Blog · WhatsApp API · 8 min read
How to get the WhatsApp Business API: a step-by-step guide for Indian businesses
Apply for WhatsApp Business API in India: pick a provider, set up a Meta business portfolio, choose a number, get verified and submit your first templates.
By the ConvoBox team · ConvoBox Inc, Official Meta Tech Partner
Key takeaways
- You apply for the WhatsApp Business API through a provider, which opens Meta's own embedded signup window to connect your number.
- Keep your Facebook login, business details, phone number, logo, documents and a payment card ready before you start.
- You can use a new number, move your app number fully to the API, or use coexistence to run the app and the API on one number.
- Business verification lifts your messaging limit from 250 to 2,000 unique customers in a moving 24 hours and is needed for the blue tick.
- Use the same business name and address on your portfolio, documents and website, because mismatches are a common cause of delays.
- Meta controls every review, so nobody can honestly guarantee approval or a fixed timeline.
On this page
- What do you need before you apply?
- How do you apply for the WhatsApp Business API, step by step?
- Which phone number should you use?
- What are the rules for the display name?
- Do you need business verification, and what documents work?
- What should your first templates be?
- How long does it take to get the WhatsApp Business API?
- What mistakes slow people down?
- How does signup work with ConvoBox?
To get the WhatsApp Business API in India, you sign up with a provider (a Meta Solution Partner or Tech Provider), connect through Meta's own signup screen, pick a phone number, and get your display name approved. Business verification and your first templates follow. The connection itself can often happen in one sitting. Meta's reviews take as long as they take, and nobody outside Meta can promise a timeline.
Below, we go in order: what to keep ready, each step of signup, which phone number to use, display name and verification, your first templates, and the mistakes that slow people down. Most providers give you a dashboard for all of this, so you usually won't need a developer.
What do you need before you apply?
You need a Facebook login, your business details, a phone number you control, and a few documents for verification. Gather these first, because hunting for a GST certificate halfway through signup is how a short job turns into a week. Tick them off as you go:
- A personal Facebook account you can log in with (it's used to manage your Meta business portfolio, not shown to customers)
- Your Meta business portfolio, or the details to create one: legal business name, address, phone and email
- A phone number that can receive an SMS or a call for the verification code
- The display name you want customers to see, matching what your business is actually called
- A square logo for the profile picture
- A website or official page that shows the same business name and address
- Business documents for verification, for example a GST certificate, a registration certificate or a utility bill in the business name
- A payment method for Meta's message charges (usually a card)
- A list of customers who have actually opted in to hear from you
Meta decides which documents it accepts for verification, and that can differ by business type. The examples above are common ones, not a guaranteed list.
How do you apply for the WhatsApp Business API, step by step?
The whole process runs through your provider's dashboard, which opens Meta's embedded signup window for the Meta parts. Here's the order most businesses follow:
- Choose a provider
Look at what you'll need in the next few months: a team inbox, broadcasts, a Shopify connection, a chatbot. Ask how they charge for Meta messages and whether someone helps with setup. A cheap plan with no help can cost you more in lost days.
- Create an account with the provider
Many providers offer a free trial. Sign up with your work email.
- Start Meta's embedded signup
From the provider's dashboard, click connect. A Facebook window opens. Log in and either pick your existing business portfolio or create a new one.
- Create your WhatsApp Business Account
Inside the same window, Meta creates a WhatsApp Business Account under your portfolio. This is where your numbers, templates and limits live.
- Add and verify your phone number
Enter the number, choose SMS or call, and type the code Meta sends. If you're bringing an existing WhatsApp Business app number, follow the provider's instructions for migration or coexistence (see the next section).
- Set the display name and profile
Enter the display name and fill in your logo, description, address, email and website. Meta reviews the display name.
- Add a payment method
Add a card in your Meta business settings for message charges. Since 1 January 2026, Meta bills Indian businesses in rupees.
- Start business verification
Submit your documents in your Meta business settings or through the provider's guided flow. You can usually start messaging before this finishes, but at the lowest limit.
- Create and submit your first templates
Write two or three templates you'll actually use and submit them for review. Approved templates are what let you start conversations.
- Send a test, then go small
Message yourself and a colleague first. Then send to a small group of opted-in customers and check the replies before anything bigger.
Which phone number should you use?
