Free WhatsApp Template Checker
Paste your WhatsApp message template below to catch the formatting and category mistakes that get templates rejected - before you submit it to Meta for review. Everything runs in your browser; the template text you enter is never sent to or stored on our servers.
No buttons added.
Fill in a body above to see what Meta's review will catch.
Why WhatsApp templates get rejected
Every business-initiated WhatsApp message sent outside the 24-hour customer service window has to use a pre-approved message template. Meta reviews every template before it can send a single message, and rejection is common enough that it has its own support queues at every WhatsApp Business Solution Provider. Almost all of it comes down to two things: the template does not follow Meta's structural rules for placeholders, characters and buttons, or it was filed under the wrong category. Both are mechanical, which is exactly what makes them checkable before you submit.
The placeholder rules that trip people up
Variables use double curly braces - {{1}} for positional parameters or {{customer_name}} for named ones, never both styles in the same template. Positional placeholders must start at {{1}} and run without skipping a number. The body can never open or close with a variable - Meta requires real text on both ends - and two placeholders can never sit directly next to each other with nothing between them. A text header is allowed exactly one variable; a footer is allowed none.
- Body: up to 1,024 characters, any number of placeholders.
- Header (text): up to 60 characters, at most one placeholder.
- Footer: up to 60 characters, no placeholders at all.
- Button label: up to 25 characters; up to 10 buttons in total, at most 2 website buttons and 1 phone button.
Marketing, Utility or Authentication - pick the right one
Category mismatch is the single most common cause of rejection, and the one that does the most long-term damage if it keeps happening. Marketing covers promotions, announcements and anything with persuasive intent. Utility is reserved for non-promotional messages that are either specific to something the user already did - an order update, a delivery alert - or essential to a transaction in progress; the moment a utility template mentions a sale, a discount or a limited-time offer, it reads as marketing to Meta's reviewers. Authentication is narrower still: it exists only for one-time passcodes, uses Meta's own fixed wording rather than text you write, and only supports an OTP autofill or copy-code button.
Filing one promotional template as Utility usually just gets it silently recategorized to Marketing after approval. Doing it repeatedly escalates: a written warning to your account admins, then a hard cap on how many utility messages you can send in a rolling 24-hour window, then every approved utility template on the account gets forced to Marketing with new utility templates blocked outright, and finally the restriction can spread to every WhatsApp Business Account under the same Meta Business portfolio for 30 days. None of that is reversible by resubmitting a better-worded template - it is an account-level penalty, not a per-template one.
After the template is approved
Getting a template approved only solves outbound messaging. The replies it generates still need somewhere to go - a shared inbox if a person answers them, or a WhatsApp chatbot if you want common follow-up questions answered automatically once the 24-hour service window is open. If you also need a plain click-to-chat link for a bio or a business card rather than an approved template, the WhatsApp link generator builds one in seconds.
Frequently asked questions
Why does WhatsApp reject message templates?
The two most common causes are formatting - variables that are not sequential, a body that starts or ends with a placeholder, or two variables sitting next to each other - and category mismatch, where promotional wording is submitted under Utility. Content that breaches WhatsApp's Business or Commerce Policy is rejected regardless of formatting. Meta reviews most templates within minutes, though it can take up to 24 hours.
What is the character limit for a WhatsApp template body?
1,024 characters for Marketing, Utility and Authentication templates alike. An earlier, shorter limit that applied only to Marketing templates has since been rolled back, so all three categories now share the same 1,024-character body cap. Headers and footers are separately capped at 60 characters each.
Can a WhatsApp template variable be the first or last word?
No. Meta requires real text before the first placeholder and after the last one, so a body cannot open or close with {{1}}. This stops templates from being indistinguishable from spam once the variable is filled in, and stops two templates from becoming identical after substitution. Add a greeting, a word of context, or a closing line around your placeholders instead.
What is the difference between Marketing, Utility and Authentication templates?
Marketing covers promotions, announcements and anything persuasive. Utility must be non-promotional and either specific to the user or essential to a transaction they already started, like an order update or account alert. Authentication is reserved for one-time passcodes and uses Meta's fixed wording, not free text. Filing a promotional template as Utility is the single most common miscategorization.
What happens if I keep filing Utility templates that are actually Marketing?
Meta automatically recategorizes the template, but repeated misfiling escalates: first a written warning to your WhatsApp Business Account admins, then a cap on utility message volume within a rolling 24-hour window, then every approved utility template on the account gets recategorized to Marketing with new utility templates blocked, and finally the restriction can extend across your whole Meta Business portfolio for 30 days.
How many buttons can a WhatsApp template have?
Up to 10 in total, mixing quick-reply and call-to-action buttons. Call-to-action buttons are capped separately: at most 2 website (URL) buttons and 1 phone-number button. When you mix quick-reply buttons with call-to-action buttons, each type has to sit in its own unbroken block - you cannot alternate between them.
Can I use named placeholders like {{customer_name}} instead of {{1}}?
Yes, WhatsApp supports both positional placeholders ({{1}}, {{2}}, ...) and named placeholders ({{customer_name}}), but a single template must use one style throughout - not a mix of both. Named placeholders must be lowercase letters and underscores only, with no spaces, digits or capitals.
Does this checker submit my template to Meta?
No. It never has and never will - everything happens in your browser using the same rules Meta publishes for its own review, and your template text is never sent to or stored on our servers. It catches the formatting problems Meta's automated review checks for, but final approval always rests with Meta, so genuinely borderline content can still be rejected.
Related tools and reading
- WhatsApp link generator - build a click-to-chat wa.me link.
- Message template - what a template is and why the 24-hour window requires one.
- WhatsApp chatbot - answer template replies automatically.
- All free tools - the rest of the no-signup tools family.
Connect WhatsApp to a chatbot that answers the replies automatically. Free plan, no credit card.