This guide explains creating and submitting WhatsApp sender numbers and templates.

Notice: When testing and developing with the Twilio Sandbox for WhatsApp, you can only send template messages using one of the three pre-approved templates. In order to use your own phone numbers and custom message Templates specific to your business, you must first submit your account to be enabled for WhatsApp.

Onboard Twilio numbers

Numbers that have been onboarded to WhatsApp are called WhatsApp Senders, and templates are shared between all the Senders on the same Twilio Account SID.

If you are a direct customer, follow the instructions laid out in our documentation to onboard your WhatsApp Senders: https://www.twilio.com/docs/whatsapp/self-sign-up 

If you are an ISV, follow the guide in our documentation here: https://www.twilio.com/docs/whatsapp/tech-provider-program 

View or add Templates for an existing approved sender

After your WhatsApp Sender has been approved, you can view your approved templates and submit additional approval requests from the Content Template Builder page.

1. Access the Content Template Builder page in Console by navigating to Messaging > Content Template Builder.
2. Click the Create new button.
3. Fill out the various fields, establishing the template name, language, and content type. Then click Create.
4. Fill out the fields specific to the content type and click Save or, if you are ready to submit to WhatsApp, click Save and Submit for WhatsApp approval. 

After your WhatsApp Sender has been approved, you can view your approved templates and submit additional approval requests from the WhatsApp Message Templates page.

1. Access the WhatsApp Message Templates page in Console by navigating to Messaging -> Senders -> WhatsApp Templates.
2. Click the Submit a Message Template button. If you are not creating a template for the first time, you will see the New message template button. Click it to create additional templates.
3. Fill out the various fields of the template form, click Submit Message Template and the template will be sent to WhatsApp for approval. All templates must be approved by WhatsApp before you can use them for messaging users.

Template statuses

The following approval status are seen on submitted WhatsApp message templates:

• Pending: All submitted message template requests will remain in pending status until WhatsApp makes a decision on approval.
• Rejected: Any message template request that was not approved will be in rejected status.
• Approved: Any message template request accepted by WhatsApp will be in the approved status. Only approved templates can be used for outgoing template messages.
• Paused: The template has been paused due to recurring negative feedback from customers. Message templates with this status cannot be sent to customers and will fail with error 63041. See WhatsApp’s documentation on Template Pausing for more information.
• Disabled: The template has been disabled due to recurring negative feedback from customers or for violating one or more of WhatsApp’s policies. Message templates with this status cannot be sent to customers.

Template rejections

If your template was rejected, it is likely due to one of the following factors:

• Major spelling or grammar errors
• Template is too vague

For more info, see Recommendations and best practices for creating WhatsApp templates.

Editing Templates after submission

It is not currently possible to make changes to a template after it has been submitted. Instead, we recommend users submit a new template request with the desired changes.

Removing (Deleting) Templates

If you are no longer using a message template, you may remove it in the Twilio Console.

1. Access the Content Template Builder page in Console.
2. Click on the title of the template you’d like to remove.
3. Click Delete at the bottom of the page.
4. Alternatively, you can delete the template from the Content Template Builder page by clicking on the 3-dot icon on the far right and then click Delete.

Please note that per WhatsApp guidelines, you may not reuse the name of a deleted template for 30 days after deletion.