How to Get the WhatsApp Business API in Malaysia: SSM Documents, Verification, Your +60 Number and First Templates

Short answer: you need a Meta business portfolio, a +60 number that can receive an SMS or a voice call, a website or email on your own domain, and, for verification, an SSM document that shows your exact registered name: the company profile or certificate of incorporation for a Sdn Bhd, or the business registration certificate or business profile for an enterprise. You can connect and message the same day. A newly created portfolio starts at 250 unique customers per 24 hours for business-initiated messages; verification is one of three ways to reach 2,000. If your number already runs on the WhatsApp Business app, Coexistence lets you keep the app and add the API on the same number.

Before you start: a five-point checklist

• An SSM record in the exact name you will type into Meta (see the table in Step 1).
• A Meta business portfolio (Business Manager) owned by the business, with at least two admins. Agencies often create the portfolio under their own name; that causes trouble later, because the portfolio, number and templates belong to whoever owns it.
• A website on your own domain that shows the same name as your SSM record, plus an email address on that domain. A Gmail address is weaker evidence.
• A Malaysian number you control that can receive an SMS or a call. A number on the WhatsApp Business app can be used through Coexistence; a number on personal WhatsApp must be removed from it first.
• A company card for Meta's message fees. Meta can bill in ringgit (MYR) since 1 April 2026, and the currency is hard to change once chosen, so decide before you add it.

Step 1: get the right SSM document

Meta's business verification checks two things: that the business exists, and that the legal name and address you entered match an official record. In Malaysia that record is held by the Companies Commission of Malaysia (Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia, SSM). Certified copies are bought online through SSM's e-Info service or the MyData SSM portal, and arrive as PDFs.

Fees are SSM's own published figures, checked on 26 October 2026; SSM adds a service charge and 8% service tax on that charge. Since October 2019 SSM numbers are 12 digits: the first four are the year, the next two the entity type (01 for a local company, 03 for a business, 04 for an LLP), then a running number, for example 201901000005. Older documents also show the old number, such as 1312525-A. Type the new format into Meta, because that is what current SSM records lead with.

The rule that causes most rejections

The legal name in Meta must match the SSM document character for character. "Kedai Bunga Melati Sdn. Bhd." is not "Kedai Bunga Melati Sdn Bhd" with no full stops, and it is certainly not your trade name "Melati Florist". Copy the name from the PDF. When Meta offers a list of matching businesses, several providers advise choosing to enter the details manually, so a near-match with a typo is not selected for you. Meta accepts supporting documents in Malay as well as English, so you do not need a translation of an SSM document.

Can a sole proprietor get verified?

Yes. A business registered with SSM as an enterprise has a real registration record and can use its business registration certificate or business profile. What tends to fail is a business with no registration at all, or one whose website shows a different name. If you trade as "Ayu Bakes" but registered "Ayu Bakes Enterprise", put the registered name on the website footer too.

Step 2: create the WhatsApp Business Account

The quickest route is Meta's embedded signup, opened from inside your provider's dashboard. In QuickWA it sits in Settings: log in with Facebook, choose or create the business portfolio, create the WhatsApp Business Account, add the number and confirm it with the code Meta sends. The account belongs to your portfolio, not to QuickWA, so you keep your number, templates and quality history if you ever change platform.

Then add a payment method to the WhatsApp Business Account in Meta Business Suite. Since 1 October 2026, service replies above the first 1,000 a month per number are charged, and Meta has said businesses with no payment method may stop having those replies delivered. Rates for Malaysia are in our Malaysia pricing guide.

Business verification: when and how

Verification is started in Meta Business Suite under Security Centre. You choose Malaysia, enter the legal name, address, phone and website, upload the SSM PDF, and confirm by email on your domain, by phone or by domain check. Reviews usually take a few working days. You do not need to wait for it to start messaging: verification is about lifting limits and the number cap, not about switching the API on.

Step 3: choose and format your +60 number

Malaysian numbers have the country code +60 and a trunk prefix 0 that is dropped internationally. Mobile numbers use codes such as 012, 016, 017 or 019, with a seven-digit subscriber number, except 011 and 015 numbers, which have eight. Landlines carry a one-digit area code in Peninsular Malaysia (3 for the Klang Valley, 4 for Penang and the north, 7 for Johor, for example) and two-digit codes in Sabah and Sarawak (82 for Kuching, 88 for Kota Kinabalu).

Meta requires a number that can receive a call or an SMS for the one-time code, and it does not accept short codes. A landline cannot receive an SMS, so choose a voice call when registering a clinic or showroom line. A new business portfolio can register two phone numbers; Meta raises that cap to 20 automatically once the business is verified or reaches the 2,000 messaging limit.

Format matters later too. When you import contacts, store them in international form (60123456789 or +60123456789). A list full of 012-345 6789 entries without the country code is the most common reason a first broadcast "fails" in Malaysia.

Coexistence or a new number?

A huge share of Malaysian small businesses already run on one WhatsApp Business app number: the kedai runcit owner, the Shopee seller who moved repeat buyers to WhatsApp, the clinic receptionist. Coexistence connects that same number to the API so the phone app keeps working.

Two practical notes. Coexistence is set up on a computer while you hold the phone that has the WhatsApp Business app, because Meta shows a QR code to scan with it. And keep using the phone app now and then: Meta disconnects the link if the primary phone is inactive for about 14 days. The app features you lose (labels, quick replies, broadcasts) have inbox equivalents in QuickWA. Our Coexistence guide walks through the flow; its examples come from another market, but the steps are identical.

