Introduction

Each WABA can have up to 25 phone numbers registered with it. If you’d like to have more numbers registered you need to contact direct support. Your number can be registered on one API at a time, whether it is WhatsApp Business API or WhatsApp Cloud API.

The phone number you use for your WABA must meet the following criteria:

  • Owned by you
  • Has a country and area code, such as landline and cell numbers
  • Able to receive voice calls or SMS
  • Not a short code
  • Not connected to any other WhatsApp account and not previously used with the WhatsApp Business Platform

If you want to use a phone number that’s already registered with WhatsApp or the WhatsApp Business App, refer to How to Migrate a Phone Number.

Business Numbers: 1-800 and Toll-Free Numbers

Businesses may want to register their 1-800 or other toll-free numbers on the platform, however, these numbers are usually behind an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system, which a WhatsApp registration call cannot navigate.

To get a registration code for IVR phone numbers, complete the following steps:

  1. WhatsApp shares with you 1 or 2 phone numbers that the registration call will come from.
  2. Create an allow list for these numbers. If you are unable to create an allow list for these numbers, add the phone number to your WABA and open a Direct Support ticket asking for the registration call phone numbers and include the phone number you are trying to register in the ticket.
  3. Redirect the registration call to an employee or a mailbox to capture the registration code.

IVR phone numbers unable to receive registration calls will not be supported.