Templates

Message templates

Compose a template, submit it to Meta for approval, and sync approval status back.

On this page

Statuses
Writing one
Sync from Meta
Where to go next

A template is a message Meta approved in advance. You need one to start a conversation with anybody, and to reach anyone whose 24-hour window has closed. Everything about approval — how long it takes, why it was rejected — is Meta's decision; this page is where you compose, submit and track them.

Statuses #

Field	What it does
draft	Composed here, not yet sent to Meta. Editable.
pending_approval	Submitted and waiting. Usually minutes, sometimes longer.
approved	Usable. Only approved templates appear in the campaign builder.
rejected	Meta declined it. Fix the content and submit again — the rejection reason comes from Meta.
paused / disabled	Meta suspended it, normally because recipients marked it as spam. Repeated blocks retire a template permanently.

Writing one #

The template composer: category, language, header, body with variables, footer and buttons.

Pick a category honestly

Marketing, utility or authentication. Miscategorising a promotion as a utility message is the most common rejection reason, and Meta re-categorises templates it disagrees with.
Choose a language

A template is per-language. The same message in two languages is two templates.
Write the body

Use {{1}}, {{2}} and so on for the parts that change per recipient. Keep them few — every variable is another thing that can be supplied wrongly.
Add a header, footer and buttons if useful

Headers can be text or media. Buttons can be quick replies, a URL, or a phone number.
Submit for approval

Press Submit. The status moves to pending, and updates when Meta decides.

Sync from Meta #

Sync from Meta pulls the current template list and approval statuses from your WhatsApp Business Account. Use it when a template was created or approved outside this product, or when a status here looks stale.

Where to go next #

Broadcast campaigns Send an approved template to a contact list, schedule it, and track sent / delivered / read / failed per recipient. Template assignment Decide which AI agents are allowed to send which templates. Design templates HTML image templates rendered to PNG in the browser, for campaign creatives. Send your first message The 24-hour window, why the first message must be a template, and how to test end to end.

Frequently asked

How long does template approval take?: Meta decides, and it is usually minutes, though it can be longer. The status here updates when Meta responds.
Why was my template rejected?: The most common cause is category mismatch — promotional content submitted as a utility message. Placeholder text left in the body and variables at the very start or end also trigger rejections.
What does "paused" mean on a template?: Meta suspended it, normally because recipients marked it as spam. Repeated reports retire a template permanently.