What the error means
Meta describes 130497 this way: the WhatsApp Business account is restricted from messaging users in certain countries. Its recommended action is to review the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy, which sets the allowed countries by business category.
How to tell it is this
- The error appears only for numbers from one country, while messages to other countries go through.
- The error text mentions being "restricted from messaging users in this country".
- It happens more often on newly created accounts.
What to do
- Check the destination numberMake sure the customer's phone is in the right international format, with the country code and no leading zero.
- Open a ticket with Meta supportGive the WhatsApp Business account ID, the code 130497 and the country. Only Meta can lift the restriction.
- Don't create extra accounts to get around itA new account can hit the same restriction, and you lose the history and approved templates of the old one.
In one Notil store, a newly created account got 130497 for Brazilian numbers while other countries worked. Meta support ran a configuration fix on the account and sending came back.
Notil shows this error in your dashboard with specific guidance, so you are not left guessing why messages stop. Other common codes are in WhatsApp API errors.