WhatsApp Number Migration: How to Move Your WhatsApp Business Number to a New Provider

To move your WhatsApp Business number to a new provider, you migrate the registered phone number from its current WhatsApp Business account (WABA) to a new one through the new platform’s onboarding flow. You turn off two-step verification, confirm the number and display name in the new platform, and register the number on the Cloud API there. The phone number stays the same, and Meta keeps its display name, quality rating, messaging limit and Official Business Account status.

What needs planning is everything around the number: templates, chat history, automations, billing and the hour when your team switches tools. This guide covers which migration you actually need, what moves and what does not, Meta’s requirements and a step-by-step checklist.

Which kind of WhatsApp migration do you need?

“Migration” means different things depending on where your number is today. Pick your starting point first.

Where the number is today	What you do	Is it a migration?
On the WhatsApp Business API with another provider	Migrate the number to a new WhatsApp Business account through the new platform	Yes, this guide
In the WhatsApp Business app, and you want to keep the app	Connect it with coexistence	No, see WhatsApp coexistence
In the WhatsApp Business app, and you will stop using the app	Delete the WhatsApp account on the phone, then register the number on the API	Partly: the number moves, but app chat history is lost unless you back it up
In personal WhatsApp (WhatsApp Messenger)	Delete the WhatsApp account first, then register the number on the API	Same as above
Not on WhatsApp at all	Register it as a new number	No, see how to get the WhatsApp Business API

For the delete-and-register route, Meta notes that it can take up to three minutes for the number to become available after the account is deleted, and that messages sent to the number in the meantime are queued. Back up your app chats first, because deleting the account removes that history from WhatsApp.

What moves with your number, and what does not

Because the phone number itself does not change, most of its reputation travels with it.

Item	Moves with the number?
Phone number	Yes, unchanged
Display name	Yes
Phone number quality rating	Yes
Messaging limit	Yes
Official Business Account status (blue tick)	Yes
Media you uploaded on the number	Yes, it can still be used
Approved templates with a high (green) quality rating	Copied to the new account with the same status, up to the new account’s template limit
Template quality ratings	No. Copied templates start as “unknown” for 24 hours, then get a new rating if there is enough data
Templates that are not approved, low quality or over the limit	No. Recreate and resubmit them
The old WhatsApp Business account	No. The number moves to a new WhatsApp Business account
Chat history, contacts, tags and notes	Not part of Meta’s migration. They live in your old provider’s software
Chatbots, flows and automations	No. Rebuild them in the new platform

Meta may also recheck categories when templates are copied, and some can end up rejected. Keep a copy of the text of every template you depend on so you can resubmit it quickly.

What Meta requires before you migrate

Meta’s migration documentation lists a short set of requirements. If your previous provider owns the WhatsApp Business account, they have to meet them on your behalf.

• A verified business. The business portfolio must have completed Meta business verification. If you have not done this yet, follow our Meta business verification guide first.
• An approved WhatsApp Business account with a valid payment method attached.
• Two-step verification turned off on the number. The migration cannot be completed until it is off.
• An approved display name, with no display name change request pending.
• A real number. Test numbers issued by WhatsApp cannot be migrated.
• Cloud API only. Migrated numbers can only be registered for the Cloud API.

How to turn off two-step verification

Two-step verification is a six-digit PIN that protects the number from being registered somewhere else. You cannot turn it off through the API. In WhatsApp Manager, open your phone numbers, select the number, go to two-step verification and choose to turn it off. Meta sends a confirmation link to the email address on your business portfolio, so make sure someone can open that inbox on migration day.

If the number sits in a WhatsApp Business account your old provider controls, ask them to turn it off or to give you the access you need. Do it early, because this is the step that most often slows a migration down.

Step-by-step: how to migrate your WhatsApp number

Before migration day

1. Check ownership. Confirm which business portfolio owns the WhatsApp Business account and who has admin access. You want the new account to sit in your own portfolio.
2. Verify your business if it is not verified yet.
3. Export what lives in the old tool: conversation history you need, contacts with opt-in status, tags, saved replies and a list of automations.
4. Copy every template’s text, category, language and variables into a document, so you can resubmit anything that does not copy across.
5. Map your integrations: webhooks, CRM sync, ecommerce triggers and payment links that point at the old platform.
6. Set up the new platform: invite agents, build routing, recreate key flows and connect integrations, all before the number arrives.
7. Tell your old provider you are leaving and check your contract’s notice period and any billing on their credit line.

