What is the WhatsApp restricted industries list?
Restricted industries are the business sectors that WhatsApp treats differently from ordinary retail or services. Some, such as alcohol, tobacco, weapons, adult products and real-money gambling, are effectively closed to WhatsApp business messaging in India. Others, such as pharmacy, health, lending and other financial services, are open only for certain kinds of message, only in certain countries, and only when the business itself is licensed to operate. Everything else, from apparel and jewellery to travel and education, follows the normal rules for opt-in, templates and quality.
The rules come from three places at once. The WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy names regulated verticals and says which may be promoted in which countries; the WhatsApp Commerce Policy, which points to the Meta Commerce Policy, says what may never be listed in a catalogue or sold through carts and payments; and Indian law, such as drug, lending and gaming regulation, applies on top. A business has to pass all three, and the strictest one wins.
This page is the vertical-by-vertical view: which sector lands where, and what extra conditions apply. The WhatsApp Commerce Policy page covers the underlying rule text for selling, and Account Review and Business Verification cover how Meta checks a business when it joins or is flagged. Being in a restricted industry rarely shows up as one clear rejection; it shows up as templates rejected, catalogue items hidden, a failed review or, for persistent misuse, a WhatsApp account ban.
Key takeaways
- Restricted industries are sectors WhatsApp either bans outright or allows only for limited messaging, under conditions set by Meta's policies and local law.
- Alcohol, tobacco, weapons, adult products and real-money gambling are no-go verticals for WhatsApp business messaging in India.
- Pharmacies in India may message about over-the-counter products and orders, but may not promote prescription drugs or sell medicines in catalogues.
- Lending is not banned: regulated lenders use WhatsApp for OTPs, EMI reminders and statements, with honest offers and Indian lending rules on top.
- No regulated vertical may be bought or sold through WhatsApp commerce features, even where messaging about it is allowed.
Is your industry allowed on WhatsApp in India?
Question 1 · up to 3
Which vertical is the business in?
Your answers
None yet — pick an answer to start down the tree.
Path map
Depth 0 of up to 3. Circles are questions, squares are outcomes.
All possible outcomes (10)
No-go in India
Alcohol and tobacco are prohibited in commerce features, and India is not on the policy's alcohol country list. Use other channels for this range.
Path: “Alcohol, tobacco or vapes”
No-go in India
Real-money gambling is prohibited in commerce features, and online gambling and gaming may be promoted only in listed countries with Meta's permission. India is not listed.
Path: “Real-money betting or gaming”
Do not promote
Prescription drugs may not be promoted on WhatsApp. Order and refill updates to opted-in patients are a different, transactional use case.
Path: “Pharmacy or health products” → “Prescription medicines”
Not in commerce features
Drugs may not be listed in the WhatsApp Catalog or sold through carts and payments. Keep messaging, move checkout to a licensed site.
Path: “Pharmacy or health products” → “Over-the-counter products and order updates” → “Yes, sell in WhatsApp”
Allowed with conditions
India is on the over-the-counter drug list. Message opted-in customers, link to the licensed pharmacy, and follow Indian drug and advertising law.
Path: “Pharmacy or health products” → “Over-the-counter products and order updates” → “No, link to our licensed pharmacy”
Do not onboard
Lending without RBI registration or a valid licence breaches Indian law, and it will not survive Business Verification or an account review.
Path: “Lending or financial services” → “No”
Allowed
Use authentication templates for OTPs and utility templates for EMI reminders and statements, sent to opted-in borrowers.
Path: “Lending or financial services” → “Yes” → “OTPs, EMI reminders, statements”
Allowed with conditions
Marketing templates with the regulated lender's name, clear rates and a link to full terms. No misleading claims, and recovery messages stay within fair-practice rules.
Path: “Lending or financial services” → “Yes” → “Loan offers and top-ups”
Remove those items
Keep prohibited items out of the catalogue and promotions; the rest of the range can use WhatsApp normally. Disguised listings risk account action.
Path: “Everyday retail or services” → “Yes, some items”
Open
Apparel, jewellery, electronics, travel, education and similar sectors follow the normal opt-in, template and quality rules.
Path: “Everyday retail or services” → “No”
Question 1: Which vertical is the business in? 5 options.
Why does the WhatsApp restricted industries list matter?
Getting the vertical wrong is expensive because enforcement does not stay small. A liquor retailer that onboards anyway can lose the number it built a customer base on, a pharmacy that promotes prescription drugs can have its marketing templates rejected one after another, and a lender whose recovery messages read as threats collects blocks and reports that drag down quality for every number in the business portfolio. Mapping the business against the restricted list before integration decides which use cases to build, which templates to submit, and whether WhatsApp is the right channel at all for a given product line.
