What is Meta Business Verification and do you need it for WhatsApp?

What it actually checks

That the business exists, that the name and address you gave match official records, and that you are connected to it.

Typical evidence is a certificate of incorporation, a business licence, a tax document, or a utility bill in the business name.

It says nothing about whether you are good at what you do. It is an identity check, not a quality one.

When you actually need it

You can connect a number and send before verifying, which is why many businesses do not realise it is outstanding.

What you cannot do is grow. Unverified accounts stay capped at the entry messaging tier however well you are behaving, so verification is the gate on reaching more people.

How it differs from the green tick

Business verification is an identity check almost any legitimate business can complete.

The green tick is a notability judgement based largely on independent press coverage, and most legitimate businesses will never get one.

They are frequently confused, and the confusion costs people effort in the wrong place. Verification is worth pursuing; the tick usually is not.

What slows it down

A business name on the application that does not exactly match the registration document.

An address that does not match, including formatting differences that look trivial to a human.

Documents that are photographed badly. It is a manual review, and a reviewer who cannot read a document rejects it.