What business verification is
Business verification is Meta's check that a business portfolio (the place in Meta Business Suite where your Pages, ad accounts and WhatsApp accounts live) belongs to a legitimate organisation. Meta says it confirms two things: that your business is a legal entity "registered with local authorities" with an official phone number or postal address, and that you are an authorised representative of it.
It is not the same as Meta Verified, and it does not give you a badge. Meta says so in plain words on its help page.
Source: About business verification in Meta Business Suite, Meta Business Help Centre.
Why it matters on WhatsApp
You can start on the WhatsApp Business API without verification. You'll just be capped. Meta's table of features before and after "scaling" your account looks like this:
| Before scaling | After scaling | |
|---|---|---|
| Business-initiated conversations | 250 unique customers per portfolio per 24 hours | 2,000, then higher through automatic scaling |
| Replies to customers who message you | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Phone numbers you can register | Up to 2 | Up to 20 |
| Business name shown in chats | No | Yes, after a display name review |
| Official Business Account | Not eligible | Eligible to apply |
Source: Scale your WhatsApp Business account capabilities, Meta Business Help Centre.
Meta gives three ways to scale. You need only one:
- Meta business verification, which this guide covers.
- Partner-led business verification, where your partner submits the details. This is only open to approved Select and Premier Solution Partners.
- Quality messaging: sending enough high-quality template messages to unique people over 30 days. Meta's developer docs currently set this at 2,000 delivered template messages to unique people outside customer service windows in a 30-day moving period. Meta's help centre still gives an older figure of 1,000 conversations over 30 consecutive days, so check the developer page before you plan around it.
Whichever path you complete, Meta then reviews your message quality before it approves the move to 2,000, so verification on its own is not a guarantee of the higher limit.
Two reasons to pick verification even if you could get there by volume. First, Meta says an Official Business Account needs one of the two verification paths, not quality messaging. Second, a new business rarely has 2,000 opted-in people to message before it is allowed to message 2,000 people a day. Once you're at 2,000, Meta raises the limit automatically when your quality is high and you've used at least half your limit over the last 7 days. Our messaging limits guide covers that climb.
Sources: Messaging limits and Partner-led business verification, Meta for Developers.
Documents Meta accepts, and the South African equivalents
Meta may ask for documents if it can't match the details you type against its own records. If it does, the documents must confirm your legal business name and either your official postal address or phone number. They must be current, issued by the relevant authority, and in a supported language (English is one).
Meta publishes one global list. It does not name CIPC, SARS or any other South African body, so the right-hand column below is our reading of how SA paperwork maps to Meta's categories, not Meta's wording.
| Meta's document type | What it can prove | Typical South African match (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate or articles of incorporation | Legal name, and address or phone | CIPC registration certificate for your company |
| Business registration or licence document | Legal name, and address or phone | CIPC registration documents; a trading licence where your sector or municipality issues one |
| Government-issued business tax document (self-filed returns not accepted) | Legal name, and address or phone | A document issued by SARS in the company's name, such as a VAT registration notice or tax compliance status letter (Meta hasn't confirmed it accepts these) |
| Business bank statement | Legal name, and address or phone | A recent statement for the company's business account |
| Utility bill | Address and phone only, with the legal name on it | A municipal account or telecoms bill in the company's registered name |
Source: Upload official documents to verify your business, Meta Business Help Centre.
Meta asks you to cover personal information it doesn't need, giving a social security number "or the local equivalent" as the example. For South African documents that means SA ID numbers, such as directors' ID numbers where they appear. It's also good practice under POPIA.
Two practical notes for South African entities:
- Use the name exactly as registered. Meta asks that your details "exactly match" your legal entity. If CIPC says "Acme Trading (Pty) Ltd" (a made-up example), don't type "Acme" or "Acme Trading". Your trading name belongs in the WhatsApp display name, not the verification form.
- Sole proprietors have a harder time. Meta's test is registration "with local authorities". A sole proprietor isn't registered with CIPC, so the documents have to come from elsewhere, such as a business bank statement and a SARS-issued document in the trading name. We can't promise Meta will accept these. Talk to us before you submit.
How to verify, step by step
These are Meta's steps in Meta Business Suite on a desktop browser, with what to check at each one.
- Make sure you have full control of the portfolio. Only a business portfolio admin with full control can see Security Centre and start verification. If an agency or a former provider set up your portfolio, check who the admins are first.
