Guide · Sri Lanka
How to get the WhatsApp Business API in Sri Lanka: number, company documents and Meta verification
A setup guide for Sri Lankan businesses: the number, the Meta portfolio, which Registrar of Companies, Inland Revenue and utility documents fit Meta verification, display name, Sinhala and Tamil templates, and the PDPA.
By Broadchat teamPublished 11 min read
In short
To get the WhatsApp Business API in Sri Lanka you need a Meta business portfolio, a number that can receive a code by SMS or call, 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 official documents in your legal name: usually the certificate of incorporation from the Department of the Registrar of Companies, or a business name certificate for a sole proprietor, plus a document that proves your address or phone. Meta decides, and says a decision can take up to 14 business days.
Key takeaways
- A number can be connected and send templates before verification, but only to 250 unique people outside the 24-hour window in a rolling 24 hours.
- The certificate of incorporation (companies) or the business name registration certificate (sole proprietors and partnerships) is the usual Sri Lankan proof of legal name.
- A CEB, LECO or water bill proves address or phone, never the legal name; an Inland Revenue TIN certificate can support the name.
- Type the legal name exactly as registered, including '(Private) Limited'; the name customers know goes into the WhatsApp display name.
- Templates can be submitted in English, Sinhala (si_LK) and Tamil (ta), one template per language.
Get the WhatsApp Business API working in Sri Lanka
Time needed: 2 h.
Choose the number
Pick a Sri Lankan mobile or fixed-line number that can receive a verification SMS or call and that you will keep for years. If it is active on the WhatsApp app, check whether Embedded Signup offers to keep it on the WhatsApp Business app; otherwise move it off the app first or use a new number.
Prepare the Meta business portfolio
Use the business portfolio that already runs your Facebook Page and ads, or create one in Meta Business Suite in the company's legal name, and make sure a director or owner has full control.
Connect the number through Embedded Signup
From your provider's panel, open Meta's Embedded Signup window, choose the business portfolio, create or pick the WhatsApp Business account, enter the display name and confirm the number with the code Meta sends.
Verify the business with Sri Lankan registration documents
In Meta Business Suite, open Settings, then Security Center, and start verification. Enter the legal name exactly as on your certificate of incorporation or business name certificate, and upload it with a document that proves your address or phone.
Get your first templates approved
Write one utility template, such as an appointment or instalment reminder, and one marketing template, in English, Sinhala or Tamil, and submit them for review. Meta's review can take up to 24 hours.
Record consent, then send
Import only customers who agreed to WhatsApp messages from you, record the date and source of consent, and start with utility messages while your messaging limit grows.
Before you start
This guide is for a Sri Lankan business connecting its own number to the WhatsApp Business API. You need a Meta business portfolio, a phone number, and a provider whose panel opens Meta's Embedded Signup. Expect about two hours of your own work spread over one or two weeks, most of it waiting for Meta.
Meta charges nothing to connect a number. You pay when you send templates, at Meta's rates for Sri Lankan numbers, which are set in US dollars.
Step 1: choose the number
Any number that can receive an SMS or a voice call works: a Dialog, SLT-Mobitel or Hutch mobile, or a landline that can take the verification call. Choose one you will keep. Customers save it, and the display name, templates and quality history stay with it.
If the number already runs on the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app, check before you start. Meta's coexistence feature keeps a number on the WhatsApp Business app while it is also connected to the API; it has been offered country by country, and Meta's onboarding guide did not show a country list when we read it on 2 Nov 2026. If Embedded Signup offers to connect your existing WhatsApp Business app number, accept that and the app keeps working. If it does not, the number has to be deleted from the app first, and its app chat history does not move to the API. Many businesses keep the old number on the app and connect a new line. More detail is in our coexistence explainer.
Step 2: prepare the Meta business portfolio
The business portfolio, formerly Business Manager, is the account in Meta Business Suite that owns your WhatsApp Business account, ad accounts and Facebook Page. If the business already advertises on Facebook, use that portfolio instead of creating a second one, and check that a director or owner has full control, because only a person with full control can start verification.
