Troubleshoot template rejection (Orbit codes)

A WhatsApp template call fails with one of Orbit’s own rejection codes. Either the create call returns 422 WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_REJECTED because the carrier rejected the submission, or a send returns 422 TEMPLATE_REJECTED because the stored template’s review status is rejected and Orbit refuses the send before Meta is reached. Both are deterministic: the template itself is the problem, and re-sending the unchanged payload replays the same 422 until the template changes. This page decodes which code you got, reads the reason, and walks the fix-and-resubmit path.

Meta’s numeric codes (132001, 132016, 132068, 133010 and the rest) live on their own page: Troubleshoot WhatsApp template lifecycle errors. If your error carries details.whatsappErrorCode instead of the two codes below, start there. That page covers Meta’s refusals; this page covers Orbit’s; each links to the other.

Which rejection code you got

Code	Where it fires	What it means	First move
`WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_REJECTED`	422 on template create (`POST /api/v1/messages/templates`)	The carrier rejected this submission. The envelope carries `details.reason` naming the rejection class.	Read the reason table below, fix the template, resubmit
`TEMPLATE_REJECTED`	422 on send, from Orbit’s preflight	The stored template’s review status is `rejected`, so Orbit blocks the send before Meta is reached	Read the verdict below, fix and resubmit, then send again
Meta numeric codes (132001, 132016, 132068, …)	`failed` delivery, `message.failed` webhook	Meta refused the send for template or account state	Troubleshoot WhatsApp template lifecycle errors

The two Orbit codes are the same underlying fact seen at two moments: WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_REJECTED tells you at submission time that the carrier rejected the template; TEMPLATE_REJECTED enforces that rejection later, on every send through the stored template. If you see the send-side code, the create-side rejection already happened, and the reason it gave is still the one to fix.

What `details.reason` tells you

The create 422 envelope carries a stable reason string in details.reason plus the request id you will want if this ends up at support:

{
  "error": {
    "code": "WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_REJECTED",
    "message": "The carrier rejected this template",
    "status": 422,
    "details": {"reason": "PROMOTIONAL_LANGUAGE_NOT_ALLOWED"}
  },
  "meta": {
    "request_id": "req_tpl_rejected",
    "timestamp": "2026-08-01T12:03:00.000Z"
  }
}

Every reason names something inside the template, so every fix is a template edit on your side: rewrite the copy, change the category, or adjust the media. A rejection is never cleared by resending the same payload.

`details.reason`	What it means	Your fix
`PROMOTIONAL_LANGUAGE_NOT_ALLOWED`	The copy uses promotional language (sales pitches, urgency, exclamation-styled calls to action) that the template’s category or the target market does not allow.	Rewrite the body without the promotional language, or move the content into a MARKETING-category template where promotional copy belongs. Check the market’s promotional-language rules before you resubmit.

Read message alongside details.reason: the reason names the rejection class, and the message quotes the concrete problem in your submission (it may echo the offending text). Fix what the message points at, not just what the reason class suggests.

Read the verdict

The rejection reason and the current review status stay attached to the template record after the 422 is long gone from your logs:

API. The template record returned by the templates endpoints carries the review status (pending, approved, rejected) and, when rejected, the reason from the last review. A TEMPLATE_REJECTED send 422 means that record currently reads rejected.
Dashboard. Open the template library and select the template: the detail view shows the review status and the rejection reason, the same values the API returns.
Meta’s side. Review typically completes within 24 hours, and a rejected template can sit in rejected until you act. The pending and rejected review states and the review window are covered in Troubleshoot WhatsApp templates.

Edit and resubmit

Read the verdict above and note the reason.
Make the fix in the template itself: rewrite the copy, change the category (utility content in a MARKETING template, or promotional content in a UTILITY template, will keep getting rejected), or adjust the media.
Resubmit for review from the template’s detail view in the dashboard, or submit the corrected template through the templates API.
Watch the review status return to pending, then approved.

Resubmission does not restore approval for live traffic. While the resubmission is pending, the old rejected verdict is gone but no new approval exists, and sends remain blocked or refused exactly as before. Meta reviews the new submission from scratch; approval is what re-opens the template for live traffic, not the act of resubmitting.

Worked example

A create call for a utility template whose body reads like an advertisement:

curl -X POST "https://api.orbit.devotel.io/api/v1/messages/templates" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $ORBIT_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name":"order_ready","channel":"whatsapp","language":"en_US","category":"UTILITY","components":[{"type":"BODY","text":"Buy now!!!"}]}'

returns the 422 shown in the reason table above: WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_REJECTED with details.reason: "PROMOTIONAL_LANGUAGE_NOT_ALLOWED". Decode it: the body is promotional copy submitted under the UTILITY category. Fix it on your side, either rewrite the body to plain order-ready wording or move the promotional copy into a MARKETING template, then resubmit. The corrected create returns 201 with the template record at status pending, and once review flips it to approved, sends through it pass the preflight that previously returned TEMPLATE_REJECTED.

Fix vs retry, one rule

Retry never clears a rejection. Both codes are deterministic refusals about template state, so Orbit does not retry them automatically, and a manual re-send of the unchanged payload reproduces the same 422. Fix the template first, then send again; that send is a new request, not a retry. The same rule governs Meta’s numeric codes on Troubleshoot WhatsApp template lifecycle errors; the only retriable family in WhatsApp sending is transient platform faults, which are covered there.

What to send support

If you have fixed the template and resubmitted and rejections continue, email whatsapp-support@devotel.io with:

The template id and the template name and language exactly as configured (order_ready + en_US).
The details.reason value from the 422, or the rejection reason shown on the template record.
The request_id from the error envelope’s meta block.
The timestamp of the failing create or send.

With the request id and the reason, support can show you exactly what the carrier reported for that submission; the template edit itself stays on your side.

Reference

Troubleshoot template rejection: TEMPLATE_REJECTED and WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_REJECTED

Troubleshoot template rejection (Orbit codes)

Which rejection code you got

What `details.reason` tells you

Read the verdict

Edit and resubmit

Worked example

Fix vs retry, one rule

What to send support

See also

​Troubleshoot template rejection (Orbit codes)

​Which rejection code you got

​What details.reason tells you

​Read the verdict

​Edit and resubmit

​Worked example

​Fix vs retry, one rule

​What to send support

​See also

Troubleshoot template rejection (Orbit codes)

Which rejection code you got

What `details.reason` tells you

Read the verdict

Edit and resubmit

Worked example

Fix vs retry, one rule

What to send support

See also