WhatsApp Business API errors explained: what the common error codes mean

How errors reach you

Meta says Cloud API errors come back in two ways: straight away, as the response to your request, or later through the messages webhook, and sometimes both. It advises watching both, because some failures only show up in the webhook after the request was accepted.

Each error carries a code, a short message such as "(#130429) Rate limit hit", and a details field describing the most likely reason and sometimes the fix. Meta's advice is to build your handling around the code and the details, not around the title, which it says will eventually be deprecated, and not around HTTP status codes or sub-codes (sub-codes are deprecated in newer versions). Keep the fbtrace_id: Meta says you can give it to Direct Support to help debug.

Your login and permissions (0, 3, 10, 190, 200)

1. 190: your access token has expired. Meta says to get a new one.
2. 0: Meta could not authenticate the app user. Usually the token has expired or been invalidated, or the user changed a setting that blocks apps. Get a new token.
3. 200: no access token was sent. This is different from 190, which means expired or invalid.
4. 3, 10 and 200 to 299: the app lacks a permission the call needs, or it was removed. Meta says to check the app's permissions in its access token debugger.

Account restrictions (368, 131031, 130497)

1. 368: the WhatsApp Business Account has been restricted or disabled for breaking a platform policy. Meta points to its policy-enforcement page.
2. 131031: the same, or Meta could not check data in your request against the account, for example a wrong two-step PIN. Meta suggests its Health Status API for more detail.
3. 130497: the account may not message people in certain countries. Meta says to check the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy for the allowed countries for your business category.

Meta's enforcement page says restrictions grow with repeated breaches: a warning, then blocks of 1 to 30 days, then a lock that only an appeal can lift. Notices appear in Business Support Home in Meta Business Suite and by email to the portfolio's admins.

Too fast, or too many (4, 80007, 130429, 131048, 131056, 131064)

1. 130429: you have hit Cloud API throughput. Meta says each number supports up to 80 messages a second by default, rising to 1,000 for numbers that qualify, and 20 for numbers also used on the WhatsApp Business app. Try again later or send more slowly.
2. 4: the app has reached its API call limit. 80007: the WhatsApp Business Account has reached its rate limit. For both, Meta says to try again later or make fewer requests.
3. 131056: too many messages from your number to the same recipient in a short time. Meta says to wait and retry; you can still message other people meanwhile.
4. 131048: there are restrictions on how many messages the number can send, which Meta says may be because too many earlier messages were blocked or flagged as spam. Check your quality status in WhatsApp Manager.
5. 131064: the account has reached its messaging limit because of template category violations. Meta says to check your templates are filed under the right category; the restriction lifts by itself after the enforcement period.

The message did not reach that person (131026, 131047, 131049, 131050, 130403)

1. 131026: Meta could not deliver. Reasons it lists: the number is not on WhatsApp, the person has not accepted WhatsApp's latest terms, or they use an old version of WhatsApp. Meta suggests asking the person, by another route, to confirm they can message you, to accept the terms and to update the app.
2. 131047: more than 24 hours have passed since the person last replied to your number. Meta says to send a template message instead.
3. 131049: Meta did not deliver the message "to maintain healthy ecosystem engagement". Its per-user marketing limit page says WhatsApp may limit how many marketing templates a person receives, based on that person's recent reading and inbox. Meta says to wait at least 24 hours before resending, and that resending sooner will likely only fail again.
4. 131050: the person has chosen to stop receiving marketing messages from your business. Meta says not to retry. You can subscribe to its user_preferences webhook to hear when someone stops or resumes marketing messages.
5. 130403: your business has blocked that person on WhatsApp. Meta says not to retry, and to unblock them to resume.

One more from Meta's per-user limits page: it says WhatsApp does not currently deliver marketing template messages to people with United States phone numbers (a +1 code and a US area code), and that trying returns an error.

