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Sends to a blocked contact are refused with contact_blocked

Released: October 17, 2026

POST /v1/{phone_number_id}/messages Added

Section titled “POST /v1/{phone_number_id}/messages ”

Agents can block a contact on one WhatsApp number from the dashboard inbox. While the contact is blocked, every send to it on that number is refused before it reaches Meta:

error.codeWhen it firesRecoverable?
contact_blockedAn agent blocked the recipient on this WhatsApp number in the dashboard. Your other numbers are not affected.Yes, once the contact is unblocked in the dashboard. Retrying without that will fail the same way.
{
  "error": {
    "type": "invalid_request_error",
    "code": "contact_blocked",
    "message": "This contact is blocked on this WhatsApp number. Unblock it in the dashboard to send messages.",
    "request_id": "req_01HXYZABCDEFGHJKMNPQRSTVWX"
  }
}

The same code is returned by the TypeScript SDK (as InvalidRequestError with code: 'contact_blocked') and by the MCP message send tools.

Block state is dashboard-only: it is not exposed on contact objects and there is no endpoint to block or unblock a contact. Customer contact.* webhook payloads do not change.