How to Verify Your Facebook Business Manager Account?

What is Facebook Business Manager verification?

Facebook Business Manager is a tool that allows businesses on Facebook to monitor and manage their business assets on Meta’s platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp such as their business pages, product catalogs, etc. from one place.

To ensure that only authentic, legitimate businesses can benefit from Facebook’s marketing capabilities, the company has a system in place to weed out fraudulent or fake business concerns – the Facebook Business Manager verification.

Verifying your business in Facebook Business Manager is telling Facebook that you actually own and/or represent a business that is a legitimate commercial entity registered with the government. In a nutshell, the verification proves two things:

1. Your company legally exists and is permitted to do business – meaning that your business is registered with the government and has official means of communication such as a mailing address, an official phone number, and a business email address.

2. You are legally authorized to represent your business – meaning that you shall be required to prove your ownership of the phone number and/or email address registered for your business through the receipt of an OTP. An alternative to this is to undergo the domain verification.

Essentially, the Facebook Business Manager verification process is an identity confirmation of your business.

What documents are needed for Facebook Business Manager Verification?

Depending on where your business is based, the documents needed for completing the Facebook Business Manager verification may vary. For businesses registered in and operating out of India, the following documents are accepted:

• Certificate of Incorporation (AKA Certificate of Registration)
• Articles of Incorporation
• Goods and Services Tax (GST) Registration Certificate
• Permanent Account Number (PAN) Card
• Electricity/Utility Bill (sent to your business’s registered location)
• Udyog Aadhar ID (in case your business belongs to the MSME category)
• Shop Establishment Certificate
• Business Bank Statement (should be sent to the registered business address)

Note that the following documents are not accepted:

• Invoices
• Purchase Orders
• Tax Returns (filed by you or your company)
• Self-Filled Applications
• Marketing Collateral (like brochures, flyers, letterheads, etc.) 

What are some benefits of Facebook Business Manager verification?

Aside from being an essential component of your WhatsApp Business API (or WhatsApp API) application, there are other benefits of completing the Facebook Business Manager verification as well.

If your business manager account is not already verified, then it may be beneficial (or even essential, depending on the needs of your business) to complete the verification. As Facebook says it themselves, certain Facebook products can only be accessed once your organization is verified.

There are several reasons why you may need to verify your Facebook Business Manager Account. Some of the benefits of Facebook Business Manager verification are –

1. If you are an app developer, then certain development features shall be enabled only after you verify Facebook Business Manager account. Those may not be necessary, but depending on your developed application and dev requirements, you may benefit from them.

2. If you have verified your Facebook Business Manager Account, your business shall receive the status of a ‘badged partner’ (this is different from Meta’s verified badge) and be eligible for the Meta Business Partners (MBP) program. The MBP initiative is essentially the hallmark of quality from Meta where businesses are vetted and assessed for their expertise. As a business, being supported by Meta Business Partners initiative, your profile is more likely to drive sales and help grow your business.

3. If you are the developer for an instant game (games playable on Meta’s Messenger directly across both desktop and mobile devices), you compulsorily need to verify Facebook Business Manager account to publish and distribute your game. This is because Meta only allows verified developers to publish instant games on its platform.

4. If you verify your Facebook Business Manager Account, your business comes across as more authentic and responsible to potential customers. Buyers are likely to appreciate a business that has gone the extra mile to verify themselves and may consider purchasing from your business.\

5. If you are interested in applying for a WhatsApp Business API (or WhatsApp API), then you compulsorily need to verify your Facebook Business Manager account.

Hence, verifying your Facebook Business Manager Account undeniably grants you access to several features that may directly or otherwise help grow your business.

Step-by-step guide to Facebook Business Manager verification

1. Log on to the Security Center from Facebook Business Manager.

2. Click on ‘Start Verification’ under the Business Verification box.

3. You will be prompted to enter the business details of your company. Fill the information fields as per your company documents (the submitted details must match with the submitted documents) and click on ‘Next’. 

4. Based on the input details, Facebook may show you one (or more) already listed businesses. If your business is already listed (it likely won’t be, but if it is), select the correct option and then verify your phone number associated with it (via OTP). If your business is not listed, select ‘None of these match’ and then click ‘Next’.

