--- title: "What is the WhatsApp template character limit?" description: "Body 1,024, header 60, footer 60, button 25 characters. Check a WhatsApp template or a DLT SMS template against the published limits, free." url: https://vocora.in/what-is-the-whatsapp-template-character-limit markdown: https://vocora.in/what-is-the-whatsapp-template-character-limit.md last_updated: 2026-10-18 site: Vocora (https://vocora.in) --- # What is the WhatsApp template character limit? [Free tools](https://vocora.in/tools) · WhatsApp and DLT template checker A WhatsApp message template body can be up to 1,024 characters. A text header can be up to 60 characters with one variable, a footer up to 60 characters, and each button label up to 25 characters. These limits come from Meta’s template components documentation. For SMS in India, a DLT template’s {#var#} placeholder holds up to 30 characters in Airtel’s guideline, and a single SMS is 160 GSM-7 characters or 70 Unicode characters. The checker below tests a WhatsApp or DLT template against these rules in your browser. By Vocora team · Published 18 October 2026 ## WhatsApp and DLT template checker Free, no sign-up. It runs in your browser at https://vocora.in/what-is-the-whatsapp-template-character-limit and nothing you type is sent to us. ## How to use it 1. **Choose WhatsApp or DLT.** Pick the template type you want to check. 2. **Paste the template.** For WhatsApp, paste header, body, footer and button labels; for DLT, paste the template with {#var#} placeholders. 3. **Fix failures first.** Red items break a published rule; amber items are common rejection risks. 4. **Check SMS length.** For DLT, fill sample values to see the encoding and how many SMS parts the message uses. ## Method - WhatsApp: header 60, body 1,024, footer 60, button label 25 characters; up to 10 buttons; variables {{1}}, {{2}}… in order, or named lowercase variables. - Meta’s review guidance: a body should not start or end with a variable, and variables should not contain #, $ or %. - DLT: {#var#} up to 30 characters (Airtel guideline); no double spaces or < > characters (Jio guideline). - SMS parts: GSM-7 is 160 characters for one SMS and 153 per part after that; Unicode is 70 and 67. ## Limits - Meta does not publish a ratio for “too many variables for the length”, so the checker only warns. - Operators update DLT rules; check your operator’s portal before submitting. - The category hint is a keyword guess, not Meta’s decision. [Book a free demo](https://vocora.in/#demo) · [Contact us](https://vocora.in/contact) ## FAQ ### What is the WhatsApp character limit? For a template body it is 1,024 characters. Free-form session messages can be longer, but templates, which you need to start a conversation, have the limits above. ### What is a template message in WhatsApp? A pre-approved message format that businesses on the WhatsApp Business Platform must use to message someone outside the 24-hour customer service window. Meta reviews each template before use. ### What are the guidelines for WhatsApp template category messages? Templates are Marketing, Utility or Authentication. Utility is for a specific transaction the user started; promotional content belongs in Marketing. Meta may recategorise a template. ### Why does DLT say the variable exceeded max length? A value sent in {#var#} is longer than the operator allows (30 characters in Airtel’s guideline). Shorten the value, split it across two variables, or register a template with more fixed text. ### What is the SMS character limit in India? One SMS is 160 characters in GSM-7 or 70 in Unicode (for Hindi and other Indian scripts). Longer messages are split into parts of 153 or 67 characters. ## Sources 1. [Meta — WhatsApp template components (header 60, body 1,024, footer 60, button label 25 characters; up to 10 buttons)](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/components) 2. [Meta — Template review: parameter formatting and rejection reasons](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/template-review) 3. [Meta — Templates overview: names, named and positional parameters](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/overview) 4. [Meta — Template categorization (Marketing, Utility, Authentication)](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/template-categorization) 5. [Airtel — Guidelines for validation and verification of content templates (v4): {#var#} up to 30 characters, 2,000 per template](https://www.airtel.in/business/commercial-communication/assets/documents/guidelines_for_the_validation_and_verification_of_content_templates_v4_300321.pdf) 6. [Jio TrueConnect — Content template registration user guide (tag validation standards)](https://trueconnect.jio.com/assets/Trai_module/SampleFileDownloads/Content%20template%20registration%20user%20guide.pdf) ## Related - [WhatsApp message template examples](https://vocora.in/blog/whatsapp-message-templates-examples) - [WhatsApp payment reminder templates](https://vocora.in/blog/whatsapp-payment-reminder-templates) - [DLT registration and the 1600/1601 series](https://vocora.in/blog/dlt-registration-1600-series-explained) - [WhatsApp Business API in India](https://vocora.in/blog/whatsapp-business-api-india-guide) - [All free tools](https://vocora.in/tools) --- Source: https://vocora.in/what-is-the-whatsapp-template-character-limit · Site index for AI agents: https://vocora.in/llms.txt · Contact: pratik@vocora.in · +91 98041 82483