Your phone number is the part of the WhatsApp Business API your customers actually see and trust. A lot rides on it — the name shown in chat, whether you earn a green tick, how many messages you may send, and how safe the number is.
Registering phone numbers
Before a number can send or receive on the WhatsApp Business Platform, it has to be registered. A few ground rules:
- The number can still be used for everyday things — regular calls and SMS — even when it’s not on WhatsApp.
- A number that’s active in the personal WhatsApp Messenger app can’t be registered until you delete it from that app first.
- With ChatMitra, business numbers can only be registered through Embedded Signup — Meta’s guided sign-up flow.
If you don’t have a number ready yet, you can register a Meta-provided +1 555 number instead and add your own number later.
Eligibility requirements
For a number to qualify, it needs to:
- Belong to your business — you own and control it.
- Have a valid country and area code (short codes aren’t supported).
- Be able to receive a voice call or an SMS, so Meta can send the verification code.
How many numbers you can register
New accounts start with a cap, which grows as you build trust:
- A new portfolio is capped at 2 numbers.
- That limit can expand up to 20 numbers.
- The increase happens either by Meta’s automatic evaluation of your account, or by completing Business Verification.
When your limit changes, Meta fires a business_capability_update webhook event so your system knows the new cap.
View your phone numbers in WhatsApp Manager
You can see all your registered numbers in one place:
- Open Meta Business Manager > WhatsApp Manager.
- Click Phone numbers in the side panel to see the full list, each with its status, display name, and quality rating.
Removing (downgrading) a phone number
If you need to take a number off WhatsApp:
- You can’t delete a number that has sent paid messages in the last 30 days — you’ll have to wait out that window.
- Deletion is done only through Meta Business Manager; there’s no API endpoint for it.
Guides in this section
- Phone numbers for the WhatsApp Business API — which numbers work, and the basic rules.
- Quality rating — the health score that decides your sending limits.
- Display names — Meta’s naming and approval rules.
- Official Business Account (the green tick) — what it is and how it’s granted.
- Two-factor authentication (2FA) — the PIN that protects your number.
- Business profiles — the about, address and links shown on your number.
- Coexistence — using the WhatsApp app and the API on the same number.
- Message links — click-to-chat / wa.me links.
- Meta-provided 555 phone numbers — real numbers Meta hands out when you don’t have one yet.