What is BIMI? How to get your logo next to your emails
BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) puts your company logo beside your emails in the inbox. It is a reward for setting up email authentication properly, and it makes your emails easier to trust at a glance.
To show your logo with BIMI you need: DMARC set to enforcement (p=quarantine or p=reject, with pct=100), your logo as an SVG Tiny PS file, a BIMI DNS record, and, for Gmail and Apple Mail, a certificate: a VMC (needs a registered trademark) or, where accepted, a CMC (needs the logo to have been in use for at least 12 months).
Free tool: test your domain's records with the MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC checker.
What BIMI does
Inbox providers already check whether your email really comes from your domain (SPF, DKIM and DMARC). BIMI builds on that: once your domain is strictly protected, supporting inboxes show your logo instead of a plain letter. Gmail can also show a blue check mark for senders with a Verified Mark Certificate.
Which inboxes show BIMI logos
| Inbox | Shows BIMI logos? | Certificate |
|---|---|---|
| Gmail | Yes | VMC, or a CMC for logos that are not trademarked |
| Apple Mail (iOS 16, macOS Ventura and later, iCloud.com) | Yes | VMC |
| Yahoo Mail and AOL | Yes | Not required, but only for bulk senders with a good reputation |
| Fastmail, Zoho Mail and some others | Yes | Varies |
| Outlook.com | Not supported as far as we can confirm | n/a |
What you need
- SPF and DKIM passing for your domain.
- DMARC at enforcement:
p=quarantineorp=rejectwithpct=100. Ap=nonepolicy is not enough. - Your logo as SVG Tiny PS (a strict SVG format, version 1.2), square, at least 96 × 96 pixels.
- A certificate: a VMC (Verified Mark Certificate) needs a trademark registered with a recognized office, which can take 6 to 12 months to obtain. A CMC (Common Mark Certificate) is for logos without a trademark, but the logo must have been in use on your website for at least 12 months. Both are sold by approved certificate authorities.
- A BIMI DNS record: a TXT record at
default._bimi.yourdomain.compointing to your logo and certificate.
Is BIMI worth it?
For a well-known brand that sends a lot of email, often yes: a recognizable logo helps people spot real emails and ignore fakes. For a small business, the certificate cost and the trademark requirement often outweigh the benefit. The first step, DMARC at enforcement, is worth doing for everyone, because it stops other people sending email in your name.
Start by checking your records with the free DMARC, SPF and DKIM checker, and follow the deliverability checklist.
Questions people ask
- Is BIMI free?
- The BIMI record itself is free. The VMC or CMC certificate that Gmail and Apple require is a paid, yearly certificate from an approved authority.
- Do I need a trademark for BIMI?
- For a VMC, yes. A CMC can be used for a logo that is not trademarked, if it has been in use for at least 12 months. Yahoo does not require a certificate.
- Why is my BIMI logo not showing?
- The most common causes are DMARC still at p=none, a logo file that is not valid SVG Tiny PS, a missing or mismatched certificate, or an inbox that does not support BIMI.