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Template rejected or reclassified

What to do when Meta refuses a template, or moves it to MARKETING.

Rejected at submission

MsgOrb shows Meta's message verbatim. The frequent ones:

Meta saysFix
Variables can't be at the start or endAdd fixed text before the first and after the last variable
Content violates policyRewrite as a factual notice. Remove promotional or celebratory wording
WhatsApp Business Account not connectedMsgOrb has no WABA ID. See Connecting Meta and WhatsApp

Fix the specific problem, then click Submit to Meta once.

Do not resubmit small variations repeatedly. Repeated rejections count against your WhatsApp Business Account quality rating, which is what raises your messaging limit tier.

Approved, then reclassified to MARKETING

Meta re-reads templates over time and can move one from UTILITY to MARKETING. You will normally be emailed about it, and the badge on Templates changes.

This matters because Meta has blocked all marketing templates to United States (+1) numbers since April 2025, with no announced end date. Sends to those numbers then fail with error 131049. Members outside the United States are unaffected.

Why reclassification happens

UTILITY, in Meta's reading, means the message follows from a specific action the recipient took: a booking, an order, an account event. Wording that does not reference such an action tends to be read as promotional, however plainly it is written. In practice:

Reads as UTILITYTends to be read as MARKETING
Your appointment on Tuesday at 4pm is confirmedJoin us on Sunday
Order A-10423 is out for deliveryHappy birthday from all of us
Your registration for the training session is confirmedYou have a new message waiting, reply 1

If you believe the reclassification is wrong

Request a review in Meta Business Support. That is a Meta process; MsgOrb cannot change a category.

What still works meanwhile

  • Members who message you first open a 24-hour window, and inside it you can send anything.
  • Members outside the United States receive marketing templates normally.
  • Utility notices that reference a real transaction continue to deliver everywhere.