# Template Approval and Statuses

> How Meta reviews WhatsApp templates, what each status in Avox means, how status emails work, and how to edit and resubmit a template.

Source: https://docs.theavoxai.com/templates/approval

Every template you create goes to Meta for review before it can be sent. Avox submits it for you,
shows its status on the Templates page and on the template's own page, and keeps that status up
to date as Meta reviews it.

## How review works

**1. You submit the template**

Clicking **Submit to Meta** in the [Create template wizard](https://docs.theavoxai.com/templates/create) sends the
template to Meta. It appears in **Your templates** with the status Meta returns, usually
**Pending review**.

**2. Meta reviews it**

Meta reviews the template's content against the example values you gave it. Review isn't
instant, so the template stays **Pending review** until Meta decides.

**3. Avox receives the result**

Meta tells Avox when a template's status changes, and the Templates page shows the new status
the next time you open or refresh it. **Refresh from Meta** asks Meta straight away.

Templates created from [Meta's template library](https://docs.theavoxai.com/templates/library) skip the review wait, since
Meta has already verified their content.

## What each status means

| Status | Meaning | Can you send it? |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Approved** | Meta approved the template. | Yes |
| **Pending review** | Meta is still reviewing it, or reviewing an edit. | Not yet |
| **Rejected** | Meta declined it. Hover the badge to see Meta's reason, exactly as Meta sent it. | No |
| **Paused** | Meta paused it because people reported or blocked it. | No, until the pause ends. Consider rewording it. |
| **Disabled** | Meta disabled it after repeated quality problems. | No. Create a new, reworded version. |
| **FLAGGED** | Meta flagged it for low quality. If it doesn't improve, Meta may pause it. | Automations send only Approved templates. Reword it soon. |

When Meta reports a quality rating for a template, hovering its status badge shows it, for
example "Quality: GREEN" (a rejected template's badge shows the rejection reason instead). Any
other status Meta reports is shown with Meta's own name for it.

Every Switchboard member sees the same statuses. Status changes arrive from Meta on their own;
**Refresh from Meta** on the Templates page also brings in the latest status, category, quality
rating, and rejection reason for every template at once.

## Status emails

When a template becomes **Rejected**, **Paused**, **Disabled**, or **Flagged**, Avox emails every
Admin of the Switchboard with
the template's name, language, new status, and Meta's reason (when Meta gives one), plus a link
to the Templates page. These emails belong to the **WhatsApp account alerts** preference on
[Compliance](https://docs.theavoxai.com/compliance), which we recommend keeping on. See [Emails](https://docs.theavoxai.com/emails) for every email
Avox sends.

## When a template is rejected

**1. Read Meta's reason**

Open the template's page. The **Issues** panel shows Meta's reason code explained in plain
English, with how to fix it. (Hovering the **Rejected** badge also shows the code.)

**2. Fix the content**

For a Custom message template, click **Edit and resubmit** on its page and change the wording
(see [Editing a template](#editing-a-template)). For any other type, create a new template
with the corrected content and delete the rejected one.

**3. Resubmit**

Submitting the edit sends it straight back to Meta, and the status returns to **Pending
review**.

See [Template categories](https://docs.theavoxai.com/whatsapp/template-categories) for how Meta applies categories, and
[Create](https://docs.theavoxai.com/templates/create#avoiding-a-rejection) for the content checks Avox runs.

## Rejection reasons

| Meta's reason | What it means | How to fix it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `INVALID_FORMAT` | The layout of the template isn't accepted - usually variables or sample values. | Number variables in order with no gaps, don't start or end the body with a variable or put two side by side, give every variable a realistic sample, and remove extra blank lines. |
| `TAG_CONTENT_MISMATCH` | The category doesn't match what the message says. | Pick the category that fits (Marketing for offers, Utility for updates about an existing order or account), or change the wording to fit the category. |
| `INCORRECT_CATEGORY` | Meta decided the template belongs in another category. | Resubmit under the category Meta expects - usually Marketing for anything promotional. |
| `PROMOTIONAL` | Promotional wording in a template that isn't Marketing. | Switch to Marketing, or remove the offer, discount or call to buy. |
| `ABUSIVE_CONTENT` | Wording Meta considers abusive or against WhatsApp's policies. | Rewrite it in neutral, respectful language, and check the WhatsApp Commerce Policy for restricted products. |
| `SCAM` | Meta thinks the message could mislead people. | Say clearly who you are and why you're messaging, avoid urgent pressure and requests for passwords or card details, and link to your own domain. |
| `INVALID_PARAMETERS` | A variable or its sample value isn't valid. | Give every variable a sample with no line breaks or tabs. |
| `CATEGORY_NOT_AVAILABLE` | That category can't be used for this account or language. | Pick another category. |

Paused, disabled and flagged templates get the same plain-English explanation on the template's
page, including any note Meta sent: the first pause lasts 3 hours, the second 6 hours, and after
that Meta disables the template.