How does the WhatsApp restricted industries list work?
Name the vertical honestly
Describe what the business actually sells and earns from, not the friendliest framing. A gift shop whose best seller is wine hampers is in alcohol for this purpose.
Check the prohibited lists first
If the core offer is alcohol, tobacco or vapes, weapons, adult products, recreational drugs or real-money betting, stop: there is no compliant way to market it on WhatsApp in India.
Check the country list for regulated verticals
For regulated verticals, the Business Messaging Policy lists the countries where promotion is allowed. India is on the list for over-the-counter drugs, but not for alcohol or online gambling and gaming.
Split use cases by message type
Transactional messages (OTPs, order and payment updates, appointment reminders) are usually fine for a licensed business; promotional messages are where the vertical rules bite. Design templates per use case.
Keep regulated goods out of commerce features
Even an allowed regulated vertical may not be bought or sold through the WhatsApp Catalog, carts or payments. Send customers to a licensed checkout with a plain link instead.
Layer Indian law on top
Hold the licences the sector needs (drug licence, RBI registration, state approvals) and follow sector rules on advertising, disclosures and recovery conduct.
Key facts at a glance
The WhatsApp restricted industries list: key facts and limits
- No-go in India
- Alcohol, tobacco and vapes, weapons, adult products, recreational drugs, real-money gambling
- Conditional in India
- Pharmacy and health, lending and other financial services, supplements
- India country list (Business Messaging Policy)
- Over-the-counter drugs: yes · alcohol: no · online gambling and gaming: no
- Commerce features
- No regulated vertical may be bought or sold through catalogue, cart or payments
- Usually fine for licensed businesses
- OTPs, order, payment and appointment updates to opted-in users
- Where it shows up
- Template rejection, hidden catalogue items, failed account review, account ban
- Policy reference date
- Business Messaging Policy dated 23 September 2026
Example: A Pune NBFC and a Jaipur pharmacy plan their launch
An RBI-registered NBFC in Pune wants WhatsApp for loan journeys. It builds authentication templates for login OTPs, utility templates for EMI due-date reminders and statement links, and a small set of marketing templates for pre-approved top-up offers that show the lender's registered name, the rate range and a link to the full terms. Recovery messages are written to the same tone as its fair-practice code: no threats, no messages to a borrower's contacts. A Jaipur pharmacy in the same week keeps every medicine out of its WhatsApp Catalog, sends order-ready and refill reminders only to customers who opted in, mentions over-the-counter products in its newsletter template, and never names a prescription drug in a promotion. Both pass review. A neighbouring wine-and-gifts shop that asked about the same setup is told plainly that its core range cannot be marketed on WhatsApp in India.
Common wrong turns
Common mistakes with the WhatsApp restricted industries list
Hiding the real vertical
Calling a vape shop a lifestyle store or a betting app a sports community fails review and invites account-level action. Describe the business as Meta and a regulator would see it.
Assuming allowed messaging means allowed selling
A pharmacy may message about over-the-counter products in India, but it may not list medicines in the catalogue or take payment for them in WhatsApp. Keep checkout on a licensed site.
Copying another country's playbook
Some countries are on the alcohol or gaming lists; India is not. Check the country list for every market you send to, not just where your company is registered.
Treating lending as a free-for-all
Lending is allowed, but aggressive recovery messages, unclear rates or offers from an unnamed lender generate blocks and reports. Name the regulated entity and follow fair-practice rules.
Checking once at onboarding
Product ranges and Meta's policy both change. Re-check the vertical when you add a product line and when the policy is updated.
Restricted Industries FAQs
Which industries are not allowed on WhatsApp Business API in India?+
Can a loan company or NBFC use WhatsApp Business?+
Can an online pharmacy send WhatsApp marketing in India?+
Are fantasy sports or rummy apps allowed on WhatsApp in India?+
What is the difference between restricted industries and the WhatsApp Commerce Policy?+
Good practice
Best practices for the WhatsApp restricted industries list
- Record the vertical decision and the policy date you checked in your compliance file, so a later review has a clear trail.
- Build transactional templates first; they are the least exposed use case in any regulated vertical.
- For mixed ranges, run the restricted goods on another channel and keep the WhatsApp number for the allowed lines.
- If a decision seems wrong, use a Policy Appeal with evidence of licences rather than resubmitting the same content.