Official Business Account (OBA) or blue badge
This document explains about Official Business Accounts (Blue Badge).
An Official Business Account ("OBA") is a business phone number owned by a business that has been verified as an authentic and notable brand according to specific criteria. Official Business Account business phone numbers have a blue checkmark / blue badge beside their name in the contacts view.
Criteria
In addition to meeting WhatsApp's Business Messaging Policy, the following criteria must be met:
The business represents a notable, well-known and often searched for business, brand, or entity
The business portfolio that owns the number has been verified through Business Verification
The business phone number has enabled two-step verification (360dialog enables this by default)
The business phone number's display name has been approved
Notability
Notability requires a business to represent a well-known or frequently searched brand or entity. It does not indicate the authenticity of a business.
Notability is assessed based on the business’s presence in online news articles from publications with sizable audiences. Paid or promotional content, including business or app listings, is not considered.
Official Business Account (OBA) status is issued at the business phone number and display name level. Notability is evaluated for the display name associated with the business phone number requesting OBA status.
Guidelines to Strengthen Your OBA Application
Provide clear and complete information about your products or services on your website, including your display name, address, and phone number.
Your display name should match the name presented on your website.
Include at least five external media links from reputable newspapers, magazines, or similar publications.
Do not use links to your own website, social media pages, or articles older than 12 months.
Random or irrelevant articles are not valid.
All links should be from the past 12 months.
Paid or sponsored content is not accepted. Meta continuously updates its evaluation criteria, so such sources should not be included in your application.
Links to social media accounts are also not considered valid support.
Additional information, such as a high number of likes on your Facebook page, employee count, or profitability, can help demonstrate the relevance of your business.
Denied requests
If your OBA request has been denied, it means the Meta team has carefully reviewed your account, and unfortunately, your account is not eligible for the OBA status. Currently, these decisions cannot be appealed.
Businesses can continue to grow their presence and wait 30 days before submitting another Official Business Account request. It may take time to build the business's presence in news articles as described above.
In the meantime, this decision doesn't limit your ability to share your business details. Each phone number also has a business profile, which includes a profile picture, email, website, and business description. These are fields that you can edit at any time.
Guarantee
There is no charge for obtaining an Official Business Account (OBA). OBA status is granted solely by Meta.
360dialog cannot guarantee that any account will be approved as an OBA. The promotion of WhatsApp Business Accounts (WABAs) to OBA status is entirely controlled by Meta. However, we will make our best efforts to support your OBA application.
Changing OBA Display Name
If the display name is changed after an account has received OBA status, Meta will need to reassess the new display name for notability and compliance. As a result, OBA status is not guaranteed to remain after a display name change. We therefore recommend choosing a long-term display name before submitting an OBA request.
How to request an OBA
21-Aug-2025 - Meta Process Change Meta has confirmed that the process for submitting Official Business Account (OBA) requests via WhatsApp Manager is currently under review.
If the Submit Request button is available in your WhatsApp Manager, you may proceed with submitting an OBA request.
If the Submit Request button is not available, it indicates that OBA requests cannot be submitted at this time.
We will update this documentation as soon as Meta publishes the revised process.
Access WhatsApp Manager > Account Tools > Phone Numbers > and click the business phone number
Click the Profile tab > Official business account
If the Submit Request button is available in your WhatsApp Manager, you may proceed with submitting an OBA request.
If the Submit Request button is not available, it indicates that OBA requests cannot be submitted at this time.
Click on the Submit Request button and fill out the form.
You may submit up to five supporting links, preferably from renowned publications (for example, India Today, Economic Times, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Wikipedia, or Business Insider) to demonstrate that your business is notable. These links help establish notability during the review process.
Providing additional details such as the countries of operation, parent business or brand (particularly if it is a well-known brand), and the primary language also helps us better understand your brand and assess eligibility for OBA.
The review process is conducted by Meta's Trust & Safety team and can take up to 7 days.
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