A situation we see often in Sri Lanka: the Page and ad account were set up years ago by a freelancer or a nephew who looked after social media, under their personal profile. Ask them to give a director full control before you start, or create a new portfolio in the company's name. Verifying a portfolio that does not own the WhatsApp account does nothing for its messaging limit.
Step 3: connect the number through Embedded Signup
Start the WhatsApp connection in your provider's panel. On Broadchat that is Channels → All Channels, then connect WhatsApp. Meta's window opens and asks you to:
- Log in with Facebook and choose the business portfolio.
- Create a WhatsApp Business account or select an existing one.
- Enter the display name customers will see. It should match your brand and website, for example 'Hillcrest Medical Centre' rather than 'Appointments'.
- Enter the number in international format (+94…) and confirm it with the code Meta sends by SMS or voice call.
When the window closes, the number shows in the panel with its status, quality rating and messaging limit as reported by Meta.
Step 4: verify the business with Sri Lankan documents
Business verification is Meta's check that the portfolio belongs to a real, registered business. With good message quality it is one of the routes from the starting limit of 250 people a day to 2,000, and it raises other caps such as the number of phone numbers and templates. 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 describes the types of document it accepts, not Sri Lankan document names. Documents must show the legal business name, or the address or phone number, must be current and must come from an official source. The table below is our general guidance on how common Sri Lankan documents match Meta's categories; it is not Meta's list, and Meta's reviewers decide.
| Sri Lankan document | Closest Meta category | What it proves | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate of incorporation from the Department of the Registrar of Companies | Certificate of incorporation | Legal name | Type the name exactly, including '(Private) Limited' or 'PLC' |
| Registrar of Companies forms showing the registered office (for example Form 1 or a later change-of-address form) | Business registration document | Legal name and registered address | Use the most recent form that shows the current address |
| Business name registration certificate (sole proprietors and partnerships) | Business registration document | Registered business name | Enter the registered business name, not the owner's personal name |
| Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) or VAT registration certificate from the Inland Revenue Department | Tax registration document | Legal name | Supports the name; check that it is issued to the business |
| Trade licence from the Municipal Council or Pradeshiya Sabha | Business licence | Name and business location | Helpful when other documents show only a postal address |
| CEB or LECO electricity bill, water bill, landline bill or bank statement in the business name | Utility bill or bank statement | Address, and the phone on a bill | A utility bill never proves the legal name on its own |
Registrar of Companies certificates are normally issued in English. If a document you rely on is only in Sinhala or Tamil, for example an older business name certificate, keep a certified English translation ready in case the reviewer asks for one.
A worked example
Dr Kumari Perera runs a channelling centre in Kandy that patients know as Hillcrest Medical Centre. The centre is owned by Hillcrest Healthcare (Private) Limited. Her manager enters 'Hillcrest Healthcare (Private) Limited' as the legal name, the registered office address as it appears on the Registrar of Companies form (not a shortened version), the centre's landline, and its website, whose footer reads 'Hillcrest Medical Centre is operated by Hillcrest Healthcare (Private) Limited'. She uploads the certificate of incorporation for the name and a recent CEB bill in the company's name for the address. 'Hillcrest Medical Centre' is the WhatsApp display name; it does not go into the verification form.
Confirm your connection to the business
Meta then asks you to show that you represent the business: a code by email (an address on your own domain, such as info@hillcrestmedical.lk, works better than a Gmail address), by phone, SMS or WhatsApp to the business number, or domain verification with a DNS TXT record or a meta tag on your website. Domain verification is usually easiest when the phone number on your documents is an old landline.
Meta says a decision can take up to 14 business days. Do not change the legal name, address, phone or website after approval; any change means verifying again. Our global guide to Meta business verification lists the most common rejection reasons.
Step 5: get your first templates approved
Outside the 24-hour window you can send only approved message templates. Meta's supported template languages include English, Sinhala (si_LK) and Tamil (ta). Submit one template per language rather than mixing scripts in one template, and store each contact's language so the right version goes out:
Utility (Sinhala, si_LK): finance company instalment reminder
ආයුබෝවන් {{1}}, ඔබගේ ලීසිං වාරිකය වන LKR {{2}} {{3}} දිනට පෙර ගෙවිය යුතුය. විමසීම් සඳහා මෙම පණිවිඩයට පිළිතුරු දෙන්න.
