Display name guidelines

Choosing the right display name for your WhatsApp business account is crucial for maintaining brand integrity and ensuring compliance with WhatsApp's policies. This guide will help you understand how to select a display name that accurately represents your business, aligns with external branding, and meets all necessary requirements.

When adding a new phone number to your WhatsApp business account, you need to assign it a display name.

Display names must be related to your business and adhere to WhatsApp's Commerce and Business policies. Compliance with these guidelines is essential for sending messages via the WhatsApp Business API or qualifying for an official business account. For more information, visit WhatsApp's Commerce Policy () and Business Policy ().

Before completing registration, you can change the display name as often as you like. Post-registration, you must wait 30 days between requests to change the display name.

Here are the key principles for creating display names:

Policy Compliance

Your display name must not breach WhatsApp's Commerce and Business policies. For example, a store selling wine glasses could use the following names:

• Accepted: ABC Wine Glasses

• Not accepted: ABC Wine

Your company can have separate WhatsApp business accounts for different divisions, but only those that comply with WhatsApp’s Commerce Policy are eligible for an account.

Accurate Business Representation

A display name should accurately reflect:

• A business or its service, product, or department

• A test account or demo account, maintaining a connection to the business (e.g., Fresh Produce Test)

A display name should not be any of the following:

• An individual's full name

• A generic term (e.g., Fashion)

• A generic geographic location (e.g., New York)

• A slogan or lengthy description

Organizations affiliated with the government need approval from the WhatsApp team. Display names must be at least 3 characters long.

Branding Consistency

Display names should match the branding used in external sources, such as your company's website or marketing materials. For instance, with a product line called "Fresh Produce Cold Pressed Juices":

• Accepted: Fresh Produce Cold Pressed Juices (as branded on your website)

• Not accepted: Fresh Produce Juices (branding changed by removing "Cold Pressed")

• Not accepted: FP Cold Pressed Juices (added abbreviation inconsistent with external branding)

Ensure your display name uses correct capitalization and matches the style used in your external branding. Avoid altering spacing or adding unnecessary punctuation, emojis, or symbols.

Clear Business Relationship

The display name must clearly relate to your business and be mentioned on your website or in external media. For example:

• Accepted: Name of a charity mentioned on a non-profit organization's website

• Not accepted: Name of a charity not mentioned on any external websites

If the connection between your company and the brand isn't obvious, clarify it by using “by [company name].”

• Not accepted: Fruit Snacks (Fresh Produce owns the Fruit Snacks brand but their association is not mentioned on any external websites)

• Accepted: Fruit Snacks by Fresh Produce

If the display name represents a business that your company collaborates with, such as an agency, distributor, partner, or parent company, the relationship must be evident on both businesses' websites. For example, if Global Voyager wants to use the display name Commercial Air, they need to provide links to both websites showing that Commercial Air is a subsidiary of Global Voyager.

Legal Entity in Footer

If the company's legal name differs from the name used for Business Verification or on the website, it's advisable to mention the legal entity on the site, such as in the footer: "Business ABC powered by business CDE"

Working Website

A display name will not be approved without a functioning website, which must be verified in your Facebook Business Manager. If your company's website changes, the new site must be submitted for verification.