Before starting embedded signup

This section provides the guidelines, specifications, and other information that you need for the embedded signup and business verification processes.

Phone number

The sender (phone number) meets the following requirements from WhatsApp:

Must be in the E.164 international format and must be internationally reachable.
Must be active during the verification process. You will receive either an SMS or a voice call for 2FA and to confirm number ownership.
No short codes.
No toll-free numbers or numbers under IVR. Refer to the guidance in the Important Information section for embedded signup.
Number must not been used with the WhatsApp Business API before.
If the number is already registered in the Android, iPhone, or Business Application versions of WhatsApp, refer to the guidance in the Important Information section for embedded signup.

Display name

The display name must not violate WhatsApp Commerce and Business policies. Display names must also follow the guidelines shown in the table below:

Accurate representation of your business	The display name must represent: • A business or its service, product, or department • A test account or a demo account must maintain an association to the business (Example: Fresh Produce Ltd. Test) A display name should not be: • An individual’s full name • A generic term (Example: Fashion) • A generic geographic location (Example: New York) • A slogan or a long description Example: for a store that sells wine glasses • (ACCEPTED) ABC Wine Glasses • (UNACCEPTED) ABC Wine
Consistency with external branding	The display name must have consistent branding with external sources (e.g. company website). Example: for a product line named "Fresh Produce Cold Pressed Juices" • (ACCEPTED) "Fresh Produce Cold Pressed Juices" - your official brand name and the one you use on your website • (UNACCEPTED) "FP Cold Pressed Juices" - there must be no inconsistencies when using abbreviations • (UNACCEPTED) "Fresh Produce Juices" - do not remove parts of the name
Clear relationship with your business	The display name must have a clear relationship with your business. It must be referred on the business's website or external media references. Example: • (ACCEPTED) Name of a charity mentioned on a non-profit organization’s website • (UNACCEPTED) Name of a charity not mentioned on any external websites
Correct formatting	The display name must: • Not have variations on title capitalization, must have grammatically correct capitalization, and must not include all capitals, except for acronyms. Example: (ACCEPTED) "New City Computers" (UNACCEPTED) "NEW CITY COMPUTERS" • Not have variations with spacing. Example: for a business called "Lil’Cupcakes" (ACCEPTED) "Lil’Cupcakes" - your official brand name (UNACCEPTED) "Lil’ Cupcakes" - space added. But the external business name does not contain a space • Not have any extra punctuation • Not include emojis • Not include character symbols such as trademark designations • Not be in URL format • Must contain a minimum of 3 characters. Example: for a business called "KT Sir" (ACCEPTED) KT Sir (UNACCEPTED) KT

These rules do not apply if a business or an organization already brands this way.

The visibility of the display name depends on the sender location:

Senders in Indonesia, Mexico, or Columbia: Your display name is visible to the end user.
Senders in other regions: If you have a verified sender, your display name is visible to the end user. If you have either an approved sender or an approved sender with limited access, the end user can view your display name only in the contact information section of WhatsApp.

If you use the WhatsApp Business Solution, you can update the display name by sending a request to support@infobip.com.

If you use the WhatsApp Cloud Business Solution, request the name change inside the Facebook Business Manager (names without green badge) or create ticket towards Meta support (names with green badge).

Sender types

Sender types are classified based on the stage of the WhatsApp approval process. Different sender types have different capabilities and limitations.

Feature	Sandbox sender	Approved sender with limited access	Approved sender	Verified sender (Optional)
Number of notifications	Limited	Limited	Unlimited*	Unlimited*
Number of senders (phone numbers)	Limited	Limited	Unlimited	Unlimited
Number of responses to inbound communication	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
WABA account connected?	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Validity	30 days	N/A	N/A	N/A
Display name	Yes**	Yes**	Yes**	Yes
Verified badge	No	No	No	Yes
* depends on messaging tier ** depends on sender location. Refer to the Display Name section

Sandbox sender

You have completed the embedded signup and are waiting for WhatsApp approval (WhatsApp account and display name approval).

Sandbox senders can send messages but with the following limitations:

Notifications: Send up to 10 templates messages to up to 2 phone numbers in a rolling 24-hour period
Customer care: 10 senders and unlimited messages

These limits apply until the WhatsApp approval is complete.

In addition to these limits, only the first number that is added to each WhatsApp business account through the embedded signup process is eligible for the sandbox experience.

For each additional number that is added to the WhatsApp business account, the following conditions apply:

If you have not completed business verification: You can send messages on each additional sender only after it has received WhatsApp approval.
If you have completed business verification: You can send messages on each additional sender immediately. You can have up to 250 conversations per day on each of these senders.

A few pre-selected message templates will be added to the sandbox environment for you to test sending notifications.

The unverified state lasts for 30 days or until you become either an approved sender or an approved sender with limited access. If the WhatsApp approval is not complete within 30 days, you will no longer be able to send messages.

Approved sender with limited access

You have completed the embedded signup and received WhatsApp approval (WhatsApp account and display name approval). But you have not completed business verification, which is an optional process.

You can use your account for business purposes which include sending messages with the following limitations:

Notifications: Send templated messages to up to 50 end users in a rolling 24-hour period
Customer care: Unlimited messages
Senders: Register up to two unverified WhatsApp senders. You can assign the senders either to the same WhatsApp business account (WABA) or split the senders between two WABAs.

Approved sender

You have completed the embedded signup, received WhatsApp approval (WhatsApp account and display name approval), and completed business verification. But you have not completed sender verification, which is an optional process.

You can use your account for business purposes. Standard WhatsApp messaging limitations apply.

Approved senders have the following features:

Notifications: The number of templated messages you can send to end users depends on the messaging tier.
Customer care: Unlimited messages
Senders: Register an unlimited number of WhatsApp senders. You can assign the senders either to the same WhatsApp business account (WABA) or split the senders between multiple WABAs.

Verified sender (Official account)

You have completed the embedded signup, received WhatsApp approval (WhatsApp account and display name approval), completed business verification, and completed sender verification.

Verified senders get a verified badge next to their company name in WhatsApp. Being a verified sender gives end users confidence in your brand by letting them know that Meta has made sure that your company is legitimate.

If your business is in Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Mexico, or the United Kingdom, end users can search for your official business account.

WhatsApp Business profile

WhatsApp business profiles are similar to regular WhatsApp profiles. Business profiles represent your company whereas a regular profile represents an individual.

You must have a WhatsApp business profile to use WhatsApp for business communication. End users can view the following information about your WhatsApp business profile:

Sender display name
Business category
Business description

Documents for Business verification

The following table states example documents which are acceptable or not for business verification:

To verify legal business name
Acceptable Document	Unacceptable Document
• Business license • Certificate of formation or incorporation • Business tax or VAT registration certificate	• Utility bill (phone, electricity, and so on) • Invoices • Purchase orders • Self-completed declaration about the company • Tax returns filed by you or your company • Bank statement • Printout of website • Other documents such as company flyers, letterhead, etc.
To verify business address and phone number
Acceptable Document	Unacceptable Document
• Utility bill (phone, electricity, etc.) • Bank statement • Business license • Certificate of formation or incorporation • Business tax or VAT registration certificate	• Invoices • Purchase orders • Self-completed declaration about the company • Tax returns filed by you or your company • Printout of website • Other documents such as company flyers, letterhead, etc.

Signup process