5. Confirm the legal name of your business and upload a document with the same legal name (it must be one of the accepted documents for the verification mentioned earlier). Make sure you select the right document language to avoid delays in the verification process. Click ‘Next’. Two documents that you may upload are (1) GST Certificate, and (2) PAN Card scan. 

6. Now type your firm’s legal business address along with the phone number. Make sure both details match the documents you are going to upload. Click ‘Next’ once both documents have been uploaded.

7. Finally, choose a verification method. First, enter your business email address and then click ‘Send Email’ to receive a confirmation email from Facebook on the said address and verify. Next, click on ‘Verify Us’ next to the entered website domain URL (it should already be filled in). Your verification application is now complete.

You may check back within a few days to see the status of your verification. To do so, simply login to the Security Center and head over to the ‘Business Info’, and it should say ‘Verified’ there with a green tick.

How long does Facebook Business Manager verification take?

Once you apply for verification of your Facebook Business Manager account, the usual Facebook business verification time is between 1 to 5 days. During this period, you will most likely receive Facebook’s response regarding your verification application.

However, in some cases, the process can take as long as 45 days, depending on the nature of your business and the ease of verification of your submitted documents.

Once the documents are submitted, you may either receive Facebook’s acceptance, in which case your Facebook Business Manager account is now verified, or you may be asked to submit additional documents to furnish your application and/or for further clarification. The communication takes place via Facebook support tickets, and applicants can raise queries regarding the subject anytime.

Nonetheless, you can minimize your Facebook Business Manager verification time by ensuring that your submitted documents are in order. 

Why did my Facebook Business Manager verification fail?

Although Facebook may not always directly mention the reason for your verification application being rejected, some common reasons include –

1. Discrepancy in submitted documents – this is by far one of the most common reasons for Facebook Business Manager verification applications being rejected. Review the information in your submitted documents and ensure that there are no differences between the furnished details and your registered information in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).

2. Poor document/image quality – the scanned documents submitted by you as part of completing the verification process must be clear, high-quality, and free from any kind of scribbles or handwriting or anything that potentially challenges its authenticity.

3. Submitting unaccepted documents – review the table below to ensure that you only submit accepted documents to both verify the legal name of your business, as well as its legal business address. Note that you cannot submit your personal bank statements towards your Facebook Business Manager verification.

If you are confused, here are our recommended documents to submit for your Facebook Business Manager verification:

5. Miscellaneous errors – this could include anything, such as your business website not including the legal or registered name in its footer, grammatical errors in your application, not using a business email address for your company, etc. 

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Mentioning your company’s registered business name in the footer allows visitors to verify that the said website is a registered property of the legal business entity. 

Finally, it may also help if your business contact email address belongs to the same domain as your website.

As Facebook itself mentions (above), verification may be faster if your business email address is associated with your website’s domain address.

For good measure, ensure that you fill the documents to the best of your ability and knowledge in accordance with your public record information as registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). 

How many times can you apply for Facebook Business Manager verification?

Facebook allows your business three attempts to apply for the Facebook Business Manager verification process. If your verification process fails the third time, then Facebook may disable the ability for your business to apply for verification.

If you have already tried (and failed) three times but still need to complete the Facebook Business Manager verification process to acquire the WhatsApp Business API, we at DelightChat can help you with the onboarding process which includes both the Facebook Business Manager account verification as well as the WhatsApp Business API acquisition.

How to maximize your chances of clearing the Facebook Business Manager verification?

To maximize your chances of clearing the verification in the first try itself, follow the steps below:

1. Ensure that the submitted documents as well as your website details are relevant and represent the current nature and condition of your business. In other words, avoid including any outdated information. If your registered details with the MCA are outdated, then you may need to update them first.

2. In the step #4 of the Facebook Business Manager verification process, you shall be asked by Facebook to mention the language in which you may be contacted. It is advisable to make sure that you choose the same language as the one in which your submitted documents were presented.

What is the difference between Facebook Business Manager verification and Facebook verified badge?

There may be misunderstandings or confusion regarding the Facebook Business Manager account verification and the Facebook verified badge (blue tick on the Facebook page next to name). Here are some important differences to clarify the same: 

1. Facebook Business Manager verification is different from getting a ‘verified’ badge on your Facebook page. Your Facebook Business Manager verified status shows up in your Facebook Business Manager account settings. However, this is only accessible to the business owner. 

