Blog · Practical guide

Why Meta rejects your WhatsApp template, and how to fix it before you submit

By the Super Agent team · October 20, 2026

How Meta reviews a template

Once 24 hours have passed since a customer last messaged you, the only way to reach them is a Meta-approved template. Each one is submitted with a category (marketing or utility for a store; authentication is for login codes), a body and, optionally, a header, a footer and buttons. Meta approves or rejects it, and a rejection comes with a reason.

A rejection is not a disaster, but it costs time: you fix it, resubmit and wait for another review. If the template was meant for a dated campaign, that time is exactly what you do not have.

1. Format mistakes: the easiest to avoid

These are rules about the text itself, which is why you can check them before submitting:

• Length. A body of up to 1,024 characters; header and footer up to 60 each; each button label up to 25.
• Well-formed variables. Exactly {{1}}, {{2}} and so on, numbered from {{1}} with no gaps. {{ 1 }} or {{name}} will not do.
• Never first or last. The body cannot start or end with a variable, or put two variables side by side with nothing between them: the reviewer cannot tell what the message will say.
• Header and footer. The header takes at most one variable, {{1}}; the footer takes none.
• A sample for every variable. Meta asks for an example value for each one when you submit. Use something believable, a real-looking name or product, not “test” or “123”.
• Link buttons. A label and a URL that starts with https://. Only one variable is allowed, {{1}}, and only at the end of the URL.

A template that gets rejected, and the fix

Opening with the customer’s name feels natural, which is exactly why it is the most common mistake:

Two changes: a word in front of the first variable and a sentence after the last. The message says the same thing and no longer has a blank at either end.

2. The category: utility or marketing

A utility template is about something the customer already has going on: an order, a shipment, a booking, their account. A marketing template tries to sell them something new: an offer, a launch, a cart they left behind. Meta charges each category at a different rate and reviews marketing more strictly, so picking the wrong one is a common source of trouble.

The classic case is a shipping update with a promotion tacked on: “Order #1043 shipped today… and enjoy 10% off your next purchase.” That last line turns a utility message into a promotional one. Meta can move a utility template that reads like a promotion into marketing, and the same goes for a header image that looks like an ad.

The move matters beyond price: marketing templates are not delivered to US phone numbers. A shipping update Meta re-categorized stops reaching those customers. The working rule: if the message sells, file it as marketing from the start; if it informs, keep the selling out of it.

3. The opt-out button

A marketing template can be approved without a way to opt out, but it is worth adding one. Someone who no longer wants your messages and cannot find a way to stop them has two options left, block or report your number, and blocks and reports count against your number with Meta.

A button beats a footer reading “Reply STOP to unsubscribe”: a footer cannot be tapped, and customers end up typing long sentences nothing recognizes as an opt-out. Pick a short, unambiguous label such as “Stop promotions” or “Unsubscribe”. Avoid “Cancel”: next to “Shop now” it reads as cancelling the action, not unsubscribing.

4. The content

Beyond format and category, a person at Meta reads what the message says and whether it follows their commerce and messaging policies. No automated rule can catch that for you. What you can do is write a clear message that says who is writing and why, with no promise your store cannot keep.

If it has already been rejected

1. Read the reason. Meta returns it with the rejection. Read it before changing anything, so you fix what actually failed.
2. Run the text through the WhatsApp template checker. It is free, needs no sign-up, and checks every format rule in this guide in your browser, with a preview of what your customer will see.
3. Fix it and resubmit. If the problem was the category, decide which message you want: drop the promotional part, or submit it as marketing.

How Super Agent handles it

In Super Agent, templates are written, submitted to Meta and used in campaigns and flows from the same console:

• A gallery of suggested templates (cart reminder, shipping update, thank-you message) that you edit instead of starting from a blank box.
• The console will not submit a body that starts or ends with a variable, and tells you why before you lose a day to review.
• The status and the rejection reason show on the template’s card. If Meta changes the category, the card shows the new one, so the move does not go unnoticed.
• The opt-out button is picked from a list of labels Super Agent recognizes. When a customer taps it, they stop receiving your campaigns.
• When you add an image to a utility template, the form reminds you it has to be about the order or the account, not a promotion.

After approval

An approved template is the beginning. If it is for abandoned carts, follow the guide to recovering abandoned carts on WhatsApp. If it is for a campaign, check whether it pays for itself first with the WhatsApp campaign ROAS calculator, and tag your links with the WhatsApp link generator with UTM tracking so you can tell which orders it brought in.