Display name guidelines

Neelke Stadler Updated by Neelke Stadler

We all know names are important! This is also true when it comes to picking a name for your WhatsApp service.

If the display name for your service is exactly the same as your organisation's name it will be smooth sailing. If not, please read the rest of this article carefully.

If your display name was rejected, continue reading here to understand what you need to rectify.

Display name tips & tricks

The most frequent cause of a display name rejection is that the name is not on your website.

WhatsApp says your display name should have a clear link to your organisation and should be in line with WhatsApp’s Commerce and Business policies. It should also be consistent with the branding you use on other external sources such as your website. 

What does this mean practically?

Make sure the name is on your website

If your display name is not identical to your organisation name, the name needs to be on your website as a programme that your run, using exactly the same wording.

Be clear that you have permission to use the name

If the name is actually the brand name or programme name of a different organisation, i.e. if you Google the name and get a different organisation’s site, you need to clearly show that you have permission to use the name.

You will need the other organisation to put your organisation's name on their site. And you also need to list that organisation on your site. Thereafter you need to log a ticket with both site URLs to Facebook via Business Manager.

Let's explain this using an example:

Let's say your name is Impact.org but the display name for your service needs to be EducateTeens, however if you Google 'EducateTeens' you land on the website of an organisation's called EducateAll where one of the programme's is called 'EducateTeens'.
In this case you need to add 'EducateTeens - on behalf of EducateAll' as a programme on your website. And EducateAll will need to add 'EducateTeens - operated by Impact.org' to their website.
All of this is to show that despite the name belonging to EducateAll, you have permission to use it.

Your display name cannot only consist of
  • A person’s full name.
  • A generic term (e.g. Fashion).
  • A generic geographic location (e.g. New York).
  • A slogan or long description.
 The formatting of your display name should comply with WhatsApp’s rules and regulations.
More examples to help you 

Formatting rule

Examples

Your display name may not be in all capitals, it must have grammatically correct capitalisation, and it should match the capitalisation used in your business name.

Accepted: New City Computers 

Not accepted: NEW CITY COMPUTERS  

Note that this display name would be acceptable if the business already brands using all caps.

Don’t change the spacing from the spacing used in your business name.

An example for a business called “Lil'Cupcakes". 

Accepted: Lil'Cupcakes 

Not accepted: Lil' Cupcakes (A space has been added between "Lil’" and "Cupcakes" when the external business name does not contain one.)

Don’t add any extra punctuation, emojis, or character symbols (such as trademark designations).

Not accepted: @New City Computers or New City Computers™

Don’t add extra words to your company or brand name unless the words indicate:

  • Country or region
  • Department or function
  • “Test” or “demo” accounts

Accepted: Fresh Produce Mexico or Fresh Produce Customer Support  

Not accepted: Fresh Produce Official Account

If you add permitted words, the first letter of the word must be capitalised.

Accepted: Fresh Produce Test  

Not accepted: Fresh Produce demo

Your display name must contain a minimum of 3 characters.

An example for a business, “KT Sir”:  

Accepted: KT Sir 

Not accepted: KT

Your display name may not be in URL format.

Not accepted: FreshProduce.com

Important note: In the first month, you can change your display name up to three times. But, after the initial 30 days have passed, you’ll have to wait another month before you can submit a new name. 

For more information, visit WhatsApp’s official Display Name help page.

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