WhatsApp's 24-hour rule: what it is and when it applies
The WhatsApp 24-hour rule decides when a business may message a customer freely and when only an approved template will do. How it works, and what it costs.
For any business replying to customers on WhatsApp, through the app or the API · 4 min read · updated
In short
- On the WhatsApp Business Platform, a business may send free-form messages only within 24 hours of the customer's last message.
- Outside that window only an approved template can be sent; a free-form message is refused with error 131047.
- The window restarts every time the customer writes to you.
- The rule belongs to Meta's platform, so every API provider inherits it; the free WhatsApp Business app does not have it.
- Replies inside the window are free; templates are priced per message by category and country.
- The cheapest message is the one you send after the customer writes first.
The rule in one paragraph
On the WhatsApp Business Platform — the API that CRMs, chatbots and shared inboxes connect to — a business can send any message it likes for 24 hours after the customer last wrote to it. Meta calls this the customer service window. Once it closes, the only thing the business may send is a pre-approved message template.
The window restarts every time the customer sends a message. A customer who replies at 9 pm on Monday reopens it until 9 pm on Tuesday, however long the conversation had been quiet before that.
Send a free-form message outside the window and it is not delivered. The API refuses it with error 131047, a re-engagement message, and the customer never sees it.
It is Meta's rule, not your software's
The window is a policy of Meta's Business Platform, so everything built on that platform inherits it: the official Cloud API, and every provider that resells access to it. Changing vendor does not remove it, and a vendor claiming otherwise is either not on the platform or not telling you something.
It does not apply to the free WhatsApp Business app on a phone. That app has no templates and no window, but it has limits of its own — most importantly, a broadcast list only reaches people who have saved your number in their contacts.
Nor does it apply to a linked-device connection, the protocol WhatsApp Web uses, because on that route the business is simply another device on the phone's account. That suits a team answering its own customers. It is not a way round the rule for marketing: WhatsApp's terms prohibit bulk and automated messaging outside the Business Platform, and numbers that behave like broadcasters get banned.
Templates, and what each kind is for
A template is a message written in advance and submitted to Meta for approval, with placeholders for the parts that change — a name, an order number, an amount due. Each is filed under a category, and the category decides both what it may say and what it costs.
Before any template goes out, you need the person's opt-in. Meta's messaging policy requires that someone has agreed to hear from you on WhatsApp, and a number collected for a delivery or bought on a list is not that agreement.
- Utility: tied to something the customer did or asked for — an order confirmation, a delivery update, a reminder about a payment they owe.
- Marketing: anything promotional — offers, new arrivals, win-back messages. The most restricted category and the most expensive.
- Authentication: one-time passwords and login codes, and nothing else.
What it costs, and what is free
Since July 2025 Meta has charged per template message delivered, rather than per 24-hour conversation, at rates that vary by category and by the recipient's country. Replying to a customer inside the service window costs nothing, and utility templates sent while that window is open are free too.
The practical consequence is that the cheapest way to use WhatsApp is to have customers message you first. A 'WhatsApp us' link on an invoice, a receipt or a delivery slip opens the window at no cost, while a marketing template sent into silence is the most expensive message on the platform.
Meta also offers a longer free window for conversations that begin from a click-to-WhatsApp ad. Check the current terms before you plan around it: the pricing has changed more than once, and it will again.
Running a business inside the window
Answer quickly. The window runs from the customer's last message, not yours, so a reply sent an hour later has already spent an hour of it. A shared inbox where anybody free can answer beats one phone in the owner's pocket for exactly this reason.
Ask for what you need while the window is open. If an order needs a delivery address or a payment needs confirming, ask now — the same question tomorrow needs a template.
Get a few utility templates approved before you need them: a payment reminder, an order update, an appointment confirmation. Approval is usually quick, but not on the afternoon a customer is waiting.
Let your software show which state a conversation is in. Staff should see that a window has closed before they type the reply, not after it fails to send.
Common questions
- Does the 24-hour rule apply to the WhatsApp Business app?
- No. The rule belongs to the WhatsApp Business Platform, the API that software connects to. The free Business app on a phone has no templates and no window, though its broadcast lists only reach people who have saved your number.
- What happens if I message a customer after 24 hours?
- On the API, a free-form message is refused and never delivered — Meta returns error 131047. Send an approved template instead; if the customer replies, the window reopens for another 24 hours.
- Is a payment reminder a marketing message?
- No. A reminder about an amount the customer actually owes is a utility message, provided it contains no promotion. Add an offer to it and it becomes marketing, with marketing's restrictions and price.