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BIMI: your logo in the inbox, and the VMC it needs

What BIMI requires before a logo appears in Gmail or Apple Mail: an enforced DMARC policy, an SVG Tiny PS logo, a BIMI record, and a VMC or CMC certificate.

5 min read

BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) lets mailbox providers show your logo next to your messages. It is not a security control in itself: it is the reward for one. A logo only appears once your domain refuses forged mail, so the real work is the DMARC enforcement underneath. This guide follows Google’s BIMI help pages, read on 15 November 2026.

1. Enforce DMARC first

Gmail requires a DMARC policy of p=quarantine or p=reject applied to all mail: pct must be 100 (or absent, which means 100). p=none is not accepted, nor is a partial rollout. If you are not there yet, From p=none to p=reject is the path; it usually takes six to ten weeks.

BIMI logos are SVG files in a restricted profile called SVG Tiny Portable/Secure: no scripts, no external links, no animation, a square image with a solid background. Gmail adds that the image must be at least 96 by 96 pixels. Most design tools cannot export this profile directly; the certificate issuer usually checks the file, and conversion tools exist.

3. Get a mark certificate: VMC or CMC

Gmail requires a certificate from an authorised issuer proving that the logo is yours:

  • VMC (Verified Mark Certificate): for a logo registered as a trademark. Gmail shows the logo with a blue verified checkmark.
  • CMC (Common Mark Certificate): for a logo that is not trademarked but that you can show you have used. Gmail shows the logo, without the checkmark.

The issuer verifies your organisation and the mark, then delivers a PEM file that embeds the certificate and your SVG logo. Both certificates are paid and renewed every year.

4. Publish the BIMI record

Host the SVG and the PEM file on HTTPS, then add a TXT record at default._bimi:

default._bimi.yourdomain.com.  TXT  "v=BIMI1; l=https://yourdomain.com/bimi/logo.svg; a=https://yourdomain.com/bimi/vmc.pem"

l= is the logo, a= the certificate. A record without a= is valid under the BIMI standard, and some providers read it, but Gmail does not display a logo without a certificate.

5. Check, then wait

The free BIMI checker reads your record, fetches the logo and the certificate, and verifies that your DMARC policy qualifies. Providers cache logos: the first display can take a few days after everything is correct.

Common reasons the logo does not show

  • DMARC at p=none, or pct below 100, or sp=none on subdomains that send.
  • The SVG is not Tiny PS (often a leftover <script>, an x=/y= on the root element, or a missing <title>).
  • The PEM file is not reachable over HTTPS, or its embedded logo differs from the one at l=.
  • The message itself did not pass DMARC: check its headers with the e-mail header analyzer.
  • The recipient’s provider does not support BIMI, or not for your sending volume.