Help Center / WhatsApp Business API

Guide to WhatsApp API Error Codes

This page provides a complete reference of Meta WhatsApp Cloud API error codes that you may encounter when using OneChat. Each error includes a description, possible solution, and a link to the official Meta documentation when available.

Tip: Use the table of contents or search (Ctrl+F) to quickly find a specific error code. You can also bookmark the direct link to any error using the #error-{code} anchor in the URL.
Need help? If you encounter an error not listed here or need further assistance, contact our support team at soporte@onechat.com.do.

Integrity Errors

These errors are related to policy violations, account restrictions, or account locks. They are returned with a 403 - Forbidden HTTP status code.

Error 368

Title Temporarily blocked for policies violations
Description The WhatsApp Business Account associated with the app has been restricted or disabled for violating a platform policy.
Solution See the Policy Enforcement document to learn about policy violations and how to resolve them. Contact OneChat support for further assistance.
Meta Docs Policy Enforcement

Error 130497

Title Restricted region
Description The WhatsApp Business Account is restricted from messaging to users in certain countries.
Solution See WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy for details on allowed countries for messaging in your business category. Cross-country messaging can be unlocked by completing a scaling path to reach the 2,000 messaging limit tier.
Meta Docs WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy

Error 131031

Title Account has been locked
Description The WhatsApp Business Account has been restricted or disabled for violating a platform policy, or Meta was unable to verify data included in the request (e.g., the two-step PIN included in the request is incorrect).
Solution 1. Disable 2FA. 2. Re-register the number. 3. Enable 2FA again. See the Policy Enforcement document for more details.
Meta Docs Policy Enforcement

Messaging Errors

These errors occur when sending or receiving messages through the WhatsApp Cloud API.

Error 1

Title API Unknown
Description Invalid request or possible server error.
Solution Check the WhatsApp Business Platform Status page. If there are no server outages, verify that your request is formatted correctly.
Can Retry Yes
Meta Docs WhatsApp Business Platform Status

Error 2

Title API Service
Description Temporary due to downtime or due to being overloaded.
Solution Check the WhatsApp Business Platform Status page before trying again.
Can Retry Yes
Meta Docs WhatsApp Business Platform Status

Error 33

Title Parameter value is not valid (deleted number)
Description The business phone number has been deleted.
Solution Verify that the business phone number is correct.

Error 100

Title Invalid parameter
Description The request included one or more unsupported or misspelled parameters. For Marketing Messages: Message must be a template message.
Solution Review the API documentation to make sure you are sending the correct data and structure. Contact OneChat support if the error persists.

Error 131000

Title Something went wrong
Description Message failed to send due to an unknown error.
Solution Try again. If the error persists, contact OneChat support.
Can Retry Yes

Error 131005

Title Access denied
Description Permission is either not granted or has been removed.
Solution Use the access token debugger to verify that your app has been granted the permissions required by the endpoint.

Error 131008

Title Required parameter is missing
Description The request is missing a required parameter.
Solution Review the API documentation to make sure you are sending all required parameters.
Meta Docs Messages API Reference

Error 131009

Title Parameter value is not valid
Description One or more parameter values are invalid.
Solution Review the API documentation to make sure you are sending the correct data and structure. Contact OneChat support if the error persists.

Error 131016

Title Service unavailable
Description A service is temporarily unavailable.
Solution Check the WhatsApp Business Platform Status page before trying again.
Can Retry Yes
Meta Docs WhatsApp Business Platform Status

Error 131021

Title Recipient cannot be sender
Description Sender and recipient phone number is the same.
Solution Send a message to a phone number different from the sender.

Error 131026

Title Message undeliverable
Description Unable to deliver message. This may happen because the contact phone number is not registered on WhatsApp, the recipient has blocked you, or the message was rejected by WhatsApp for delivery policy reasons. Note: Meta does not always disclose the underlying cause of this error due to privacy and policy reasons.
Solution Verify the contact phone number is valid and exists on WhatsApp. Using a non-WhatsApp communication method, ask the user to: confirm they can send a message to your business number, check that your number is not blocked, accept Meta's latest Terms of Service, and update to the latest version of WhatsApp.

