Palby AI Agent
Updated 6 min read

WhatsApp green tick rules: who Meta verifies, and who it turns away

Who qualifies, the five checks Meta runs, the steps to apply, and what to do if Meta says no.

By Leo Tan, founder of Palby AI Agent

What the WhatsApp green tick is now

For years, a verified business on WhatsApp showed a green tick beside its name, and people still search for it by that name. Meta's developer documentation now describes a blue checkmark instead.

Meta gives a badge to a business number in two ways, depending on which WhatsApp the number runs on:

  • A number on the Business Platform, the API, can apply to be an Official Business Account. Meta's documentation says approved numbers "have a blue checkmark beside their name in the contacts view".
  • If it runs on the WhatsApp Business app, the badge comes with Meta Verified, a paid subscription. Meta's features page calls it "your Meta Verified checkmark badge" and says it "signals your business is authenticated by Meta".

The two don't overlap. Meta's documentation says it doesn't grant Official Business Account status to "WhatsApp Business app phone numbers". If you run your business on the app, Meta Verified is the only way to a badge.

Official Business AccountMeta Verified
Runs onWhatsApp Business Platform (API)WhatsApp Business app
What it costsNothing to apply; you pay for API messagesA subscription
How you get itApply in WhatsApp Manager or through the APISubscribe in the app
What Meta checksPolicy compliance, 30 days on the Business Platform, business verification, two-step verification, an approved display nameMeta's page doesn't list the criteria
If refusedApply again after 30 daysNot stated on Meta's page

Who can get an Official Business Account

Meta's Official Business Accounts page sets five conditions. Your business and number need all of them:

  1. You follow the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy.
  2. Your business has been registered on the WhatsApp Business Platform for at least 30 days.
  3. The business portfolio that owns the number has passed Meta's Business Verification.
  4. Two-step verification is turned on for the phone number.
  5. Meta has approved the number's display name, the business name customers see on the chat.

Meta also says it doesn't grant the status to business employees, test accounts or Business app numbers. So a salesperson's own number won't qualify, even if the company is verified.

The criteria are about checks Meta can run, not about how famous your brand is. Older guides on page one say you need press coverage or a well-known name. Meta's page today lists no such condition, so don't hold back an application for lack of news articles.

Display name approval is the step that catches people out. Meta's display names page says your name "automatically undergoes verification" once your number reaches a higher messaging limit. The name has to follow Meta's display name guidelines. You can change a display name up to 10 times in 30 days, then re-register the number within 14 days.

How to apply for an Official Business Account, step by step

If your number is on the Business Platform, here's the order that works, from Meta's own pages:

  1. Verify your business portfolio through Business Verification in Meta Business Suite. Do this first, because Meta also uses it to raise your messaging limit.
  2. Check that your display name shows as approved in WhatsApp Manager, under Account tools, then Phone numbers.
  3. Turn on two-step verification for the number.
  4. Wait until your business has been on the Business Platform for 30 days since it registered.
  5. Open WhatsApp Manager, then Overview, and click the phone number.
  6. Under Phone numbers, then Profile, then Official business account, click Submit Request.

Developers can check where a request stands through the API, by asking for the number's official_business_account field. Meta notifies you when it decides.

If you meet every condition and still can't see the option, Meta's page says to contact "your Meta point-of-contact, Solution Provider support, or Meta Support". If a vendor connected you to the API, start with their support team.

Meta doesn't publish how long a review takes. Its page says only that you'll be notified once the request has been reviewed.

If Meta says no

A refusal means Meta's team decided your account doesn't meet the requirements "at this time", in Meta's words. You have to wait 30 days before you apply again.

Use the wait. Go back through the five conditions and check each one is still true. A display name that was changed, or two-step verification that was switched off, will sink a second try.

Meta's page also points out that a refusal doesn't stop you telling customers who you are. Every business number has a profile with a picture, email, website and description, and you can edit those at any time. Keep them complete, since a customer who sees a full profile is more likely to trust a number without a badge.

Meta Verified, the badge for Business app numbers

If your business runs on the app, Meta Verified is the badge. Meta's Business App Features page lists what the subscription includes:

  • The checkmark badge, which Meta says shows customers the business is authenticated by Meta.
  • Impersonation protection, which Meta says helps identify and stop accounts pretending to be you.
  • Priority email and chat support, which Meta lists as part of the subscription.
  • A web page and a URL you can share, which Meta says makes the business easier to find in web search.
  • Up to 10 linked devices and agents on the account.

Meta is changing how it sells this. Its Meta One page says, "We're bringing the best of Meta Verified into Meta One", a new subscription for the Business app, and that current Meta Verified subscribers keep what they have for now. Plans, benefits and availability "may vary by region, by app, and by account", so check inside your app under Tools to see what's on offer for your number.

Meta's pages didn't list a Singapore price for either subscription when we checked, so we haven't given one.

Is the badge worth it?

For a business on the Business Platform, the Official Business Account brings one benefit that's easy to miss: being found. Meta's page says a number that isn't an Official Business Account "will not appear in search results when users search for it" inside WhatsApp, unless the user has saved it. Meta recommends applying for the badge to improve discoverability.

The rest is trust. A customer about to pay, or to send personal details, feels safer seeing a checkmark beside the name.

For a small business on the app, weigh it against what customers see already. A complete profile, your business name on the chat and fast replies do a lot of the same work.

Made-up example: a car workshop sends service reminders and quotes through the Business Platform. Its two front-desk staff answer in a vendor's inbox.

Customers keep forwarding its messages to friends, and two people have set up fake accounts using its logo to collect deposits.

In March it verifies its business portfolio and turns on two-step verification. Its display name, "Ubi Auto Care", gets approved when the messaging limit rises.

In April, after more than 30 days on the Business Platform, it submits the request in WhatsApp Manager.

If Meta approves it, the number shows a blue checkmark and turns up when customers search for the workshop inside WhatsApp. If not, it can apply again after 30 days.

The fake accounts don't disappear on their own. The workshop still reports them, and tells customers which number is real.

What the badge won't do

A checkmark doesn't protect a number from WhatsApp's own rules. The Business Messaging Policy says people "can block or report businesses", and that WhatsApp may limit how many messages a business sends based on that feedback. That applies with or without a badge.

It doesn't raise your messaging limit by itself either. Meta's documentation ties higher limits to business verification and message quality, which also happen to be part of getting the badge.

Some tools can't get you a badge at all. Palby AI Agent, which we make, can't give you a green tick or a blue checkmark. It links the WhatsApp number you already use as a device, through a third-party service, and doesn't use the Business Platform. So there's no Business API to apply for and no Official Business Account to request. WhatsApp's help centre also warns that "linking your device through unofficial apps or websites may put your account at risk". Read how our numbers link and send if you're weighing it up. Anyone who promises a checkmark through a linked-device tool is promising something Meta doesn't offer.

Want the badge? Use the Business Platform, as the WhatsApp Business API guide sets out, or Meta Verified on the app. The WhatsApp Business guide compares the two.

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Questions about the WhatsApp green tick

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Earn the trust in the chat. The badge comes after.

Fill in your profile, answer fast and message only people who asked. Those count before any checkmark does.

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