Template Categorization

Template Category Guidelines

Our template category guidelines are how we define the category of message templates on our platform. Please refer to our "Updates to Template Category Guidelines" PDF for more details.

For each category, we outline the message objective, business goal and example templates.

Marketing templates

Marketing templates are our most flexible. They can enable businesses to achieve a wide range of goals, from generating awareness to driving sales and more.

Note: Examples are illustrative only. Templates that contain similar content, or the example text below, may be categorized differently based on the exact content.

Also considered marketing templates are:

• Templates with mixed content (e.g. Both utility and marketing, such as order update with a promo or offer).
• Templates where contents are unclear (e.g., contents are only “{{1}}” or “Congratulations!”).

Utility templates

Utility templates are typically triggered by a user action or request. They must include specificity about the active or ongoing transaction, account, subscription or interaction to which they relate. For example, an order confirmation must contain an order number.

Note: Examples are illustrative only. Templates that contain similar content, or the example text below, may be categorized differently based on the exact content.

Authentication templates

Authentication templates enable businesses to authenticate users with one-time passcodes (usually 4-8 digit alphanumeric codes), potentially at multiple steps in the login process (e.g., account verification, account recovery, integrity challenges).

Authentication templates are our most restricted. For a template to be classified as authentication, a business must:

• Use WhatsApp’s preset authentication message templates, which include optional add-ons like security disclaimers and expiry warnings
• Configure a one-time password button (copy-code or one-tap)
• Follow content restrictions: URLs, media, and emojis are not allowed for authentication template content or parameters. Additional length restrictions of 15 characters also apply to parameters.

Category Validation

When you send the API a template creation or template edit request, you must indicate the template's category, based on the guidelines above. Assuming there are no errors in the request itself, we will validate the category you indicated based on these same guidelines and the contents of the template. We will then create the template and set its status to one of the following, based on the outcome of the validation process:

• APPROVED
• PENDING
• REJECTED

Approved

An APPROVED status indicates that we agreed with the category, and the template successfully passed template review, so it can now be used in template messages. An email and WhatsApp Manager alert will inform you that the template was approved, and a message_template_status_update webhook will be triggered with the event property set to APPROVED.

Typically, only authentication templates are approved immediately since their content is preset.

Pending

A PENDING status indicates that we agreed with the category you designated in your request, and the template is now undergoing template review. The outcome of the review will be communicated via email and WhatsApp Manager alert. In addition, a message_template_status_update webhook will be triggered with the event property set to APPROVED or REJECTED.

Rejected

A REJECTED status indicates that we disagreed with the category you designated in your template creation request. Rejections are communicated via email, WhatsApp Manager alert, and message_template_status_update webhook. The webhook will have the event property set to REJECTED and the reason property set to INCORRECT_CATEGORY.

If rejected, you have the following options:

• Create a new template with the desired category and appropriate content.
• Manually update the template's category.
• Request a review.

WhatsApp Manager Validation

If you use WhatsApp Manager to create a template, we will validate the category before creating the template. If we disagree with the category that you have chosen, we will warn you of the mismatch:

If you continue with your selection despite the mismatch, the template will be created but its status will be set to Rejected. You can then request a review or edit the template's category.

If you select the recommended category, the template will be created and either approved immediately, with its status set to Active - Quality Pending (this is only possible with authentication templates), or undergo template review, with its status set to Pending.

Duplicated Templates from Phone Number Migration

All eligible templates are automatically duplicated in the destination WABA and category checks will be performed to ensure that all duplicated templates are correctly categorized.

Automatic Category Assignment

If you want to avoid rejection due to miscategorization entirely, you can include the allow_category_change property set to true in your template creation request. We will assign the appropriate category based on the template's contents and our template guidelines, then set the template's status to PENDING and send it through template review. Note that automatic category assignment is only possible during template creation.

{
  "name": "<NAME>",
  "category": "<CATEGORY>",
  "allow_category_change": true, // Set to true to have us assign a category
  "language": "<LANGUAGE>",
  "components": [<COMPONENTS>]
}

Automatic Category Updates

To ensure templates on our platform are correctly categorized per our template category guidelines, on June 1, 2024 we introduced a recurring process to identify and update templates that have been categorized inconsistent with our guidelines. This process is outlined below.

Updates

• Updating a template’s category – We provide advance notice before we update a template’s category (e.g., it is approved as utility but contains promotional content, so should be categorized as marketing). Starting October 14, 2024 we notify admins of impacted WABAs on a given day if/which templates’ category we will update the next day. For these templates, there is no change in status – the template category is updated but the status remains APPROVED.