Error 131037

Title Display name approval needed
Description The 555 business phone number used to send the request does not have an approved display name.
Solution Change the 555 business phone number's display name.
Meta Docs How to change your WhatsApp Business display name

Error 131042

Title Payment issue
Description WhatsApp rejected the message delivery due to an error in your payment method. Common problems: payment method not registered in Meta Business, credit line is empty or over limit.
Solution Go to Meta Business Manager and make sure your WhatsApp Business Account payment method is set up correctly and has funds.
Meta Docs Billing

Error 131045

Title Incorrect certificate
Description Message failed to send due to a phone number registration error.
Solution Register the phone number before trying again.

Error 131047

Title Out of 24h response window
Description More than 24 hours have passed since the recipient last replied and the free response window has expired.
Solution To re-open the conversation, send the user an approved template message.

Error 131049

Title Meta chose not to deliver
Description This message was rejected by WhatsApp due to sending too many marketing messages to the same user in a short period of time. This is a Meta limitation to maintain healthy ecosystem engagement.
Solution Wait at least 24 hours before sending a marketing template message to the same user. Do not retry immediately — the limit may be in effect for varying periods of time. This feature is deployed for all businesses and there is no whitelisting available. This limit is not active in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, Japan, or South Korea.
Meta Docs Per-User Marketing Template Message Limits

Error 131050

Title Opted-out from marketing messages
Description Unable to deliver the message. This recipient has chosen to stop receiving marketing messages on WhatsApp from your business.
Solution Do not retry sending messages to this user as they will not be received.

Error 131051

Title Unsupported message type
Description The message format is not supported by the WhatsApp Cloud API. This typically happens when receiving interactive button messages that are not sent as approved templates, or when sending unsupported media types. This is a limitation of Meta's Cloud API.
Solution Use approved message templates with buttons instead of interactive button messages. Templates are the officially supported method by Meta for sending structured messages with buttons. See the Messages API reference for supported message types.
Meta Docs Messages API Reference

Error 131052

Title Media download error
Description Unable to download the media sent by the user.
Solution Ask the WhatsApp user to send you the media file using a non-WhatsApp method.

Error 131053

Title Media upload error
Description Unable to upload the media used in the message. This may be caused by an unsupported media type.
Solution Inspect any media files that are causing errors and confirm that they are supported.
Meta Docs Supported Media Types

Error 131055

Title Method not allowed (Marketing Messages API)
Description Only marketing template messages are supported. You may have attempted to send a non-template message, or an authentication or utility template.
Solution Try sending again using a marketing template message.

Error 131057

Title Account in maintenance mode
Description The WhatsApp Business Account is in maintenance mode. One reason for this could be that the account is undergoing a throughput upgrade.
Solution Try again later.
Can Retry Yes

Error 135000

Title Generic user error
Description Message failed to send because of an unknown error with your request parameters.
Solution Review the API documentation to make sure you are sending the correct data and structure. Contact OneChat support if the error persists.

Rate Limit Errors

These errors occur when API rate limits or message throughput limits are exceeded.

Error 4

Title WhatsApp API limit exceeded
Description Number API calls rate limit has been reached.
Solution Implement request throttling or exponential backoff. Contact OneChat support if you need a higher rate limit.
Can Retry Yes

Error 80007

Title WABA rate limit exceeded
Description The WhatsApp Business Account has reached its rate limit.
Solution Verify your business in Meta to increase your rate limit. Try again later or reduce the frequency of API queries.
Can Retry Yes

Error 130429

Title Throughput rate limit hit
Description Cloud API message throughput has been reached.
Solution Try again later or reduce the frequency with which messages are sent. Contact OneChat support if the issue persists.
Can Retry Yes

Error 131048

Title Spam protection
Description Message failed to send because there are restrictions on how many messages can be sent from this phone number. This may be because too many previous messages were blocked or flagged as spam.
Solution Check your quality status in the WhatsApp Manager.
Can Retry Yes

Error 131056

Title Too many messages sent
Description Too many messages sent from the sender phone number to the same recipient phone number in a short period of time.
Solution Wait and retry the operation.
Can Retry Yes

Template Errors

These errors are related to message template creation, formatting, or sending.