## Status history

The **Issues** panel on a template's page keeps a timeline of everything Meta reported about it -
approvals, rejections with their reason, pauses, quality changes, and category changes (including
Meta's notices that it will move a template to another category) - plus every edit submitted
from Avox and which parts it changed.

## Editing a template

Custom message templates can be edited in place, without creating a new one. Meta's rules decide
when:

| Status | Can you edit it? |
| --- | --- |
| **Approved** | Yes - once every 24 hours and at most 10 times in 30 days. The category can't change. |
| **Rejected** | Yes, as often as you need. |
| **Paused** | Yes, as often as you need. |
| **Pending review** | No - wait for Meta's decision ([AVX-3160](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3160)). |
| **Disabled** and others | No - create a new template ([AVX-3161](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3161)). |

Avox counts an approved template's edits itself and refuses an edit over the limit before it
reaches Meta. When the button is unavailable, the template's page says why and when the next edit
is possible. Any Switchboard member (Admin or Manager) can edit.

**1. Open the template**

Click **Manage** on its row in **Your templates**, then click **Edit template** (or **Edit and
resubmit** for a rejected or paused template).

**2. Change the content**

You can change:

- **Category** - **MARKETING**, **UTILITY**, or **AUTHENTICATION** (locked for an approved
  template).
- **Header text (optional)** - up to 60 characters. A media header stays exactly as it is.
- **Body** - required, up to 1024 characters.
- **Sample values** - shown when the body has numbered variables. Type them comma-separated, in
  order, for example `Jordan, #A1042`.
- **Footer text (optional)** - up to 60 characters.

Buttons carry over unchanged, as the dialog notes.

**3. Click Review changes**

**Review your changes** lists each part that changed, before and after, and any problems
Avox's checks found in the new content. Problems that break Meta's rules must be fixed before
you can submit. An edit that changes nothing can't be submitted
([AVX-3165](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3165)), so it never uses up one of your edits.

**4. Click Submit to Meta**

You see "Template updated - back in review with Meta", and the status returns to **Pending
review**.

If Meta refuses the edit, you see Meta's own explanation when it gives one, or "Meta rejected
that edit" ([AVX-3051](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3051)). Check the wording and try again.

One-time passcode, Calling permission request, and Catalogue templates contain parts Meta fixes
itself. To change one of these, create a new template.

## Status and automations

An automation's **Send a template** action can only use an **Approved** template, and an
automation can only be switched on while every template it sends is still approved. If a
template it uses leaves Approved, switching the automation on shows "One of this automation's
actions sends a template that's no longer approved". Pick a different template for that action,
or get this one approved again. While an automation that's already on fires, an action whose
template isn't Approved is skipped and the rest of the chain carries on. See
[Actions](https://docs.theavoxai.com/automation/actions).

## Related errors

| Code | Message |
| --- | --- |
| [AVX-3016](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3016) | Meta couldn't accept that template. Check its wording and try again. |
| [AVX-3026](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3026) | Couldn't refresh templates from Meta. Try again. |
| [AVX-3051](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3051) | Meta rejected that edit. Check the wording and try again. |
| [AVX-3160](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3160) | This template is still in Meta's review. You can edit it once it's approved, rejected or paused. |
| [AVX-3161](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3161) | Only approved, rejected or paused templates can be edited. Create a new template instead. |
| [AVX-3162](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3162) | Approved templates can be edited once every 24 hours. Try again later. |
| [AVX-3163](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3163) | This approved template has used all 10 edits Meta allows in 30 days. |
| [AVX-3164](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3164) | The category of an approved template can't be changed. |
| [AVX-3165](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3165) | Nothing changed. Edit the content before resubmitting. |
| [AVX-3166](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3166) | Meta says this template has reached its edit limit for now. |
| [AVX-3167](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3167) | Meta is limiting requests right now. Wait a few minutes and try again. |
| [AVX-3168](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3168) | Your WhatsApp connection needs to be reconnected before templates can be edited. |
| [AVX-3169](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3169) | Couldn't load this template's history. Try again. |