This guide sets up the WhatsApp side of your driving school in Meta — the company behind Facebook and WhatsApp. Your job here is one thing: create your school's business portfolio and get your business verified by Meta. Pamio does the rest — when you connect WhatsApp in Pamio, it creates your WhatsApp Business Account and connects the phone number for you.
What you're creating
Two things live inside Meta:
- A business portfolio — Meta's name for the container that holds your school's business accounts. You create this (Steps 1–3) and get it verified (Step 4).
- A WhatsApp Business Account — the WhatsApp side of that business. (Meta sometimes shortens this to "WABA".) Pamio creates this for you during the connection step — you don't make it by hand.
Your school owns both. Pamio creates the WhatsApp Business Account and connects the correct phone number and messaging system when you connect WhatsApp in Pamio.
Before you start
Use a laptop or desktop computer if you can — it's much easier than on a phone. Have these ready:
- A Facebook login (your personal Facebook account is fine).
- Your school's business name, address, email and contact phone number.
- Your school's website — it must load and its address must start with
https://. - One official document that proves your business — see Step 4 for exactly which ones count.
Your website matters more than you'd think. Meta uses it to check your
business is real. If your site doesn't load, or its address starts with http://
instead of https://, sort that out before you begin — a broken or
insecure website is a common reason verification is refused.
Your personal Facebook name stays completely separate from your school's name. Meta just uses your Facebook login to know who's managing the setup — it does not turn your personal profile into the school's WhatsApp account. Use the Facebook account of the person who owns or manages the school.
Step 1 — Open Meta Business Suite
Meta Business Suite is Meta's free control panel for businesses.
- In your web browser, go to business.facebook.com.
- Log in with the Facebook account you normally use.
Step 2 — Create or choose your school's business portfolio
After you log in, Meta may ask you to choose a business portfolio.
- If you already have one for your school, select it.
- If you don't, create a new one and use your real school name (for example, "Anytown School of Motoring").
Don't use throwaway names like "Test", "My WhatsApp" or "Temporary" — Meta checks this against your real business, and a placeholder name will fail verification later.
Step 3 — Check your school's business details
- Go to business.facebook.com/settings.
- If Meta asks, select your school's business portfolio.
- Find Business info.
- Check that all of these are correct and match your real school: business name, address, website, email, and contact phone number.
If anything is wrong or missing, fix it now, before the next step. Getting this right first saves you from having to verify all over again (see the last section).
Step 4 — Pamio connects WhatsApp for you
This is where WhatsApp itself gets set up — and it's Pamio's job, not yours. You don't create the WhatsApp Business Account, and you don't add a phone number.
When you connect WhatsApp in Pamio, there's a short guided step where you sign in with Facebook and choose your business portfolio. Pamio then creates your school's WhatsApp Business Account under that portfolio and connects the Pamio phone number to it — all in that one step.
One safety rule: never bring, add or attach your own number — not your personal WhatsApp number, a mobile already used with WhatsApp, a staff member's personal number, a test number, or any number Pamio didn't give you. Pamio always provides the number as part of the connection step.
Step 5 — Verify your business
Now that Pamio has connected WhatsApp, your WhatsApp Business Account exists, so verification is now available. You need to verify your business — do this now.
Meta needs to confirm your business is real. You start this yourself — Meta doesn't send you a prompt and wait. Here's where to go:
- Go to business.facebook.com.
- Open Security Centre.
- Click Start verification.
Before you begin, three things need to be right:
- You have full control of the business portfolio. If you can't open Security Centre or start verification, you probably don't — whoever created the portfolio needs to give you full control first.
- Your details match your legal business exactly — your registered legal name, not your trading name. A mismatch here is one of the most common reasons verification is refused.
- Your website loads and starts with
https://.
Meta then asks you to confirm your business in one of these ways — pick whichever suits you and follow the steps on screen:
- Phone call
- Text message
- WhatsApp message
- Domain verification (proving you own your website)
Have one of these ready before you start. If Meta asks you to upload a document to confirm your business, here's what counts for a driving school in Ireland:
- If you're a limited company — your Certificate of Incorporation from the Companies Registration Office (CRO).
- If you're a sole trader (most instructors) — your CRO business name registration certificate (the "Certificate of Registration" for your registered business name).
- If you have neither to hand — a business bank statement, a Revenue tax document (a self-filled one won't be accepted), or a utility bill also work. A utility bill only proves your address and phone number, though — it can't be the document that proves your business name.
Whichever you use, it must be official, current (not expired), and show your legal business name — the same name you entered in your business portfolio. English is fine.
If you ever see "Ineligible for verification", it just means your WhatsApp account isn't set up yet — that's Step 4 (Pamio connects WhatsApp). Once that's done, come back here and verify. If Meta instead emails or notifies you to verify from somewhere else, follow that.
What "done" looks like
At this point:
- Your business portfolio is created and its details match your real school.
- Pamio has connected WhatsApp — your WhatsApp Business Account and phone number are set up (Step 4).
- Your business verification is submitted — the important last step (Step 5).
There's nothing more for you to do right now. You don't need to sit and wait on the screen — Meta reviews the verification and replies by notification. This is usually a day or two, and takes up to 14 working days only if Meta needs a closer look at your documents. Carry on as normal; Meta will let you know the result.
If verification is rejected, it's almost always a details mismatch: check that your business name, address and website exactly match your legal business, fix anything wrong, and start verification again in Security Centre.
One thing worth knowing: if you edit your business details after verifying, Meta makes you verify again. That's why this guide has you check your details in Step 3 first — get them right once and you only verify once.