Guidelines and Eligibility Criteria for Creating a WhatsApp Authentication Template Guidelines and Eligibility Criteria for Creating a WhatsApp Authentication Template

Guidelines and Eligibility Criteria for Creating a WhatsApp Authentication Template

Asha Chintaluru

Objective

Authentication templates are WhatsApp's most restrictive template category. They are used to send one-time passwords (OTPs) to verify users at various stages such as account verification, account recovery, and integrity challenges.

Before you can create an Authentication template, your WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) must meet specific eligibility requirements set by Meta, and the template itself must follow strict content and structure rules.

Applies To

  • WhatsApp Authentication Templates
  • Messges API

Eligibility Requirements

All of the following conditions must be met before Authentication template creation is available on your WABA.

1. Meta Business Verification

Your Business Portfolio must be fully verified with Meta. Unverified businesses cannot create Authentication or OTP templates.

2. Messaging Volume Threshold

Meta requires your WABA to have reached a daily messaging limit of 2,000+ business-initiated conversations per phone number before Authentication template creation is unlocked.

  • You can monitor your progress under the Limits section in WhatsApp Manager

  • To build toward this threshold, actively send high-quality messages using Marketing or Utility templates

  • Once the threshold is reached, Authentication template creation is enabled automatically

    Note: This restriction is enforced by Meta, not Vonage. Other template categories (Marketing, Utility) may work fine while Authentication remains blocked until the above criteria are met.

3. No Active Bans or Restrictions

Your WABA and Business Portfolio must be in good standing with no active bans, restrictions, or account-level issues on Meta's side.

 

Compliance Requirements

Authentication templates are WhatsApp's most restrictive category. For a template to be classified as Authentication, a business must:

  • Use Cloud API authentication message templates from the WhatsApp Template Library

    • These are preset templates with fixed body text: <VERIFICATION_CODE> is your verification code.

    • Optional add-ons include a security disclaimer ("For your security, do not share this code.") and an expiry warning ("This code expires in <NUM_MINUTES> minutes.")

       

  • Configure a one-time password (OTP) button with one of the following buttons:

    • Copy Code button — copies the OTP to the device clipboard; works on all platforms (Android and iOS). Please see Meta's documentation for more details.

    • One-Tap Autofill button — automatically delivers the OTP to your app; Android only, falls back to Copy Code on non-Android devices. Please refer to Meta documentation for more details.

    • Zero-Tap Autofill — the OTP is delivered silently to your app with no user interaction required; Android only, requires a broadcast receiver in your app to capture the code. Please refer to Meta documentation for more details.

     

  • Content restrictions:

    • URLs are not allowed in template content or parameters

    • Media (images, video, documents) is not allowed

    • Emojis are not allowed

    • Parameters are restricted to a maximum of 15 characters

 

Common Error

"This WhatsApp Business account does not have permission to create message template"

The above error is returned directly by Meta (not Vonage) and indicates that one or more eligibility requirements have not been met. Common causes include:

  • Incomplete Meta Business Verification

  • WABA has not yet reached the 2,000 daily business-initiated conversation threshold

  • Account is banned or restricted at the WABA or Business Portfolio level

If your business is verified, your messaging limit has reached 2,000+ daily business-initiated conversations, and there are no active bans or restrictions on your account, and you are still seeing this error, please contact Vonage Support so we can investigate further with Meta.

 

Next Steps

Once your WABA meets all the eligibility and compliance requirements above, refer to How to Create a WhatsApp Authentication Template for step-by-step instructions on creating your template.

 

Additional Information

Related to:

WhatsApp Templates WhatsApp Authentication Template

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