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Meta reviews every WhatsApp template before you can send it. Meta says a decision can take up to 24 hours. When Meta rejects a template, its status changes to Rejected and you can’t send it until you fix it and Meta approves it. For the parts of a template (categories, headers, buttons and variables), see Template reference.

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Find the rejection reason

Flowella shows Meta’s reason in two places:
  • The notification. Everyone in your organisation gets a Message template rejected notification. It names the template and gives Meta’s reason, for example “Reason: INVALID_FORMAT”. Flowella also emails it, unless you turned email off in Notification preferences.
  • Status history. Open the template and select the Statistics tab. Under Status history, the line for the rejection ends with Meta’s reason. See Meta status history.
Meta also emails the admins of your Meta business portfolio, and lists rejections in its Business Support Home with more detail. See Meta’s template review page.

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Errors before review

Sometimes Meta refuses a template as soon as you select Publish Template or Save Template. The editor shows a message, such as “This template has too many variables for its length”, and the template doesn’t go into review. Fix what the message describes and publish again. For every message, see Template errors when you publish.

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Common reasons and fixes

Meta checks that the content fits the category you chose:
  • Marketing: promotions, offers, newsletters and re-engagement.
  • Utility: updates about a specific order, booking, account or request, with no promotional content.
  • Authentication: one-time passcodes only.
A Utility template with a discount, an offer or a “come back” message isn’t Utility. Submit it as Marketing. Meta can also approve a template in a different category from the one you chose. See Meta’s template categorisation guidelines.
Authentication templates can only carry a one-time passcode, with Meta’s optional security and expiry lines, and they need a passcode button. Links, media and marketing content are not allowed. Flowella’s editor doesn’t add passcode buttons, so create Authentication templates in WhatsApp Manager. See Authentication templates.
Meta reviews your template with sample values in place of the variables. In Flowella, each variable’s Fallback value is also its sample. Use values that read naturally in the message:
  • For a name, use a real-looking first name.
  • For a link, use a realistic address on your own website, not a placeholder.
  • Keep samples consistent with the rest of the text.
See Fallback values.
Meta rejects templates whose variables:
  • Skip a number or appear out of order. Number them {{1}}, {{2}}, {{3}}.
  • Contain special characters, such as #, $ or %.
  • Start or end the message. Put words before the first variable and after the last one.
  • Outnumber the words around them. Add more fixed text, or use fewer variables.
See Template variables.
Meta rejects text that reads like an advert in a hurry:
  • Long runs of capital letters
  • Several exclamation marks in a row
  • “Click here” with no context
  • Claims such as “guaranteed” or “100% free”
  • Urgency without a real deadline
Write a calm, factual message that reads like a useful update.
For image, video and document headers, Meta reviews the sample file you upload with the template. Use a file that matches the message and meets Meta’s media rules. See Media headers.
  • Button text longer than 25 characters
  • A URL button whose address doesn’t start with https://
  • A phone button whose number isn’t in international format, such as +447700900123
Fix the button that breaks the rule and leave the others as they are. See Buttons.
Meta rejects a template whose body and footer repeat the wording of another template in your WhatsApp Business Account. Change the wording, or use the existing template.Each template name can only be used once per language. If you delete an approved template, Meta doesn’t let you reuse its name for 30 days. Flowella then shows “WhatsApp is still removing a template with this name. Choose a different template name and publish again.” Pick a new name.

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Fix and resubmit

1

Open the template

On the Templates page, open the rejected template in the editor.
2

Make your changes

Fix the problem that the rejection reason points to.
3

Select Save Template

Save Template sends your changes to Meta, and the template goes back into review with the status Pending.
4

Wait for Meta's decision

Meta says a decision can take up to 24 hours. Flowella notifies you with Message template approved or Message template rejected.
To start again from a copy instead, select Clone in the editor or in the template’s actions menu. Flowella creates a draft with the same content and _copy added to the name. Edit the draft, then select Publish Template. See Clone a template. Meta lets you edit a rejected or paused template as often as you need. Approved templates have a limit, which Flowella shows when you publish: “After WhatsApp approves this template, you can edit it once in any 24-hour period (up to 10 times in 30 days). Further edits may be sent back for review.” See Meta’s template management page. If you think Meta rejected the template by mistake, you can appeal in WhatsApp Manager. See Meta’s template review page.
To change a template that is already approved and in use, Clone it and publish the copy. Your live sends keep using the approved version while Meta reviews the new one.

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Still rejected after fixing?

Contact Flowella support with:
  • The template name and language
  • The reason from Status history or the rejection notification
  • A screenshot of the template’s header, body, footer and buttons

Template reference

Categories, statuses, headers, buttons and limits.

Template variables

Variables, sample values and fallback values.

Templates

Create, test and manage templates.

WhatsApp error codes

Errors when you publish or send a template.
Last modified on October 24, 2026