Utility (Tamil, ta): clinic appointment in Jaffna
வணக்கம் {{1}}, டாக்டர் {{2}} அவர்களுடனான உங்கள் சந்திப்பு {{3}} அன்று. உங்கள் வரிசை எண் {{4}}. நன்றி.
Marketing (English): Colombo clothing store
Hi {{1}}, our Avurudu sale runs until Sunday: 20% off at our Colombo and Kandy stores and online. Reply STOP to opt out.In English, the Sinhala template reads 'Ayubowan {{1}}, your leasing instalment of LKR {{2}} is due before {{3}}. Reply to this message with any questions.' The Tamil one reads 'Hello {{1}}, your appointment with Dr {{2}} is on {{3}}. Your queue number is {{4}}. Thank you.' Keep offers out of utility templates, because Meta reviews categories and moves promotional content to marketing. Never ask for passwords, PINs or full NIC numbers in a template. Review can take up to 24 hours.
Step 6: consent, the Personal Data Protection Act and your first sends
WhatsApp's policy requires opt-in: the person agreed to receive messages from your named business. Sri Lanka's Personal Data Protection Act, No. 9 of 2022, as amended in 2025, brings its core rules on lawful processing and on the duties of controllers and processors into operation on 1 Jan 2027, under Extraordinary Gazette No. 2498/16 of 22 July 2026. Its separate Part IV on direct-marketing messages was not in that order, so check the Data Protection Authority's notices for its date. Collect consent on your patient card, loan application or checkout ('I agree to receive appointment reminders and news from Hillcrest Medical Centre on WhatsApp'), record the date and source in a tag or custom field, and act on 'STOP' at once. This is general guidance, not legal advice; confirm your position with your lawyer.
A new portfolio can message 250 unique people outside the 24-hour window in a rolling 24 hours. With good quality and steady use, Meta raises the messaging limit to 2,000, then 10,000, 100,000 and unlimited. Begin with utility messages (reminders, confirmations, receipts), keep marketing small and aimed at people who bought recently, and watch the quality rating for the first two weeks.
After launch
- Put a WhatsApp chat link on your website, Facebook Page and printed appointment cards; the WhatsApp link generator builds one.
- Run a Click-to-WhatsApp ad on Facebook or Instagram: conversations it starts are free for up to 7 days.
- For payments, send a link or LankaQR code from your own bank or payment provider in the chat, then a receipt template once your system confirms payment. Broadchat has no built-in Sri Lankan payment gateway.
- If you plan to sell WhatsApp to other businesses, read the white-label WhatsApp API for Sri Lanka.
Back to the overview: WhatsApp Business API in Sri Lanka.
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
- Supported languages for message templates (Sinhala si_LK, Tamil ta) — Meta for Developers, checked 2 November 2026
- Messaging limits — Meta for Developers, checked 12 October 2026
- Onboarding WhatsApp Business app users (coexistence) — Meta for Developers, checked 2 November 2026
- Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Act No. 22 of 2025 and commencement order — ReadMe.lk, checked 2 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 sole proprietor in Sri Lanka get verified by Meta?
Yes, if the business name is registered. Enter the name on the business name registration certificate as the legal name, upload that certificate, and add a utility bill, bank statement or trade licence in the business name for the address or phone. Meta makes the decision.
Is a TIN certificate enough for Meta verification?
Treat it as supporting evidence of the name. The certificate of incorporation or business name certificate is the clearer proof, and you also need a document for the address or phone. Meta's reviewers decide what is enough.
How long does Meta business verification take?
Meta says a decision can take up to 14 business days. Many are quicker, but plan your first large campaign for after verification.
Why was my verification rejected?
Most rejections are mismatches: the brand name typed instead of the registered name, '(Pvt) Ltd' instead of '(Private) Limited', a shortened address, a utility bill used to prove the name, or a website that does not load on HTTPS. Fix the mismatch and resubmit.
Can I send templates in Sinhala and Tamil?
Yes. Meta's supported template languages include Sinhala (si_LK) and Tamil (ta). Submit each language as its own template; each is reviewed separately.
Do I need a website?
Meta expects a website on HTTPS that shows your business. A simple site with the legal name in the footer, your address and a contact page is enough.