Getting a ‘verified’ badge, on the other hand, refers to the blue tick next to your Facebook business page. It is publicly displayed and anyone who comes across your page can see it (as shown below).

2. The process of applying for a verified blue tick on your Facebook business page is different from the process of applying for your Facebook Business Manager verification. The latter is an essential requirement for many businesses while the former is only awarded to the most reputed and successful businesses in the market. Although the exact criteria for receiving a blue tick or ‘verified’ badge are not known, Facebook examines applications and judges them on the basis of four factors including: 

• Authenticity – does the applicant’s profile or business page really represent what it says it does?
• Uniqueness – is the applicant and/or their organization only present on Facebook?
• Completeness – does the applicant’s profile or business page have all the details as furnished by their submitted documents? Is anything missing?
• Notability – is the applicant and/or their organization known well-enough for Facebook to consider verifying their account? In other words, would the public benefit from your Facebook page being awarded a verified badge?

However, this is far less specific than the verification process for Facebook Business Manager accounts which only requires the submission of certain documents furnished with adequate details to complete the verification. Ultimately, the decision to grant a ‘verified’ badge rests on the sole discretion of Facebook. Nonetheless, here are some tips you can follow to maximize your chances of obtaining the ‘verified’ badge for your Facebook page:

• Be professional – make sure your Facebook page has a unique, consistent, and professional image. This enables Facebook to recognize your firm as a serious and legitimate commercial concern. Avoid posting or sharing any content, whether posts or images or videos, or any other form of media that is either irrelevant to your business or may likely hurt your brand’s credibility. Also, make sure to check for the finer details such as grammatical errors, image quality, quality of social media marketing copy being used, etc.
• Stay updated – Facebook looks for relevance and correctness when conducting the Facebook verified badge award process. So, at the very least, you must ensure that your (1) business website, (2) e-mail address, (3) business description, and (4) business bio are updated on your Facebook business page. If any of those details are outdated, then regardless of how authentic your business may be, the Facebook verified badge application is likely to fail.
• Boost transparency – the more details you are able to furnish for your business on Facebook, the higher the chances of getting verified. Review your page and fill up the information fields to the best of your knowledge and ability. Some areas to focus on would include (1) company overview, (2) phone numbers, (3) registered business address, or addresses if you have multiple, (4) company’s mission statement, and (5) links to other social media handles of the business. You can also add other details such as working hours or business hours to further improve clarity.
• Grow a community – your business needs to be notable and/or remarkable enough so that Facebook considers awarding a ‘verified’ badge. To do this, interact with your followers. You may hold various activities, such as Q&A sessions, polls, discussions, etc. to get more people involved. This increases the chances of your business being awarded a blue tick.

3. Facebook Business Manager verification is different from WhatsApp Business API (or WhatsApp API) verification. To successfully acquire WhatsApp Business API, you need to undergo and complete the Facebook Business Manager verification process. Without a verified Facebook Business Manager account, you will not be able to access the WhatsApp Business API.

4. The purpose of Facebook Business Manager account verification is to prove Facebook that your business is a legitimate, authentic commercial entity. However, the purpose of applying for a ‘verified’ badge (blue tick) is to help the public identify that your Facebook business page is the genuine or original one. The former helps Facebook identify your business while the latter helps social media users confirm your originality.

5. Verifying your Facebook Business Manager account gives you access to additional Facebook products, but receiving a ‘verified’ badge on your Facebook page does not necessarily confer additional benefits upon your business aside from helping Facebook’s users identify your business easily.

I cannot verify my Facebook business manager, the button is grayed out

If you have tried to verify your Facebook Business Manager account and failed, don’t worry.

Or, it's possible that for your business, the "Start Verification" button is grayed out. In some cases, the button does not even show up at all.

We at DelightChat can help you with your Facebook Business Manager verification and also assist you with getting your WhatsApp Business API.

In fact, when we take you live on WhatsApp API (in just 15 minutes), the "Start Verification" button magically appears in your FB business manager dashboard the next minute.

Our team also provides suggestions on which documents to upload, improving your chances of getting the FBM verified in one shot.

Want to experience the power of WhatsApp API? Sign up for DelightChat and schedule a call with us today!