Guide · United Arab Emirates
How to get the WhatsApp Business API in the UAE: number, trade licence and Meta verification
A setup guide for UAE businesses: picking the number, the Meta business portfolio, how trade licences, VAT certificates and utility bills line up with Meta's verification documents, Arabic and English templates, and the first sends.
By Broadchat teamPublished 9 min read
In short
To get the WhatsApp Business API in the UAE you need a Meta business portfolio, a number that can receive a code, and a provider that connects it through Meta's Embedded Signup. You can message 250 people a day straight away. To go higher, verify the business with Meta using documents in your legal name, usually your current trade licence plus a document that proves the address or phone. Meta decides, and says verification can take up to 14 business days.
Key takeaways
- You can connect a number and send approved templates before verification, but only to 250 people a day outside the 24-hour window.
- A current trade licence, mainland or free zone, is the usual UAE proof of legal name; renew an expired licence before you submit.
- A telecom or electricity bill proves address or phone, not the legal name; use it alongside the licence, not instead of it.
- Enter the legal name exactly as on the licence, including 'L.L.C.' or 'FZ-LLC'; your brand belongs in the WhatsApp display name.
- Arabic documents are accepted by Meta; write Arabic and English templates as separate templates.
Get the WhatsApp Business API working in the UAE
Time needed: 2 h.
Choose the number
Pick a UAE mobile or landline number that can receive Meta's code by SMS or voice call and that your team will answer for years. If it is active on the WhatsApp app today, decide whether to move it, use coexistence where Meta supports it, or connect a new number.
Prepare the Meta business portfolio
Use the business portfolio that already runs your Facebook and Instagram ads, or create one in Meta Business Suite in the company's name. Make sure an owner or manager of the licensed company has full control of it.
Connect the number through Embedded Signup
From your provider's panel, open Meta's Embedded Signup window, choose the business portfolio, create or select the WhatsApp Business account, enter the display name and confirm the number with the code Meta sends.
Verify the business with your trade licence
In Meta Business Suite open Settings, then Security Center, and start verification. Enter the legal name exactly as on the trade licence, then upload the licence and a document that proves the business address or phone number.
Get Arabic and English templates approved
Write a utility template such as a booking confirmation and one marketing template, as separate Arabic and English versions, and submit them for review. Meta's review can take up to 24 hours.
Import opted-in contacts and send
Import only customers who agreed to WhatsApp messages from your business, tag where the consent came from, and start with utility messages while your messaging limit grows.
Before you start
This guide is for a UAE business, on the mainland or in a free zone, connecting its own number. You need a Meta business portfolio, a phone number and a provider whose panel opens Meta's Embedded Signup. Expect about two hours of work over one to two weeks; most of the time is waiting for Meta.
Meta charges nothing for the setup itself. Charges start when you send templates, at Meta's AED rates for UAE numbers.
Step 1: choose the number
Any +971 number that can receive an SMS or a voice call works, including a landline that can take the verification call. Choose one you will keep: customers save it, and your display name and quality history are tied to it. A number your sales team already shares on property portals or business cards is often the right one, because leads already know it.
If the number is active on the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app, there are two routes. Meta's coexistence feature lets some numbers stay on the WhatsApp Business app while connected to the API, in the countries Meta supports; check Meta's documentation for the UAE before you plan on it. Otherwise the number has to be removed from the app first, and its app chat history does not move across. Many businesses keep the old number on the app and connect a new one.
Step 2: prepare the Meta business portfolio
The business portfolio, formerly Business Manager, owns your WhatsApp Business account alongside your ad accounts and pages. If your company already advertises on Facebook or Instagram, use that portfolio, and check that someone from the company, not only your agency, has full control. Only a person with full control can start business verification.
A common UAE situation: the portfolio was set up by an agency or a former marketing manager under a personal profile. Ask them to give the owner full control before you start, or create a new portfolio in the company's name. Verifying a portfolio that does not own your WhatsApp account does nothing for WhatsApp.
Step 3: connect the number through Embedded Signup
In your provider's panel, start the connection. On Broadchat that is Channels → All Channels, then connect WhatsApp. Meta's window asks you to:
- Log in with Facebook and choose the business portfolio.
- Create a WhatsApp Business account or pick an existing one.
- Enter the display name customers will see; it should match your brand, your shop sign and your website.
- Enter the number and confirm it with the code Meta sends by SMS or call.
When the window closes, the number appears in the panel with its status, quality rating and messaging limit as Meta reports them.
Step 4: verify the business with your trade licence
Business verification is how Meta confirms the portfolio belongs to a real, registered business. Combined with good message quality, it is the usual route from 250 to 2,000 people a day. Start it in Meta Business Suite under Settings → Security Center → Start verification, and enter the legal name, address, phone number and website exactly as they appear on your documents.
Meta's documents must show the legal business name and the official address or phone number, must be current, and must come from an official source. The list Meta uses for the UAE, as summarised by 360dialog, includes a certificate of formation, the trade licence, the VAT registration certificate, a telecom bill, an electricity bill and a bank statement. The table below is our general guidance on how these work in practice; Meta's reviewers make the final decision.
| UAE document | Issued by | What it proves | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trade licence (commercial, professional or industrial) | A mainland economic department, such as Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism, Abu Dhabi's Department of Economic Development or Sharjah's economic department | Legal name, licence number, usually the address | Must be valid on the day you submit; licences renew yearly |
| Free-zone licence or certificate of formation | The free zone authority, such as DMCC, JAFZA, Dubai South, RAKEZ or Sharjah Media City | Legal name, often the registered office | Companies in DIFC and ADGM use their registry's certificate of incorporation |
| VAT registration certificate | Federal Tax Authority | Legal name and address | Only if the business is VAT-registered |
| Telecom bill (mobile or landline) | The UAE telecom operator | Phone number and address | Proves the phone, never the legal name on its own |
| Electricity or water bill in the business name | The emirate's utility provider | Address | Useful when the licence shows only a PO Box |
| Business bank statement | Your UAE bank | Name and address | A recent statement in the company's name |
Language is rarely an issue here: Arabic and English are both on Meta's list of accepted document languages, so an Arabic-only licence page does not need a translation.
