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template_category_update webhook reference | Developer Documentation

template_category_update webhook reference

Updated: Nov 11, 2025
This reference describes trigger events and payload contents for the WhatsApp Business Account template_category_update webhook.
The template_category_update webhook notifies you of changes to template’s category.

Triggers

    The existing category of a WhatsApp template is going to be changed by an automated process.The existing category of a WhatsApp template is changed manually or by an automated process.

    Syntax

    {
      "object": "whatsapp_business_account",
      "entry": [
        {
          "id": "<WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID>",
          "time": <WEBHOOK_TRIGGER_TIMESTAMP>,
          "changes": [
            {
              "field": "template_category_update",
              "value": {
                "message_template_id": <TEMPLATE_ID>,
                "message_template_name": "<TEMPLATE_NAME>",
                "message_template_language": "<TEMPLATE_LANGUAGE>",
    
                <!-- impending category change notifications only -->
                "correct_category": "<CORRECT_CATEGORY>",
                "new_category": "<CURRENT_CATEGORY>",
                "category_update_timestamp": <CATEGORY_UPDATE_TIMESTAMP>
    
                <!-- completed category change notifications only -->
                "previous_category": "<PREVIOUS_CATEGORY>",
                "new_category": "<NEW_CATEGORY>"
    
              }
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }

    Parameters

    Placeholder Description Example value
    <CORRECT_CATEGORY>
    String
    The category that the template will be recategorized as in 24 hours.
    MARKETING
    <CURRENT_CATEGORY>
    String
    The template’s current category.
    MARKETING
    <NEW_CATEGORY>
    String
    The template’s new category.
    MARKETING
    <CATEGORY_UPDATE_TIMESTAMP>
    Integer
    The Unix timestamp (in seconds) indicating when the template’s category will be updated to the <CORRECT_CATEGORY> specified in the webhook. This value represents the moment the update is scheduled to occur.
    1760711433
    <PREVIOUS_CATEGORY>
    String
    The template’s previous category.
    UTILITY
    <TEMPLATE_ID>
    Integer
    Template ID.
    278077987957091
    <TEMPLATE_LANGUAGE>
    String
    en-US
    <TEMPLATE_NAME>
    String
    Template name.
    welcome_template
    <WEBHOOK_TRIGGER_TIMESTAMP>
    Integer
    Unix timestamp indicating when the webhook was triggered.
    1739321024
    <WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID>
    String
    WhatsApp Business Account ID.
    102290129340398

    Examples

    This example webhook describes a template that will be recategorized as MARKETING in 24 hours. Note that new_category indicates its current category:
    {
     "entry": [
       {
         "id": "102290129340398",
         "time": 1746082800,
         "changes": [
           {
             "field": "template_category_update",
             "value": {
               "message_template_id": 278077987957091,
               "message_template_name": "welcome_template",
               "message_template_language": "en-US",
               "new_category": "UTILITY",
               "correct_category": "MARKETING",
               "category_update_timestamp": 1746169200
             }
           }
         ]
       }
     ],
     "object": "whatsapp_business_account"
    }
    This example webhook describes a template that has been recategorized as MARKETING:
    {
     "entry": [
       {
         "id": "102290129340398",
         "time": 1746169200,
         "changes": [
           {
             "field": "template_category_update",
             "value": {
               "message_template_id": 278077987957091,
               "message_template_name": "welcome_template",
               "message_template_language": "en-US",
               "previous_category": "UTILITY",
               "new_category": "MARKETING"
             }
           }
         ]
       }
     ],
     "object": "whatsapp_business_account"
    }