---
title: "Register WhatsApp Business Phone Number"
method: POST
path: "/{Version}/{Phone-Number-ID}/register"
tags: ["Phone Number Registration"]
---

# Register WhatsApp Business Phone Number

`POST /{Version}/{Phone-Number-ID}/register`

## Request

- Base URL: `https://graph.facebook.com`
- URL: `https://graph.facebook.com/{Version}/{Phone-Number-ID}/register`
- Auth: HTTP bearer

Register a WhatsApp Business phone number for messaging capabilities and enable
two-step verification. This is a required step before sending messages through
the WhatsApp Business Cloud API.


**Registration Process:**
1. Phone number must be in UNVERIFIED status
2. Provide a 6-digit PIN for two-step verification
3. Optionally provide backup data for account migration
4. Registration activates messaging capabilities


**Migration Support:**
For migrating from on-premises WhatsApp Business API, include backup data
with password and encrypted account information.


**Rate Limiting:**
Registration attempts are rate-limited to prevent abuse. Standard Graph API
rate limits apply with additional restrictions for registration endpoints.


**Security Requirements:**
- Two-step verification is mandatory for all registered numbers
- PIN must be securely stored and managed by the business
- Registration enables webhook delivery and message sending capabilities

## Path parameters

- `Version` string, required
- `Phone-Number-ID` string, required

## Headers

- `User-Agent` string
- `Authorization` string, required

## Request body

- WhatsAppBusinessPhoneNumberRegistrationRequest: Request payload for registering a WhatsApp Business phone number
  - `messaging_product` 'whatsapp', required: Must be 'whatsapp' to indicate WhatsApp Business messaging product
  - `pin` string, required: 6-digit PIN for two-step verification setup
  - `backup` WhatsAppBusinessAccountBackup: Backup data for migrating existing WhatsApp Business accounts
    - `password` string: Backup password for account migration
    - `data` string: Encrypted backup data for account migration
  - `data_localization_region` 'AE' | 'AU' | 'BH' | 'BR' | 'CA' | 'CH' | 'DE' | 'GB' | 'ID' | 'IN' | 'JP' | 'KR' | 'SG' | 'ZA': Data localization region for message storage (deprecated in v21+)
  - `meta_store_retention_minutes` integer: Message retention period in minutes (deprecated in v21+)

## Response `200`

Successfully registered WhatsApp Business phone number

- WhatsAppBusinessPhoneNumberRegistrationResponse: Response from phone number registration request
  - `success` boolean, required: Indicates whether the registration was successful

## Other responses

- `400`: Bad Request - Invalid parameters or malformed request
- `401`: Unauthorized - Invalid or missing access token
- `403`: Forbidden - Insufficient permissions or access denied
- `404`: Not Found - Phone number ID does not exist or is not accessible
- `422`: Unprocessable Entity - Phone number cannot be registered in current state
- `429`: Too Many Requests - Rate limit exceeded
- `500`: Internal Server Error - Unexpected server error

## Changes

- **2025-12-30** (v23) `d553bfe46f22`: 1 warning
  - removed the request property `tier`

[Operation history](https://skmtc.dev/meta/apis/whatsapp-business-messaging/changes/:Version/:Phone-Number-ID/register/post.md)

---

[API](https://skmtc.dev/meta/apis/whatsapp-business-messaging.md) - [All operations](https://skmtc.dev/meta/apis/whatsapp-business-messaging/llms.txt) - [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc.dev/meta/apis/whatsapp-business-messaging/revisions/5c1973265369?raw)