A worked example
Sara manages a dental clinic in Sharjah that trades as Pearl Smile Dental. The licence is in the name Al Lulu Medical Centre L.L.C. She enters 'Al Lulu Medical Centre L.L.C.' as the legal name (with 'L.L.C.', exactly as printed), copies the address from the licence, uses the clinic's landline, and adds the website, whose footer reads 'Pearl Smile Dental is operated by Al Lulu Medical Centre L.L.C.'. She uploads the current trade licence for the name and the clinic's landline bill for the phone. 'Pearl Smile Dental' is used as the WhatsApp display name, not in the verification form.
Confirm your connection to the business
Meta then asks you to prove you represent the business: a code by email (an address on your own domain works best), by phone, SMS or WhatsApp, or domain verification through a DNS TXT record or a meta tag on your website. Domain verification is often quickest when the phone on the licence is an old landline nobody answers.
Meta says a decision can take up to 14 business days. Once verified, avoid changing the legal name, address, phone or website, because changes mean verifying again. If your licence is due for renewal next month, renew it first.
Step 5: get Arabic and English templates approved
Outside the 24-hour window you can only send approved message templates. Start with a utility template in both languages and one marketing template:
Utility (Arabic)
مرحباً {{1}}، نؤكد موعدك في عيادة بيرل سمايل يوم {{2}} الساعة {{3}}. يرجى اختيار تأكيد أو تغيير الموعد من الأزرار أدناه.
Utility (English)
Hi {{1}}, your appointment at Pearl Smile Dental is confirmed for {{2}} at {{3}}. Please tap Confirm or Reschedule below.
Marketing (English)
Hi {{1}}, our Ramadan whitening offer runs until Eid. Reply BOOK to choose a time, or STOP to opt out.Submit Arabic and English as separate templates rather than mixing both in one. Keep promotion out of utility templates, because Meta recategorises promotional content as marketing. Leave treatment details out of reminders. Review can take up to 24 hours, so submit Ramadan, National Day and White Friday templates well ahead of time.
Step 6: import opted-in contacts and send
Import only people who agreed to WhatsApp messages from your business, with a tag or custom field showing when and where they agreed. WhatsApp's policy requires opt-in, and the UAE's Personal Data Protection Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021) generally requires consent to process personal data and lets people ask you to stop. Companies in DIFC or ADGM follow those free zones' own data protection laws. This is general guidance, not legal advice.
A new portfolio can reach 250 unique people outside the 24-hour window in a rolling 24 hours. With verification, good quality and steady use, Meta raises the messaging limit to 2,000, then 10,000, 100,000 and unlimited. Start with utility messages, keep the first marketing sends small and well targeted, and watch the quality rating for two weeks.
After launch
- Add a WhatsApp chat link to your website, Google Business Profile and Instagram bio; the WhatsApp link generator builds one.
- Run a Click-to-WhatsApp ad: chats it starts are free for up to 7 days.
- Set office-hours replies in the chatbot, and update them for Ramadan hours.
- If you plan to sell WhatsApp to clients rather than use it yourself, see the white-label WhatsApp API for the UAE.
Back to the overview: WhatsApp Business API in the UAE. The general version of this walkthrough is the WhatsApp Business API setup guide.
Other editions of this page
Sources
- How to verify your business in Meta Business Suite — Meta Business Help Center, checked 12 October 2026
- Which official documents do I need to upload to verify my business in Meta Business Suite? — Meta Business Help Center, checked 12 October 2026
- Why was my business verification submission rejected? — Meta Business Help Center, checked 12 October 2026
- Messaging limits — Meta for Developers, checked 12 October 2026
- Meta Business Verification (UAE document list, supported languages) — 360dialog, checked 1 November 2026
- Data protection laws (Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021) — The UAE Government portal (u.ae), checked 1 November 2026
Broadchat team · Product and partner success team
The people who build and support Broadchat, the white-label WhatsApp Business API platform. We write from what we see while onboarding partners and their clients on the official WhatsApp Cloud API, and we check every article against Meta's current documentation.
Last updated:
Frequently asked questions
Can a free-zone company verify with Meta?
Yes. Meta asks for official documents in the legal business name, and a free-zone licence or certificate of formation from an authority such as DMCC, JAFZA or RAKEZ serves that purpose like a mainland trade licence. Add a bill or bank statement for the address or phone if the licence shows only a PO Box. Meta makes the decision.
How long does Meta business verification take in the UAE?
Meta says a decision can take up to 14 business days. Many are faster, but plan launches, especially Ramadan and White Friday campaigns, as if the full period applies.
Why was my verification rejected?
Most rejections are mismatches: the brand name entered instead of the licensed name, 'LLC' typed differently from the licence, an expired licence, an address that differs from the document, a utility bill used to prove the legal name, or a website that does not load on HTTPS. Fix the mismatch and submit again.
Can I use a UAE landline number?
Yes, as long as it can receive Meta's verification code by voice call. Customers will see the number in the chat, so choose one your team watches.
Do I need a website for verification?
Meta expects a website on HTTPS that shows your business. A simple site with the licensed name in the footer and a contact page is usually enough, and it also lets you use domain verification.