Template Categorization

When creating a new template, it’s important to understand how WhatsApp categorizes your template for pricing purposes.

Template category guidelines

Meta template category guidelines define the category of message templates. Message templates can be categorized as:

• Marketing templates – Enable businesses to achieve a wide range of goals, from generating awareness to driving sales and retargeting customers.
• Utility templates – Enable businesses to follow up on user actions or requests, since these messages are typically triggered by user actions.
• Authentication templates – Enable businesses to verify a user’s identity, potentially at various steps of the customer journey.

Marketing template guidelines

The Marketing category is designed for proactive messaging that helps you drive sales, promote your brand, and increase customer engagement.

When to use this category?
You must select this category if your message template includes:

• Offers & Discounts: Sending coupons, promo codes, or special seasonal discounts.
• Product Promotions: Introducing new arrivals, showcasing features, or advertising specific services.
• Marketing Broadcasts: Sending newsletters, product updates, or brand announcements to a wide audience.
• Re-engagement Campaigns: Reminding customers about abandoned shopping carts or recommending products based on their purchase history.

Marketing template content guidelines
To maintain a positive user experience and comply with Meta's policies, your marketing templates must adhere to the following guidelines:

1. Content Must Add Value: Avoid sending generic, spammy content. Every message should provide genuine value to the recipient, whether through useful information, exclusive offers, or relevant updates.
2. No Deceptive Content: Do not use clickbait, misleading headlines, or false claims to entice users. All content must be honest, transparent, and accurate.
3. Appropriate Tone: Maintain a professional yet engaging tone. Avoid aggressive sales tactics, urgent language (unless genuinely applicable), or overly casual phrasing that may seem unprofessional.
4. Personalization is Key: Use personalization tokens (like customer name or location) where appropriate to make messages feel more relevant and less like mass broadcasts.
5. Respect User Preferences: Always allow users to opt-out of marketing messages. Respect their preferences and honor opt-out requests promptly to maintain trust.

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

Message Objective	Business Goal	Example Tempaltes
App Promotion	Request customers to install or take a specific action with your app.	Did you know? You can now {{1}} in our app. Download it below to use our streamlined experience. Hi {{1}}, your friend {{2}} recently joined our community. Send them a welcome message in our app today: {{3}}.
Sales	Send promotional offers to customers related to sales events, coupons, or other content intended to drive sales or renewals.	As a thank you for your last order, please enjoy {{1}}% off your next order. Use code {{2}} at checkout. Visit our site here below. Get {{1}}% off everything in store using code {{2}} at checkout. Valid until {{3}}. Visit our site here below.

Utility template guidelines

The Utility category is designed for messages triggered by a specific user action or request. These messages provide essential, real-time information directly related to the user's ongoing activity or transaction.

When to use this category?
You must select this category if your message template includes:

• Transaction Confirmations: Sending order confirmations, purchase receipts, or payment success notifications.
• Account Updates: Notifying users about changes to their profile, subscription status, or account billing.
• Order & Delivery Tracking: Providing shipping updates, tracking numbers, or delivery status alerts.
• Appointment Reminders: Sending booking confirmations, schedule changes, or upcoming appointment reminders.
• Feedback Requests: Asking for a product review or customer satisfaction rating immediately after a service/transaction is completed.

Utility template content guidelines
To maintain a positive user experience and comply with Meta's policies, your utility templates must adhere to the following guidelines:

1. Content Must Be Action-Oriented: Every message should provide essential information directly related to a user's recent action or request.
2. No Promotional Content: Avoid including marketing language, discounts, offers, or any content intended to drive sales. Utility templates should focus solely on delivering factual, time-sensitive information.
3. Keep Information Concise and Relevant: Provide clear, specific details without unnecessary additions. Only include information that is directly relevant to the user's transaction or interaction.
4. No Clickbait: Do not use misleading headlines, urgent language, or deceptive phrasing to attract attention.
5. Use Personalization: Personalize messages with relevant details (e.g., order number, appointment time) to make them feel more tailored and official.
6. Respect User Privacy: Avoid requesting unnecessary personal information. Only ask for details that are strictly required for the transaction or service.
7. Clear Call to Action (if applicable): If the message requires user action (e.g., confirming details), provide a clear and simple call to action.
8. Provide Relevant Context: Always include enough context (such as an order ID or transaction reference) to help the user understand the message and its relevance to them.

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

Message Objective	Business Goal	Example Tempaltes
Transaction Updates	Send updates related to a user's transaction, such as payment success or order confirmation.	Hi {{1}}, your payment of {{2}} has been confirmed. Your order number is {{3}}. Thank you for shopping with us. Your order {{1}} is confirmed and will be shipped within 24 hours. You can track your order here: {{2}}
Account Notifications	Notify users about important changes to their account or subscription.	Your password was changed on {{1}}. If you did not authorize this change, please contact support immediately. Your monthly subscription has been successfully renewed. Thank you for being a valued member!
Order Status Updates	Provide real-time updates about the status of an order or delivery.	Hi {{1}}, your order is now out for delivery and should arrive within 30 minutes. Track your delivery here: {{2}} Your order has been shipped. The estimated delivery date is {{1}}. Track your package here: {{2}}
Appointment Confirmations	Send confirmations or reminders for upcoming appointments.	Your appointment with Dr. {{1}} is confirmed for {{2}} on {{3}}. Please arrive 10 minutes early. Reminder: Your haircut appointment is scheduled for tomorrow at {{1}}. See you then!
Feedback Requests	Request feedback from users after a completed transaction or service.	Thank you for your recent purchase! Please take a moment to share your feedback: {{1}} We hope you enjoyed your meal at {{1}}. Click here to share your experience: {{2}}

Authentication template guidelines

Note: Only authentication templates can be used to send a one-time passcode for identity verification. Marketing and utility templates cannot be used for this purpose.

Unlike Marketing and Utility categories where you can write your own custom messages, Authentication templates cannot be freely drafted or modified.

To ensure maximum security and avoid phishing, Meta provides a rigid, pre-approved structural framework. You cannot write your own prose; instead, you can only customize specific, pre-determined features provided by Meta.

What you CANNOT do:

• Write custom introductory or greeting text (e.g., "Welcome to our app!").
• Add links, company slogans, emojis, or media (images/videos).
• Change the core sentence structure of the verification message.

What you CAN customize:

• Expiration Time: You can add a time-limit warning (e.g., "This code expires in 5 minutes").
• Button Text: You can customize the Copy Code button text label.
• Security Disclaimer: You can choose to include or exclude Meta’s standard security warning (e.g., "For your security, do not share this code").

How template verification works

Every template you create goes through an automated validation process by Meta to ensure the content matches your chosen category, and then its status is set to one of the statuses below.

Pending status

PENDING status means WhatsApp agrees with the category chosen in your template creation request, however the template is undergoing template review.

Approved status

APPROVED status means WhatsApp agrees with the category chosen in your template creation request and that the template successfully passed template review. It can now be used to send messages.

Rejected status

REJECTED status indicates that WhatsApp disagreed with the category you designated in your template creation request.