On migration day

1. Pause campaigns and template-based automations on the old platform.
2. Turn off two-step verification for the number.
3. Start the WhatsApp connection in the new platform and choose to connect your existing number. Enter the number and its display name in Meta’s onboarding window.
4. Confirm ownership with the verification code Meta sends by SMS or voice call.
5. Add or confirm the payment method on the new WhatsApp Business account, so Meta can bill you directly.
6. Let the platform register the number on the Cloud API. Meta says registration is instant and you can keep sending and receiving.

After the number is live

1. Send a test message to the number and reply from the new inbox.
2. Check your templates. Confirm which ones copied and resubmit the rest.
3. Turn two-step verification back on with a new PIN, stored somewhere your team can find it.
4. Switch automations back on one at a time, starting with the most important.
5. Disconnect the old platform so nobody replies from two places.
6. Watch your quality rating for the first weeks while new template ratings build up.

How long does a WhatsApp number migration take, and is there downtime?

The move itself is short. Meta’s documentation says that once the number is registered in its new account, you can keep sending and receiving messages without interruption. The parts that take time are around it:

• Preparation, mostly two-step verification and access to the old account, can take days if your old provider is slow to respond.
• Template copying runs after the move, and copied templates cannot be used until it finishes. Meta suggests starting template migration before registering the number to avoid a gap.
• Resubmitted templates go through review again.

Plan a quiet window, for example a weekday morning outside your busiest hours, and hold marketing campaigns until templates are confirmed. A short message to your team helps:

Today from 9:00 to 10:00 we move our WhatsApp number to the new inbox.
Do not send campaigns or reply from the old tool. From 10:00, reply only in the new inbox.
Customers keep writing to the same number, nothing changes for them.

Common migration problems and how to avoid them

• Two-step verification is on and nobody has the email. Fix portfolio admin access and email before the day.
• The old provider owns the WhatsApp Business account. Ask for the account to be moved, or for them to complete the requirements for you. A number registered with Meta can be moved; it is not locked to one tool.
• Display name change pending. Wait for the review to finish before you migrate.
• Unverified business. Complete business verification first.
• Templates missing after the move. Keep a template backup and resubmit anything that did not copy.
• Billing confusion. Make sure the new WhatsApp Business account has a payment method or credit line, or charged messages will fail.

How to move your WhatsApp number to MonoChat

MonoChat is an official Meta Business Partner that connects your own WhatsApp Business account to Meta’s Cloud API. Your number is registered with Meta, not locked to your old platform, so you disconnect it there and connect it to MonoChat through Meta’s onboarding flow.

1. Start free and prepare the inbox

Create an account at app.monochat.ai. The free Basic plan includes one agent and one channel, and other plans are on the pricing page. Before you move the number, invite your team to the unified team inbox, set up assignment and rebuild your key flows in workflow automation. You can also connect an AI assistant and test it before customers reach it.

2. Bring your templates

Export the text of your approved templates from your old tool. Depending on how the number moves, templates either stay with your WhatsApp Business account or need to be resubmitted to Meta for approval from MonoChat’s template messages screen.

3. Connect the number

Turn off two-step verification, start the WhatsApp connection in MonoChat and follow Meta’s onboarding for your existing number. Meta bills you directly for messages, and MonoChat does not add a markup on Meta’s fees. Plan a short window without campaigns while the switch completes.

4. Go live

Reply from the new inbox, switch automations back on and turn two-step verification on again. If you still use the WhatsApp Business app on a different number, you can connect that one with coexistence and keep the app on the phone.

If your situation is unusual, such as a number held in a provider’s portfolio or several numbers across accounts, contact us before you start.

Sources

• Meta for Developers: Migrating phone numbers among solution partners via Embedded Signup
• Meta for Developers: Migrate an existing WhatsApp number to a business account
• Meta for Developers: Business phone numbers
• Meta for Developers: Two-step verification
• Meta for Developers: Official Business Accounts