Find a template and check whether Meta approved it

Templates belong to a WhatsApp number, and none of them can be used in a campaign until Meta has approved it. This page is about finding the one you want and reading its status.

Before you start — you need a WhatsApp Business number connected on the Integrations page and Message Templates access on it, or workspace ownership.

Steps

Open the list

In the sidebar, under Messaging, click Templates.

The account chip is on the left of the toolbar — everything below it belongs to that number.

Everything loads in one go: there is no pager, so scrolling is all it takes to reach the end.

Make sure you are looking at the right account

The first chip in the toolbar names the WhatsApp account. Templates belong to an account, so switching it loads a completely different set. A number with siblings on the same business account shows its number line as 60123456789 +2 more.

Your choice of account is remembered in this browser, and it is shared with the other WhatsApp screens. Switching account here can change which account another WhatsApp screen is showing.

Filter, search, or change the layout

All · Approved · Pending · Rejected — the status chips. On a narrow screen they collapse into one chip showing the status currently applied.
The magnifying-glass chip opens a search field with the placeholder Search name or message…, so it finds a template by its name or by something in its text. Press / to jump into it.
The last chip, on the right of the row, swaps the layout between a table and cards. Hover it and it names what it will do — Switch to card view or Switch to table view. It is a desktop control: below tablet width the list is always cards. Your choice is remembered in this browser, and the table is the default.

Animation

One chip, two layouts. Cards show more of each template; the table fits more of them on screen.

A count line appears only while something is narrowing the list: Showing 4 of 27 templates.

In table view the columns are Name, Category, Status, Language and Content. All but Content sort: click once for A–Z, again for Z–A, and a third time to go back to the order the list arrived in. Language drops out on a narrow window, then Content.

Read the status

The Status pill is the only thing that decides whether a template can be used.

Pill	Colour	What it means
Approved	green	Ready. It can back a campaign
Pending review	amber	With Meta. It cannot be sent, and it cannot be edited
Rejected	red	Meta refused it. The reason is in the preview
Paused	neutral	Paused. It cannot back a campaign
Disabled	neutral	Disabled. It cannot back a campaign
Unknown	neutral	No status came back for it

Only Approved can back a campaign. The status chips filter on the first three only, so a Paused or Disabled template shows under All.

You do not need to reload to see a decision. The list listens for status changes, so a template goes from Pending review to Approved or Rejected while you are looking at it.

Preview it

Click a row, or the eye icon on it, to see the message as a recipient would — your example values filled in, formatting applied, buttons in place.

The dialog’s header carries the template’s name, its language as an upper-case code (EN, EN_GB), and two chips on the right: the category and the status. A Quality row with stars appears when Meta has scored the template.

A rejected template carries Meta's own reason in a red band — that is the only place it is shown.

There is no close X on this dialog. Use Close, press Esc, or click outside it. When the preview was opened from a place that can edit, an Edit button sits beside Close.

Use an approved one

An Approved template’s row carries a Use in a campaign icon. It opens the campaign composer right there, with this account and this template already chosen — see Send a WhatsApp campaign.

That icon is only on approved templates. Everything else has to wait for Meta.

What the content column tells you

Content does not show the message. It summarises the template’s shape, so you can tell two similar templates apart at a glance: Text only, or a glyph for the kind of media header, how many variables it has, and how many buttons.

To read the actual words, open the preview.

If something goes wrong

What you see	Why	What to do
A template you know exists is not in the list	The account chip is set to a different WhatsApp number	Switch the account chip
`No templates found` with `Try adjusting your search or filter.`	A filter or search matched nothing	Set the status chip to All and clear the search
`No templates found` with `Create your first template to get started.`	This account has no templates at all	Click New template
A template has been Pending review for a long time	Meta is still deciding. Nothing on our side is holding it	Wait. The pill changes on its own; you do not need to reload
Use in a campaign is missing from a row	The template is not approved	Only an approved template can be sent
A template is Rejected and you cannot see why	Meta’s reason lives in the preview, not the list	Open the preview and read the red band
The view toggle is not there	It is a desktop control; narrow screens are always cards	Use a wider window
Language or Content columns have gone	They drop out as the window narrows	Widen the window, collapse the sidebar, or open the preview
Another WhatsApp screen changed account when you switched it here	The account choice is shared across the WhatsApp screens in this browser	Set it back on whichever screen you need
`Connect a WhatsApp account first`	No WhatsApp Business account is connected	Click Go to Integrations and connect one
`No Message Templates access`	You have no template permission on any WhatsApp account	Ask a workspace owner or an admin to grant it