- Open Security Centre and click Start verification. If you see "Ineligible for verification", Meta may instead send you an email or notification from another Meta product to complete verification there. Follow that instead.
- Enter your legal name, address, phone number and website. The website must load and use HTTPS. Use the registered address and a phone number you can answer.
- Confirm your business from Meta's matches, or upload documents. If Meta finds no match, choose "My business isn't listed" or "None of these match" and upload documents from the table above.
- Confirm your connection to the business. Choose email, phone call, text message, WhatsApp message or domain verification. Domain verification means adding a meta tag to your home page, uploading an HTML file to your site, or adding a DNS TXT record. Meta may also ask for proof of domain ownership if you choose to get the code by email.
- Submit and wait. You'll get a confirmation that Meta received the submission, then a notification when the review is complete.
Source: Verifying your business in Meta Business Suite, Meta Business Help Centre. Domain steps: Verify your domain.
Meta says that if you edit your business details after verification, you need to verify again. Get the legal name, address and website right the first time, and avoid changing them casually later.
Why submissions get rejected
Meta lists these reasons for rejecting a verification submission:
- Submitting, or being suspected of submitting, false or misleading information.
- Trying to claim or verify a business portfolio you don't own or aren't authorised to represent.
- Trying to get around Meta's review system.
- A website that doesn't load, isn't HTTPS, or has a link that leads to an error.
Source: Why was my business verification submission rejected?, Meta Business Help Centre.
"Suspected of submitting misleading information" is broad. In practice, mismatches can look suspicious even when they're innocent. Before a client submits, we check for these:
- The name on the form differs from the name on the document, even by a missing "(Pty) Ltd".
- The address on the form differs from the address on the document, often an old registered address at CIPC.
- The document is expired, unofficial (a self-filed return), or a utility bill used to prove the legal name.
- The website is a placeholder, has broken links, has no HTTPS, or doesn't mention the legal entity anywhere.
- Directors' ID numbers or other personal details are left visible.
- The person submitting can't receive the code at the business email, phone or domain.
If you're rejected, Meta says you may be able to appeal. Check the status in Security Centre, or wherever you started the process.
How long it takes
Meta's Business Suite help page says a decision "may take up to 14 working days", and you'll get a notification when the review is complete. Preparing the documents and fixing the website usually takes longer than the review. Plan for it before you launch a campaign or migrate a number.
Partner-led verification is faster: Meta's WhatsApp help page says most requests are resolved within minutes, but some can take up to 24 hours. If speed of verification is your main concern, a Solution Partner with that path enabled is a fair choice. Our guide to partner types explains the difference.
Sources: Verifying your business in Meta Business Suite and Scale your WhatsApp Business account capabilities, Meta Business Help Centre.
Your display name comes next
When you reach a higher messaging limit, Meta automatically reviews your phone number's display name. Meta's guidelines say a display name must:
- have a clear relationship with your legal name or with branding that appears on your website (use "Brand by Company" if the link isn't obvious);
- not be a generic word ("Fashion") or a place ("Cape Town") on its own;
- not include "Official" or "Verified", or mention Meta, WhatsApp or Facebook;
- not carry promotional text or look like a web or email address.
This is where a verified legal name and a website that names the company help. If your brand is "Kettle & Crumb" but the company is "Acme Holdings (Pty) Ltd" (both made up), make sure your website says so.
Sources: Display name guidelines, Meta Business Help Centre; Display names, Meta for Developers.
What we can and can't do for you
Codeswop, which runs Euphony, is a Meta Tech Provider. When you connect WhatsApp through Meta's Embedded Signup, the WhatsApp account sits in your business portfolio and Meta bills you directly. That also means verification is yours to submit. We can't do partner-led verification, because Meta limits it to Select and Premier Solution Partners.
What we do instead:
- a checklist matched to your entity type, and a review of your documents before upload;
- a check that your website, HTTPS, legal-name mention and domain email line up;
- help with domain verification (meta tag, HTML file or DNS record) if you choose that route;
- a display name that fits Meta's guidelines, and templates written to keep your quality rating high once you scale.
Codeswop verified its own business portfolio with Meta in March 2025, so we know the screens. The decision is Meta's, and nobody can guarantee it.
Under the account model Meta introduced on 23 September 2026, business verification sits with your business portfolio and is unchanged when you share your WhatsApp account with a new partner. See switching providers.
Sources: Partners overview and Onboarding changes, Meta for Developers.