Template problems when sending (132000, 132001, 132005, 132007, 132012, 132015, 132016, 131063)

1. 132000: the number of variable values did not match the template. 132012: a variable value was in the wrong format. Meta says to check the template's definition.
2. 132001: the template does not exist in that language, or it has not been approved. Check the name and language code.
3. 132005: the translated text is too long. 132007: the template content breaks a WhatsApp policy.
4. 132015: the template is paused for low quality. Meta says to edit it to improve quality and try again once it is approved. 132016: it has been paused too many times and is permanently disabled, so you need a new template with different content.
5. 131063: the template is classed as marketing, but marketing templates are turned off for your Cloud API set-up. Meta says to use its Marketing Messages API or turn them back on.

Meta's template quality page says a template is rated green, yellow, red or unknown from customer feedback and read rates, and that a low rating can lead to the template being paused. If its status leaves APPROVED, it cannot be sent.

Your number and registration (131037, 131045, 133005, 133006, 133008, 133009, 133010, 133015, 131057)

1. 131037: the number has no approved display name. See the display name guide.
2. 131045 and 133010: the number is not registered. Meta says to register it before trying again. 133006: the number must be verified before registering.
3. 133005: the two-step verification PIN is wrong. 133008: too many wrong guesses; try again after the time in the details field. 133009: the PIN was entered too quickly.
4. 133015: the number was recently deleted and the deletion has not finished; Meta says wait 5 minutes.
5. 131057 and 2494100: the account or number is in maintenance mode. Meta says one reason is a throughput upgrade, which it says can take up to a minute, and that other cases mean trying again in a few minutes.

Billing and set-up (131042, 134011)

1. 131042: a problem with your payment method. Meta lists common causes: no payment account attached, a credit line over its limit or not active, the account suspended or deleted, a timezone or currency not set, or a pending or declined messaging request.
2. 134011: WhatsApp Payments terms have not been accepted for the account. Accept them using the link in the error message.

A badly formed request (100, 131008, 131009, 131051, 131052, 131053)

1. 100: the request has an unsupported or misspelled parameter. 131008: a required parameter is missing. 131009: a parameter value is invalid. Meta says to check the endpoint's reference.
2. 131051: the message type is not supported.
3. 131053: the media could not be uploaded, for example an unsupported type. Meta says to check the details field and the supported media types.
4. 131052: Meta could not download media the customer sent you. It suggests asking them to send it another way.

When it is Meta's side (1, 2, 131000, 131016, 133004, 135000)

1. 1 and 2: an invalid request or a possible server error (1), or downtime or overload (2). Meta says to check its WhatsApp Business Platform Status page first, then check your request.
2. 131000 and 135000: an unknown error. For 131000 Meta says to try again, and if it keeps happening to open a Direct Support ticket. For 135000 it points to the endpoint's reference and customer support.
3. 131016 and 133004: a service is temporarily unavailable. Check the status page before trying again.

Which errors Meta says not to retry

Meta says plainly not to retry 130403 (you blocked them) and 131050 (they stopped marketing messages). For 131049 and 131056 it says wait. For 131047 it says use a template, not a retry. For most others, the page describes a cause and a fix and does not say whether or how long to wait, so treat an automatic retry as your own design choice.

One timing note on webhooks: Meta says it tries to re-deliver webhooks that failed for up to 7 days, with growing waits, so your webhook endpoint should be able to take repeats.

What Meta does not say

1. Its error-code page is the only list we found. We searched the Business Help Centre for error codes and found no list there, so there is no second page to compare it with.
2. It does not give a retry schedule for most codes.
3. It does not say how long the lock for 131048 or the pause for a template lasts, beyond "automatically lifted after the enforcement period".
4. The page says its list may not be complete. If your code is not here, look it up on Meta's own page, which Meta updates (this guide was checked against the version dated 18 June 2026).

What VartaAPI does, and what it does not

VartaAPI does not hide Meta's errors. When a campaign message fails, the campaign report shows a plain-words reason for the common ones, such as "Not on WhatsApp, or can't receive this message", "Outside the 24-hour window" or "Meta's limit for this person right now", and Meta's original text stays on that person's row. Flow and API failures show Meta's own explanation too.

It only translates the codes it knows; for any other you will see Meta's own words. If a code on your row is not in this guide, search it on Meta's error-code page. Start with the official WhatsApp Business API guide if you have not connected a number yet.