WhatsApp Cloud API · error code

WhatsApp error 131045: Incorrect certificate

ConfigurationHTTP 500Phone number registration

Last verified against Meta for Developers - Cloud API error codes

What WhatsApp returns
Message failed to send due to a phone number registration error.

What error 131045 means

Code 131045 means the business phone number you are sending from is not in a properly registered state, so messages cannot go out. The title "Incorrect certificate" comes from the older registration flow that used a certificate; on the Cloud API the practical meaning is that registration for this number is missing, incomplete, or has been invalidated, and the platform cannot use it as a sender.

The typical story is a number that was added to the WABA and shows in WhatsApp Manager, but the POST /{phone-number-id}/register call was never made, or was made and then the number was deregistered (for example, while migrating from the WhatsApp Business app or from On-Premises), or registration was disturbed by a PIN change. The HTTP status documented is 500, which misleadingly suggests a server fault.

Recipients, templates, and tokens are not involved. This is state on your sender number.

Why it happens

  • The register call was never made for this phone number ID.
  • The number was deregistered, intentionally or during a migration, and not re-registered.
  • A registration attempt failed partway (see 133000) leaving the number unusable.
  • Registration was done under a different phone number ID than the one now used for sending.
  • The number was moved between WABAs and needs registering on the new one.

How to fix WhatsApp error 131045

  1. 1Call GET /{phone-number-id}?fields=status,code_verification_status and check the number's status.
  2. 2If not registered, POST /{phone-number-id}/register with messaging_product whatsapp and the six-digit PIN.
  3. 3If the number was mid-deregistration, deregister again and then register (see 133000).
  4. 4Confirm the phone number ID used for sends is the one you registered.
  5. 5Retry the send once status is CONNECTED.

How to stop it recurring

Include registration status in your health check: query the number's status at startup and alert if it is not CONNECTED. Automate registration as an idempotent step in onboarding with the PIN pulled from a secrets store, and avoid manual deregistration in production without a runbook that re-registers immediately. The register-verify sequence and its failure modes are covered step by step in the registration troubleshooting guide; if the platform says the number does not exist at all, that is code 33.

Official reference: Meta for Developers - Cloud API error codes. See all WhatsApp error codes or the WhatsApp limits and quotas.

Related codes

Error 131045 - quick answers

What does WhatsApp error 131045 mean?

Code 131045 means the business phone number you are sending from is not in a properly registered state, so messages cannot go out. The title "Incorrect certificate" comes from the older registration flow that used a certificate; on the Cloud API the practical meaning is that registration for this number is missing, incomplete, or has been invalidated, and the platform cannot use it as a sender.

How do I fix WhatsApp error 131045?

1. Call GET /{phone-number-id}?fields=status,code_verification_status and check the number's status. 2. If not registered, POST /{phone-number-id}/register with messaging_product whatsapp and the six-digit PIN. 3. If the number was mid-deregistration, deregister again and then register (see 133000). 4. Confirm the phone number ID used for sends is the one you registered. 5. Retry the send once status is CONNECTED.

Stop debugging WhatsApp by hand

Connect the channel through Conferbot: tokens, webhooks and retries are handled, failures show as readable status.