Template approval states, and why Meta rejects one
A WhatsApp Cloud template is Pending while Meta reviews it, then Active, Rejected or Disabled. The rejection reason is saved with the template, in Meta’s words.
When does the status change?
Meta’s updates arrive automatically and apply straight away, so there’s nothing to refresh by hand.
Rejection
When Meta judges the content and rejects it, the template is saved as Rejected and inactive, with Meta’s reason, such as “Variables can’t be at the start or end of the template”.
A failure that isn’t a judgment on the content, such as an expired access token or Meta being unreachable, doesn’t change the status. Fix the cause, then resend the template.
Fixing a rejected template
Read the reason, change the content, then press Save Changes and Save & resubmit. The edit is sent to Meta for review again.
Common reasons: a variable at the start or end of the text, a category that doesn’t match the content, a language that doesn’t match the text.
At a glance
If something goes wrong
A real example
The reminder template was rejected because of “variables at the end of the template”.
- The text ended with
{{appointment_time}}. - The management added a sentence after it: “We look forward to seeing you.”
The template was approved on the second review.