WhatsApp Business verified badge: what it is, how to get it and how to avoid scams
The WhatsApp Business verified badge is the blue checkmark next to a business’s name, which tells customers Meta has confirmed who is on the other end. There are two ways to get it: the Meta Verified subscription in the app, and Official Business Account status on the API. Business verification in your Meta business portfolio, which people often confuse with both, gives you no badge at all. Here is how each one works, how to apply, why Meta says no and how to spot people selling a guaranteed badge.
CCX ProductProduct · Channel rules · Oct 28, 2026 · 10 min read
What you'll take away
- Business verification, Official Business Account and Meta Verified: what each one is and what it unlocks
- How to apply for the badge in the app and on the API, the display name and the reasons for rejection
- What the badge changes, what it doesn’t and how customers recognize the real account
What the WhatsApp verified badge is
The verified badge is the blue checkmark that appears next to a business’s name on WhatsApp. The WhatsApp Help Center explains that it means Meta has verified the account based on its activity across Meta technologies or on information and documents provided. It shows up on the business profile, in chats, in the Calls tab, on context cards and on incoming calls from verified businesses.
Many people still search for the “green badge” or “green tick”. It’s the same badge: on Meta’s current pages, both the Official Business Account on the API and Meta Verified show a blue checkmark. Another common search is “official account”, as if it came with the official WhatsApp API. It doesn’t: using the official API gives nobody a badge, and the badge is always a separate request, with its own rules.
Three different things hide behind the word “verified”. Business verification, done in your business portfolio with business details and documents, unlocks limits but gives no badge. The Official Business Account is the blue badge for businesses on the API, granted after Meta reviews a request. And Meta Verified is a paid monthly subscription in the WhatsApp Business app, whose features Meta has started bringing into Meta One as well.
Business verification: documents, not a badge
Business verification confirms to Meta that your business portfolio, formerly Business Manager, belongs to a real business. Someone with full control of the portfolio opens the Security Center in Meta Business Suite and clicks Start verification. The legal business name, address, phone number and website must match the business registration exactly, and the website must load over HTTPS. If Meta can’t find the business, it asks for official documents, such as a business license or articles of incorporation.
Then comes proof that you represent the business: a code by email, phone call, SMS or WhatsApp message, or verification of your website’s domain. The Help Center says a decision can take up to 14 business days. If you’re going to use the official WhatsApp API, this is the unlock that matters most: a new portfolio can reach 250 people every 24 hours outside the customer service window, and verification is one of the paths up to 2,000.
It also lifts the portfolio’s cap from two registered phone numbers to 20, and it’s a requirement for an Official Business Account. But the Meta Business Help Center is explicit: business verification is different from Meta Verified and doesn’t grant a badge. Meta rejects false information, portfolios that aren’t yours and websites that don’t load, aren’t on HTTPS or link to an error page. Editing your business details later means verifying again.
Official Business Account: the blue badge on the API
On the official API, the badge is called Official Business Account, or OBA. Meta’s documentation lists five conditions: comply with the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy, be registered on the platform for at least 30 days, have the business portfolio pass business verification, have two-step verification turned on for the number and have an approved display name. OBA status isn’t granted to business employees, test accounts or WhatsApp Business app numbers.
The Meta Business Help Center adds a criterion that doesn’t depend on any setting: notability. The business must represent a well-known, often-searched brand, with a presence in news articles from publications with large audiences; paid or promotional content and business listings don’t count. The review looks at the display name you request, and changing the name after you get the badge means a new review. For sub-brands, Meta suggests the name “sub-brand by well-known brand”.
The request starts in WhatsApp Manager: click the phone number, turn on two-step verification and, under Profile, click Submit request next to Official business account. On the WhatsApp Cloud API, the number’s official_business_account field shows the oba_status. If Meta says no, the answer only says the account doesn’t qualify at this time. There’s no appeal, and you can only submit a new request after 30 days. Go through the criteria one by one before trying again.
Display name: what Meta approves
The display name is the name customers see on the profile and, once approved, at the top of the chat and in the chat list. You enter it when you register the number, and the Meta Business Help Center says you don’t need to wait for the review to start sending messages. According to the documentation, the name is verified automatically when your messaging limit goes up and with every change, with a maximum of 10 changes per 30 days.