Error 132000

Title Template Param Count Mismatch
Description The number of variable parameter values included in the request did not match the number of variable parameters defined in the template.
Solution Make sure the request includes values for all of the parameters required by the template.
Meta Docs Message Template Guidelines

Error 132001

Title Template does not exist
Description The template does not exist in the specified language or the template has not been approved.
Solution Make sure your template has been approved and the template name and language locale are correct.
Meta Docs Message Template Guidelines

Error 132005

Title Template Hydrated Text Too Long
Description Translated text is too long.
Solution Check the WhatsApp Manager to verify that your template has been translated correctly.

Error 132007

Title Template Format Policy Violated
Description Template content violates a WhatsApp policy.
Solution Review the template content and ensure it complies with Meta's policies.
Meta Docs Message Template Guidelines

Error 132012

Title Template Parameter Format Mismatch
Description Variable parameter values formatted incorrectly. The variable parameter values included in the request are not using the format specified in the template.
Solution Review the template parameter format requirements.

Error 132015

Title Template is Paused
Description Template is paused due to low quality so it cannot be sent in a template message.
Solution Edit the template to improve its quality and try again once it is approved.

Error 132016

Title Template is Disabled
Description Template has been paused too many times due to low quality and is now permanently disabled.
Solution Create a new template with different content.

Error 2388019

Title Message Template Limit Exceeded
Description You have exceeded the maximum number of message templates you can have for this WhatsApp Business Account.
Solution A WhatsApp Business Account can have up to 250 message templates. Remove unused templates to make room for new ones.
Meta Docs Template limits

Error 2388040

Title Character limit exceeded
Description A field in your template has exceeded the maximum character limit allowed.
Solution Refer to the error message for specific details on the affected field and its character limits.

Error 2388047

Title Message header format is incorrect
Description Your message header contains invalid formatting.
Solution Refer to the error message for specific details on valid formatting.

Error 2388072

Title Message body format is incorrect
Description Your message body contains invalid formatting.
Solution Refer to the error message for specific details on valid formatting.

Error 2388073

Title Message footer format is incorrect
Description Your message footer contains invalid formatting.
Solution Refer to the error message for specific details on valid formatting.

Error 2388293

Title Parameters words ratio exceeds limit
Description This template has too many variables for its length.
Solution Reduce the number of variables or increase the message length.

Error 2388299

Title Leading or trailing parameters not allowed
Description Variables cannot be at the start or end of the template.
Solution Move variables so they are not at the beginning or end of the template text.

Flow Errors

These errors are related to WhatsApp Flows.

Error 132068

Title Flow is blocked
Description Flow is in blocked state.
Solution Review and correct the Flow in Meta Business Manager.

Error 132069

Title Flow is throttled
Description Flow is in throttled state and 10 messages using this flow were already sent in the last hour.
Solution Wait before sending additional messages using this Flow.

Phone Registration Errors

These errors occur during phone number registration, migration, or verification.

Error 2388001

Title Phone verification failed
Description Certificate can be downloaded only after confirming ownership of a phone number that is being migrated. Or two-step authentication must be disabled.
Solution Register and verify the number. Ensure two-step verification is disabled.
Meta Docs Registering Phone Numbers

Error 2388012

Title Phone number already exists
Description The phone number you are trying to migrate is already present in your WhatsApp account.
Solution Try again with a phone number that is not already present in your WhatsApp account.

Error 2388091

Title Phone number not eligible
Description Phone ownership verification APIs are not available for this use case.
Solution Register and verify the number.

Error 2388103

Title Cannot migrate phone number
Description There was an error migrating this phone number or webhooks have not been set up for the destination account.
Solution Subscribe your app to webhooks on the destination WhatsApp Business Account. Ensure business verification is completed.

