Your display name must clearly represent your business, without ambiguity, without promotional language, and must be consistent with your online presence (website, social media). Meta reviews and either approves or rejects this name, based on specific rules detailed below.
⚠️ Good to know: a rejected display name does not block your message sending. While waiting for approval, your phone number will simply be shown by default instead of the name on WhatsApp.
What is the WhatsApp display name?
The display name is the name shown on your WhatsApp Business profile: it's what your customers see when they message your business.
Every phone number added to your WhatsApp Business account must be associated with a display name.
When and how is it reviewed?
Once your business becomes eligible for higher messaging limits, the display name you requested is submitted for review by Meta.
👉 You can check your current limits and track how they evolve directly in the WhatsApp Manager of your Business Manager.
The 3 key rules to follow
To get approved, make sure your display name:
matches your company’s legal name or recognized brand name,
does not contain misleading, abusive, or prohibited information,
is consistent with your online presence (website, social media, etc.),
complies with Meta’s business policies.
1️⃣ The name must comply with WhatsApp Business policy
✅ Baker Street Bakery
❌ Baker Street Bakery – wine & spirits section
💡 Within the same business, only divisions that comply with WhatsApp's commercial policies can have their own account.
2️⃣ The name must accurately represent your business
✅ Thompson Leather Goods
✅ Thompson Leather Goods Customer Service
❌ Thompson Boutique Louis Vuitton (unless an official link to the brand can be demonstrated)
💡 If the name includes a person's name, the nature of the business must be identifiable from external sources (e.g. Concept Store by Emma Bertrand).
The name must never be:
❌ To avoid | Rejected example |
A generic term | Beauty |
A generic geographic location | London |
Wording implying verification | Official Thompson Leather Goods Account |
A reference to Meta or its apps | Harper's Grocery WhatsApp |
A promotional message | Thompson Leather Goods – 30% off sale |
A URL or email format | thompsonleathergoods.com |
3️⃣ The name must be consistent with your external brand image
The name must have a clear link to your official business name, visible on your website or social media.
If the link isn't immediately obvious, use the format "by [business name]":
✅ Menswear Collection by Harper & Sons — if this link is mentioned on the external website
❌ Menswear Collection alone — if the association appears nowhere else
Variations of the name remain acceptable as long as they stay true to your brand:
✅ Harper's Boutique
✅ Harper's Boutique - Emma
✅ HB (abbreviation of your name)
❌ Boutique (too generic a term)
💡 If the name corresponds to a partner store, subsidiary, or franchise, the link must be visible on both companies' websites. For example, if the concept store Delta Fashion uses the display name of the retailer Nordika, a link confirming that Nordika is indeed a franchise of Delta Fashion must be visible online.
My name shows "Approved" but still doesn't display
Sometimes the status shown in the WhatsApp Manager switches to "Approved", but the display name doesn't immediately appear to customers on WhatsApp.
💡 This is normal: Meta generally needs a few hundred messages to be sent after approval before the change propagates and the new name appears to your contacts.
If the issue persists beyond that volume of messages, you can then consider requesting Green Tick certification, which strengthens the trustworthiness and visibility of your profile. Check out our dedicated guide: (Optional) Requesting the Green Tick.
Review META's rules on choosing a display name
Still stuck?
If your display name is still rejected or not displaying despite these checks, reach out to us directly via the purple chat bubble at the bottom-right of your WAX dashboard: our team can investigate and, if needed, escalate the issue with Meta.