For more information, refer to the error.error_data.details value in any messages webhooks triggered when this message was received.

Ask the WhatsApp user to send you the media file using a non-WhatsApp method.

400

Bad Request

131053

Media upload error

Unable to upload the media used in the message.

We were unable to upload the media for one or more reasons, such as an unsupported media type.

For more information, refer to the error.error_data.details value in any messages webhooks triggered when this message fails to send.

We recommend that you inspect any media files that are causing errors and confirm that they are in fact supported. For example, in UNIX you can use file inspection via the command line to determine its MIME type:

file -I rejected-file.mov

You can then confirm if its MIME type is supported. See Supported Media Types.

400

Bad Request

131057

Account in maintenance mode

Buiness Account is in maintenance mode

The WhatsApp Business Account is in maintenance mode. One reason for this could be that the account is undergoing a throughput upgrade.

500

Bad Request

132000

Template Param Count Mismatch

The number of variable parameter values included in the request did not match the number of variable parameters defined in the template.

See Message Template Guidelines and make sure the request includes all of the variable parameter values that have been defined in the template.

400

Bad Request

132001

Template does not exist

The template does not exist in the specified language or the template has not been approved.

Make sure your template has been approved and the template name and language locale are correct. Please ensure you follow message template guidelines.

404

Not Found

132005

Template Hydrated Text Too Long

Translated text is too long.

Check the WhatsApp Manager to verify that your template has been translated. See Quality Rating and Template Status.

400

Bad Request

132007

Template Format Character Policy Violated

Template content violates a WhatsApp policy.

See Rejection Reasons to determine possible reasons for violation.

400

Bad Request

132012

Template Parameter Format Mismatch

Variable parameter values formatted incorrectly.

The variable parameter values included in the request are not using the format specified in the template. See Message Template Guidelines.

400

Bad Request

132015

Template is Paused

Template is paused due to low quality so it cannot be sent in a template message.

Edit the template to improve its quality and try again once it is approved.

400

Bad Request

132016

Template is Disabled

Template has been paused too many times due to low quality and is now permanently disabled.

Create a new template with different content.

400

Bad Request

132068

Flow is blocked

Flow is in blocked state.

Correct the Flow

400

Bad Request

132069

Flow is throttled

Flow is in throttled state and 10 messages using this flow were already sent in the last hour.

Correct the Flow

400

Bad Request

133000

Incomplete Deregistration

A previous deregistration attempt failed.

Deregister the number again before registering.

500

Internal Server Error

133004

Server Temporarily Unavailable

Server is temporarily unavailable.

Check the WhatsApp Business Platform Status page to see API status information and check the response details value before trying again.

503

Service Unavailable

133005

Two step verification PIN Mismatch

Two-step verification PIN incorrect.

Verify that the two-step verification PIN included in the request is correct.

To reset the two-step verification PIN:

Disable two-step verification.
Send a POST request that includes the new PIN to the Phone Number endpoint.

400

Bad Request

133006

Phone number re-verification needed

Phone number needs to be verified before registering.

Verify the phone number before registering it.

400

Bad Request

133008

Too Many two step verification PIN Guesses

Too many two-step verification PIN guesses for this phone number.

Try again after the amount of time specified in the details response value.

400

Bad Request

133009

Two step verification PIN Guessed Too Fast

Two-step verification PIN was entered too quickly.

Check the details response value before trying again.

400

Bad Request

133010

Phone number Not Registered

Phone number not registered on the WhatsApp Business Platform.

400

Bad Request

133015

Please wait a few minutes before attempting to register this phone number

The phone number you are attempting to register was recently deleted, and deletion has not yet completed.

Wait 5 minutes before re-trying the request.

400

Bad Request

135000

Generic user error

Message failed to send because of an unknown error with your request parameters.

See the endpoint's reference to determine if you are querying the endpoint using the correct syntax. Contact customer support if you continue receiving this error code in response.

400

Bad Request