We recommend that a business signs up with the phone number and display name they want to use with the WhatsApp Business Platform and that they want to share with their customers.

We strongly discourage signing up with a test or personal phone number or test display name, as these will be difficult to change afterward.

Phone number guidelines

You may use any number, including landlines, mobile numbers, or toll-free numbers. You must, however, be able to receive an OTP or answer a verification phone call from WhatsApp on the number you provide. It should also be a number with no previous WhatsApp registrations associated with it.

• Phone number used for existing WhatsApp account: A business cannot sign up with a phone number that has already been registered for use with WhatsApp Messenger or the WhatsApp Business App. To use such a phone number, you must first delete the WhatsApp account associated with that phone number to use it for a new business account.

• Toll-free numbers or numbers under IVR: Businesses cannot currently sign up with IVR or toll-free numbers through the flow as they not be able to verify the phone number.

• ISV, SI, and third-party: If you onboard or integrate over an independent software vendor (ISV), system integrator (SI), or a third-party business, each ISV/SI/third-party business must go through the WhatsApp ISV approval process. If approved, ISV/SI/third-party business needs to sign and comply with WhatsApp terms.

• Organizations with government affiliation: If your organization has a government affiliation, you need additional approval from WhatsApp.

• The number must be active during the verification process. You will receive either an SMS or a voice call for authentication and verification purposes.

• You cannot use short codes.

If you’re unsure, the Clickatell support team can confirm whether your number is valid for WhatsApp Business use before registration.

Display name guidelines

• Must follow the WhatsApp Commerce and Business policies.

• Accurate representation of your business:

  • The display name must represent a business or its service, product, or department.

  • A test/demo account must maintain an association with the business.

  • A display name should not be:

    • An individual’s full name.

    • A generic term (e.g., Catering).

    • A generic geographic location (e.g., Cape Town).

    • A slogan or a long description.

• Consistent with external branding.

• Clear relationship with your business.

  • It must be referred to on the business's website or external media references.

• Correct formatting:

  • No variations on title capitalization, must have grammatically correct capitalization, and must not include all capitals except for acronyms.

  • No variations with spacing.

  • No extra punctuation.

  • No emojis.

  • No character symbols.

  • Minimum of 3 characters.

  • Not in URL format.

If you are a verified sender, your display name is visible to the end-user. If not verified, the end-user can view your display name only in the contact information section of the WhatsApp account.

Please reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.