You have three options: a fresh number, moving your existing WhatsApp Business app number fully to the API, or coexistence, where the same number works on the app and the API together. Each one has a real trade-off.
| Option | What happens | Good for | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| New number | A number that has never been on WhatsApp, used only on the API | New brands, or keeping the API separate from the owner's phone | Customers don't know it yet. Put it on your website, bills and packaging. |
| Move existing number fully | Your current app number moves to the API and stops working in the app | Businesses whose customers already know the number and that want everyone on the team inbox | You lose the app on that number. Ask your provider what happens to old chats before you move. |
| Coexistence | The same number runs on the WhatsApp Business app and the API at once | Owners who want to keep replying from the app while staff and automation use the API | Several app features aren't available through the API, and API throughput is fixed. |
What should you know about coexistence?
Meta's documentation sets out the rules. Your app needs to be version 2.24.17 or later, and onboarding has to go through a Solution Partner or Tech Provider. Up to the most recent 6 months of one-to-one chats and your contacts can be synced. Group chats, voice and video calls, broadcast lists, disappearing and view-once messages, app labels, quick replies, greeting messages and the catalog or business tools aren't supported through the API.
Messages you send from the app stay free. Messages sent through the API are charged at API rates. Throughput is fixed at 20 messages per second for coexistence numbers, which matters only if you send large campaigns. Our coexistence guide helps you decide if it suits you.
What are the rules for the display name?
Meta reviews every display name against its guidelines before it's shown to customers. The safest choice is the name customers already know you by, the one on your website, signboard and invoices. Say your shop is called Meenakshi Silks (a made-up name) and your website says the same: that match is what you want. A generic phrase like "Best Silk Sarees Online" reads more like a search term than a business, so expect it to be questioned.
If the name is rejected, work out what doesn't match instead of resubmitting the same thing. Make sure your website, business portfolio and the display name say the same thing. An approved display name is also one of the requirements for the blue tick (Official Business Account).
Do you need business verification, and what documents work?
You can often start without it, but you'll want it soon. Verifying your business portfolio is one of the ways to move your messaging limit from 250 to 2,000 unique customers in a moving 24 hours. It's also a requirement for the blue tick.
Meta asks for documents that prove your business's legal name and, often, its address or phone number. Indian businesses commonly use a GST certificate, a shop and establishment registration, a certificate of incorporation, or a utility bill in the business name. Meta decides what it accepts in your case.
The details on the document should match the portfolio exactly. Say your GST certificate reads "Sri Lakshmi Textiles Private Limited" (a made-up name) while your portfolio says "Lakshmi Textiles". Expect questions. A website on your own domain with the same name and address may help Meta tie it all together.
What should your first templates be?
Start with templates you'll use every week, not a big launch campaign. Good first picks:
- A welcome or follow-up message for people who asked about you and opted in (usually marketing).
- An order or booking confirmation with the order number and amount (utility, as long as there's no offer in it).
- A reminder for appointments, payments or deliveries (utility).
Give every variable a realistic sample value when you submit, like "Priya" for the name and "#4471" for the order number. Keep utility templates free of promotions, because a utility template Meta considers marketing gets approved as marketing and priced that way. Our guide to template categories shows examples of each.
How long does it take to get the WhatsApp Business API?
The technical connection is often done in one sitting. Everything after that depends on Meta's reviews: the display name, business verification and each template. Some businesses are fully set up the same day. Others wait days, or longer if documents don't match or Meta asks for more information.
Even once you're live, a new number starts at a limit of 250 unique customers in a moving 24 hours. So plan your first big festive campaign a few weeks after signup, not the night before Diwali. Our guide to messaging limits and quality rating explains how that limit grows.
What mistakes slow people down?
- Using a number that's still active on another WhatsApp account without choosing migration or coexistence first.
- Different business names on the portfolio, documents and website.
- A display name that describes what you sell instead of naming your business.
- Submitting promotional templates as utility, then wondering why they're charged as marketing.
- Importing every phone number you've ever collected. Only people who opted in should be messaged, and a cold list can drag your quality rating down.
- Forgetting the payment method. Meta can stop delivering your messages if none is on file.
How does signup work with ConvoBox?
ConvoBox is an Official Meta Tech Partner, so you connect a new or existing number through Meta's embedded signup inside the ConvoBox dashboard. The app guides you through business verification and the WhatsApp profile (display name, logo, description, address and website), and shows your messaging tier and quality rating once you're live. On the Grow and Scale plans, a specialist sets things up with you. You can see what's included on the features page and compare plans on the pricing page.
If you're still working out whether you need the API at all, read what the WhatsApp Business API is first.
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