The guidelines ask for a clear relationship with the legal business name and with the brand as it appears outside WhatsApp; if the link isn’t obvious, Meta suggests the “brand by company” format. It rejects generic terms, like “fashion”, city names, promotional wording, website or email formats, references to Meta or WhatsApp, and the words “official” and “verified”, which suggest an endorsement the business doesn’t have. A rejected name gets the DECLINED status and can be fixed and resubmitted.
Meta Verified and Meta One in the WhatsApp Business app
In the WhatsApp Business app, the badge comes with a subscription. Meta Verified is billed monthly and, according to the Help Center, has four plans: Business Standard, Plus, Premium and Max. All of them include the badge, impersonation protection, support, a verified channel and a business web page. Linked devices range from four to ten, and business broadcasts start with Plus. For bigger teams, the path is the API with a WhatsApp CRM.
Meta started rolling out Meta Verified on the app in June 2024, with Brazil in the first group. Today, the Help Center warns that it may not be available to every account and that Meta decides which plans to offer based on the business’s activity and its volume of interactions with customers. The requirements include being at least 18, an established presence on WhatsApp Business, a recently sent message, and a name and photo on the profile. To see whether you can subscribe, open Tools and look for Meta Verified.
In September 2026, Meta announced Meta One, a subscription that bundles benefits across several apps, and Meta’s business page says Meta Verified features are now part of it. The WhatsApp Help Center says Meta One is in limited testing and isn’t available everywhere yet. In the business plans, the badge only comes after verification, which, in Meta’s words, isn’t automatic and isn’t guaranteed.
How to subscribe to Meta Verified and what gets locked afterwards
In the app, the path is Tools, Meta Verified, Continue, choose the plan, select the accounts, which can include the linked Facebook and Instagram accounts, and pay. Then you pick your business from the records Meta finds and choose a verification method. The review takes up to three business days, with a refund if Meta can’t confirm the business. The business name must match your documents and your profile; if it doesn’t, the app offers Update name on profile, with a review of about 48 hours.
After approval, the profile’s name, category, address, email and website are locked, and editing them removes the badge. The Help Center says the profile may stay locked for up to 20 days; after that, the name can change once every 60 days, with a new review. Changing your phone number cancels the subscription, and if it’s canceled, only the last four active devices stay linked, and the business web page is deleted 15 days later.
What the badge gives you and what it doesn’t change
What the badge gives you is visible trust: the customer sees the blue checkmark at the top of the chat before reading the first message. For businesses on WhatsApp Business with the official API, the documentation points to a practical effect: a number without Official Business Account status doesn’t appear in WhatsApp search results, except for people who saved the contact. In the app, Meta Verified adds the extra devices, broadcasts and impersonation protection.
It doesn’t change your messaging limit or your price. Meta’s pages on messaging limits and pricing don’t mention the badge. The limit belongs to the whole portfolio and goes up with business verification and message quality; the price of each template depends on the category and the recipient’s country. And a badge doesn’t make up for messages customers didn’t ask for: blocks and reports still count against the number.
So the right path depends on where the business works. If you only use the app and have a small team, Meta Verified solves it, if it shows up under Tools. If you use the API, you apply for an Official Business Account. And if you use coexistence between the app and the API, you’re in a case Meta’s pages don’t address, since the OBA rule excludes app numbers. Check with your Meta partner before counting on the badge.
A guaranteed badge is a scam: how to recognize the real account
Some people sell a “guaranteed green badge” or “verification in 24 hours”. There’s no shortcut. The badge only comes from the subscription paid to Meta inside the app, which can’t be transferred or given as a gift, or from an Official Business Account request reviewed by Meta itself, with no appeal. If Meta says verification isn’t automatic or guaranteed, nobody outside Meta can guarantee the badge.
A Meta partner can handle the Official Business Account request with you, and the documentation tells you to contact it when the option doesn’t appear, but Meta is the one that approves. Be wary of anyone who asks for your two-step verification PIN, full control of your portfolio or payment on the side. In February 2026, Meta sent cease and desist letters to eight former partners that sold fake “un-ban” services and rented out access to trusted accounts.
On the customer’s side, the badge is the one mark a scammer can’t copy. A name and a photo can be copied in minutes, which is why Meta bans “official” and “verified” in display names. The WhatsApp Help Center shows what to check on the profile: the WhatsApp Business account label, the blue checkmark on verified businesses and the notice about who manages the chat.
When someone outside your contacts messages you for the first time, WhatsApp also shows the country of their number and any groups you have in common. The business’s part is to publish its official number on its website and invoices, say what it never asks for on WhatsApp and keep WhatsApp customer service on a single number that customers learn to recognize.