Error 133000

Title Incomplete Deregistration
Description A previous deregistration attempt failed.
Solution Deregister the number again before registering.

Error 133004

Title Server Temporarily Unavailable
Description Server is temporarily unavailable.
Solution Check the WhatsApp Business Platform Status page and try again later.
Can Retry Yes

Error 133005

Title Two step verification PIN Mismatch
Description Two-step verification PIN incorrect.
Solution Verify that the two-step verification PIN is correct. To reset the PIN, disable two-step verification, then set a new PIN.

Error 133006

Title Phone number re-verification needed
Description Phone number needs to be verified before registering.
Solution Verify and register the phone number.

Error 133008

Title Too Many PIN Guesses
Description Too many two-step verification PIN guesses for this phone number.
Solution Try again after the amount of time specified in the response.
Can Retry Yes

Error 133009

Title PIN Guessed Too Fast
Description Two-step verification PIN was entered too quickly.
Solution Wait before trying again.
Can Retry Yes

Error 133010

Title Phone number Not Registered
Description Phone number not registered on the WhatsApp Business Platform.
Solution Register the phone number before trying again.

Error 133015

Title Registration wait needed
Description The phone number you are attempting to register was recently deleted, and deletion has not yet completed.
Solution Wait 5 minutes before re-trying the request.
Can Retry Yes

Error 133016

Title Register/deregister rate limit exceeded
Description Registration or deregistration failed because there were too many attempts for this phone number in a short period of time.
Solution Wait until the number is unblocked and try again.
Can Retry Yes

Account and Business Errors

These errors are related to account status, experiments, payments, and business account operations.

Error 130472

Title User's number is part of an experiment
Description Message was not sent as part of an experiment.
Solution See Meta's Marketing Message Experiment documentation.
Meta Docs Marketing Message Experiment

Error 134011

Title WhatsApp Payments terms of service not accepted
Description Message failed to send because WhatsApp Payments terms of service acceptance is pending for this WhatsApp Business Account.
Solution Accept the WhatsApp Payments terms of service using the link provided in the error message.

Error 2494100

Title Account in maintenance mode
Description The business phone number is in maintenance mode.
Solution Try again in a few minutes.
Can Retry Yes

Error 2593079

Title WABA marked for migration
Description This WABA has already been marked for migration to a different solution ID. The OBO account ownership model is now deprecated.
Solution Contact OneChat support.

Error 2593085

Title Invalid WABA for OBO Mobility
Description The WABA is not eligible for OBO ownership transfer. The OBO account ownership model is now deprecated.
Solution Contact OneChat support.

Error 2593107

Title Synchronization request limit exceeded
Description You have exceeded the maximum number of times to call the synchronization API for this phone number.
Solution You can only call this endpoint once to synchronize contacts and once to synchronize messaging history.

Error 2593108

Title Synchronization request outside allowed time window
Description Synchronization request can only be made within 24 hours of onboarding.
Solution Disconnect the number and re-connect it to initiate a new synchronization window.

Marketing Messages API Errors

These errors are specific to the Marketing Messages API.

Error 134100

Title Only marketing messages supported
Description You are only able to send marketing messages on this API. You are attempting to send a utility or authentication template.
Solution Only templates categorized as MARKETING are supported on the Marketing Messages API.

Error 134101

Title Template still syncing
Description When you send a message from a template, the template syncing process can take up to 10 minutes to complete.
Solution Wait a few minutes, and then try sending your message again.
Can Retry Yes

Error 134102

Title Template unavailable for use
Description We were unable to complete Ad synchronization for the template you are attempting to send, or you may not be eligible for the Marketing Messages API.
Solution Check your eligibility status or contact Meta's customer support.

Error 1752041

Title Duplicate onboarding request
Description A duplicate request is thrown when a client has already been invited to onboard by any partner.
Solution If you receive this error, no further action is required — the onboarding request has already been made.

Official Meta documentation: For the most up-to-date error code reference, visit the Meta WhatsApp Cloud API Error Codes page.
Still need help? Contact OneChat support at soporte@onechat.com.do.

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