• Rejecting a template – Starting November 1, 2024 – We provide advance notice before we reject a template that should be categorized as authentication. We notify admins of impacted WABAs on the 1st day of the month if/which templates we will reject on the 1st day of the next month. For these templates, the status will be updated from APPROVED to REJECTED. Per our authentication template category guidelines, businesses should use authentication templates for identity verification use cases.

• This process does not apply to templates with a PENDING or PENDING_DELETION status.

Notifications of impacted templates :

• An email will be sent to any people in the business portfolio who have been granted full control of the WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) that owns these templates. The email will contain a link to the WhatsApp Manager > Message Templates > Manage Templates panel. Templates whose categories will be updated on the first day of the following month will have an "information" icon beside their name. Hovering over the icon will display the category it will be updated to, and the date when it will be updated.
• The WhatsApp Manager > Message Templates > Manage Templates panel will display a banner with a link to a downloadable CSV identifying these templates.
• Business Support will list the name and current category of these templates, as well as the categories they will be updated to on the first day of the following month.
• A template_category_update webhook will be triggered for each template whose category will be updated, with a correct_category property in the payload set to what the template's category should be. The new_category property also exists in the payload indicating the template’s current category.

Notifications of updates to templates :

Upon taking action (updating a template’s category or rejecting the template), we will inform you via:

• An email will be sent to any people in the business portfolio who have been granted full control of the WABA that owns the templates whose categories have been updated. The email will highlight the number of templates whose categories were updated or templates that were rejected, and will include a link to the WhatsApp Manager > Message Templates > Manage Templates panel. It also includes a link to Business Support, where the name and new category of these templates, as well as the categories before automatic update or rejection will be listed.
• A template_category_update webhook will be triggered for each template whose category has been updated. The new_category property will indicate the template's new category and the previous_category property will indicate the template's category before automatic update.

Your Options When You Receive A Category Change Notice

When you receive a notice that a template’s category is set to change, you can:

1. Create a new template and submit it for approval.
2. Request a review of the category.
   • If the review is approved, the template’s category will no longer be updated as previously notified.
   • If the review is rejected, the template’s category will be updated as previously notified.
   • If the template should be categorized as authentication, you can only request a review after it’s been rejected. In the interim, businesses on Cloud API can explore our template library to identify other options for authentication templates.

Manual Category Updates

You can change the category of a template that has a status of REJECTED at any time by editing the template using either the API or WhatsApp Manager.

Note that templates with an APPROVED status cannot be edited. Editing a template does not change its ID.

Via API

• Edit the category and components of the template so they align with the guidelines of its category. The template will undergo category validation and template review again.
• Edit only the category of the template. The template will undergo category validation and template review again.

If the template passes validation and review, its category will be updated and a template_category_update webhook will be triggered. The new_category property in the webhook payload will indicate its new category.

Via WhatsApp Manager

Edit the content of the template so it aligns to the guidelines of that category, maintain the category selection, and re-submit the template for approval.

If the template passes validation and review, its category will be updated and a template_category_update webhook will be triggered. The new_category property in the webhook payload will indicate its new category.

Getting a List of Impacted Templates

The WhatsApp Manager's Manage Templates panel identifies any templates whose categories will be updated the following month. However, you can use the GET /<WABA_ID>/message_templates endpoint to get this list, and to determine which templates have already been updated.

To use the API, request the category and correct_category fields:

GET /<WABA_ID>/message_templates?fields=category,correct_category

This will return the IDs of all of the WABA's templates, and each template's category and correct_category values. You can then compare these values:

• If the values match (e.g. they are both MARKETING), the template's category has already been updated with the correct_category value.
• If they mismatch and the correct_category is not an empty string or null (e.g. category is UTILITY but correct_category is MARKETING), the template's category will be updated on the first day of the next month with the correct_category value.
• If the correct_category value is an empty string or null, the template has not been impacted.

Requesting a Review of Impacted Templates

If you believe the category we have determined is not consistent with our template category guidelines, you may request a review of the template via Business Support (it is not possible to do this via the API).

How to request a review:

In the sidebar of WhatsApp Manager, select the Message Templates dropdown, and then Message Templates. You should see a rejection banner with the template in question. Click Go to Business Support.

Click Template Category Updates, select the templates you would like reviewed and then click the Request Review button to begin the review process.

How to view templates submitted for review:

In the Business Support sidebar, click Template category Updates, and then the In review tab.

How to view template category decisions

If the template category change is not approved: The template can be viewed in Business Support under the Template category updates > Unchanged tab. The template’s category will change to the correct category during an automatic category update.

If the template category change is approved: the template can be viewed in Business Support under the Template category updates > Reversed tab. If the template category was already changed during automatic category update, it will be reverted to its previous category.