Step 4: a display name that will pass

The display name is what customers see. Meta reviews it, and reviews it again whenever you change it. Names that pass match your external branding: the name on your website, signboard or SSM record. Names that are usually rejected:

• Generic words or places alone ("Hartanah Johor", "Klinik Kecantikan").
• Words implying endorsement, such as "Official" or "Verified".
• Slogans, prices or promotions ("Murah Gila Skincare 50% Off").
• All capitals when your brand is not written that way, emojis or trademark symbols.
• A person's name with no visible link to the business. An agent at a real-estate firm should use the agency's name, for example "Harta Iskandar Realty", not "Jason Tan".

A Malay, Chinese or English name is fine, as long as it is the name your customers see elsewhere. A bilingual brand such as "Restoran Wong 黄记" should use the form that appears on its website.

Step 5: submit your first templates

Outside the 24-hour customer-service window you can only start a conversation with an approved template. Each language is a separate translation of the template and is approved on its own, so a clinic serving Malay, Chinese and English speakers submits three versions. Start with one utility, one marketing and, if you send login codes, one authentication template.

Utility: appointment reminder (Bahasa Melayu)

Hai {{1}}, ini peringatan temujanji anda di {{2}} pada {{3}}, jam {{4}}. Balas 1 untuk sahkan atau 2 untuk tukar tarikh.

Utility: the same reminder in Chinese (Simplified)

{{1}} 您好，提醒您在 {{2}} 的预约时间为 {{3}} {{4}}。回复 1 确认，回复 2 更改时间。

Utility: order shipped (Tamil)

வணக்கம் {{1}}, உங்கள் ஆர்டர் {{2}} அனுப்பப்பட்டது. கண்காணிக்க: {{3}}

Marketing: new collection (Bahasa Melayu)

Salam {{1}}! Koleksi baju kurung terbaru kami dah sampai. Tunjuk mesej ini di kedai untuk diskaun 10% sehingga {{2}}. Balas STOP untuk berhenti terima promosi.

Notice what each one does. The reminders carry no offer, so they stay in the utility category at RM 0.0564 instead of RM 0.3467. The marketing template names the business-specific benefit and tells people how to stop. In QuickWA the automatic opt-out recognises English keywords such as STOP and UNSUBSCRIBE, which is why the Malay template says "Balas STOP" rather than "Balas BERHENTI". Use sample values when you submit (Meta asks for them), and avoid templates that are only a placeholder or a vague "Tahniah!", which Meta treats as marketing by default.

Messaging limits: 250, then 2,000 and up

Messaging limits cap how many unique customers you can start conversations with in a rolling 24 hours using templates. Replies inside a conversation the customer opened do not count. Three points are often misunderstood:

• The limit belongs to the business portfolio, not to the number. All numbers in the portfolio share it, so a second number does not double your reach.
• Newly created portfolios start at 250. An established portfolio may already sit higher; check WhatsApp Manager before assuming.
• Verification is one of three routes to 2,000. The others are verification done by the partner who onboarded you, and sending 2,000 delivered template messages to unique numbers within a rolling 30 days with good quality.

Above 2,000, Meta lifts you to 10,000, then 100,000, then unlimited. It raises the limit by one level, usually within six hours, when your quality is high and you have used at least half of the current limit in the last seven days. A furniture shop in Muar that broadcasts 300 messages a month will stay at its tier; that is normal and not a penalty.

Quality rating

Each number has a quality rating (green, yellow or red) built from how recipients respond: blocks, reports and the reasons they give. Low quality can stop your limit from rising and can lead Meta to restrict sending. The surest way to keep it green in Malaysia is the obvious one: message people who asked to hear from you, in the language they speak, about things they care about.

Common reasons Malaysian applications get stuck

1. Name mismatch between Meta and SSM, usually "Sdn. Bhd." punctuation or a trade name.
2. Expired or cropped documents. Upload the full, current PDF, not a phone photo of page one.
3. Website does not show the business. A Shopee or Instagram page alone is weak; a simple site on your own domain with the SSM name and address in the footer is better.
4. Portfolio owned by an agency or freelancer. Move ownership to the business before verification.
5. Number still on personal WhatsApp. Delete the account in the app first, or use the WhatsApp Business app and Coexistence.
6. Templates rejected as marketing. Remove promotional lines from reminders, or accept the marketing category and price.

Everything else, from team inbox to Shopify order messages, is set up after the number is live. The country overview is on our Malaysia page, and the rules for marketing messages are in our Malaysian marketing rules guide.

Sources

• SSM, company information products and fees (company profile, certificate of incorporation): ssm.com.my (checked 26 Oct 2026)
• SSM, business information products and fees (business profile, business registration certificate): ssm.com.my (checked 26 Oct 2026)
• Malay Mail, SSM's 12-digit registration number format (8 October 2019): malaymail.com (checked 26 Oct 2026)
• Meta, messaging limits (250 for new portfolios, three routes to 2,000, automatic scaling): developers.facebook.com (checked 26 Oct 2026)
• Meta, phone numbers (two-number cap rising to 20, SMS or voice verification, no short codes): developers.facebook.com (checked 26 Oct 2026)
• Meta, onboarding WhatsApp Business app users (Coexistence: app version, history sync, 20 mps, unavailable features, inactivity): developers.facebook.com (checked 26 Oct 2026)
• Meta, template category guidelines: developers.facebook.com (checked 26 Oct 2026)
• Telephone numbers in Malaysia (area codes and mobile number lengths): wikipedia.org (checked 26 Oct 2026)