BIMI eligibility
checked end to end.
Enter your domain. We verify the four prerequisites for BIMI logo display
in Gmail, Apple Mail, and Yahoo: DMARC at p=quarantine or
p=reject with pct=100, BIMI DNS record published,
SVG logo conforms to the BIMI Profile, and Verified Mark Certificate
(VMC) valid.
# Awaiting input…
All four required for Gmail. Three for Apple/Yahoo.
DMARC at p=quarantine or p=reject
BIMI requires DMARC enforcement. p=none doesn't qualify
even with otherwise-perfect setup. pct=100 is also
required. Partial enforcement (pct<100) does not qualify.
BIMI DNS record
TXT record at default._bimi.<domain> with content
like "v=BIMI1; l=https://...; a=https://...". The
l= tag points to the SVG; a= points to the VMC.
BIMI Profile SVG
SVG must conform to "SVG Tiny PS" profile: square aspect, no JavaScript, no external references, no embedded raster images, solid background. Most existing brand SVGs need conversion.
Verified Mark Certificate
Required by Gmail. Issued by Mark Verifying Authorities (DigiCert, Entrust). Verifies trademark ownership of the logo. Costs €1,000-1,800 per year depending on MVA and trademark scope.
All four required
For full BIMI logo display in Gmail (consumer + Workspace), all four prerequisites must be met. VMC is the gating constraint; without registered trademark, no Gmail BIMI.
VMC-less BIMI works
Apple Mail (iOS/macOS) and Yahoo accept BIMI without VMC. Three prerequisites are sufficient. Useful for senders without registered trademarks who still want logo display where supported.
BIMI deployment is engineering, not a checklist.
The DNS records are easy. The DMARC ramp to p=reject takes weeks. The SVG profile conversion needs a designer. The VMC application takes 1-3 weeks of identity verification. We handle all four for managed customers. Start a Telegram conversation to discuss.
BIMI is gated by four prerequisites; the audit shows you which are missing.
BIMI displays your brand logo in supporting mail clients (Gmail with VMC, Yahoo, Apple Mail, Fastmail) next to messages from your domain. The display is straightforward; the eligibility requirements are the part that catches most operations off guard. Four prerequisites must all be satisfied; missing any one means BIMI doesn't display regardless of how correctly the others are configured.
Prerequisite 1: DMARC at quarantine or reject.
BIMI requires DMARC enforcement, not just publication.
p=none doesn't qualify; you need
p=quarantine with at least 25% application
(pct=25) or p=reject. Most
operations that haven't progressed past
p=none need to do that work first; BIMI is
downstream of DMARC enforcement, not parallel to it.
Plan 30-60 days for the DMARC progression before BIMI
becomes available.
Prerequisite 2: BIMI DNS record published.
A TXT record at default._bimi.yourdomain.com
containing the location of your SVG logo and (optionally)
your VMC. The record syntax is straightforward; the
challenge is usually the SVG profile, which is more
restrictive than typical SVG. BIMI requires SVG Tiny PS
(Tiny Portable Secure), a specific profile that bans
scripts, external references, and animations. Most brand
SVGs need conversion before they qualify.
Prerequisite 3: SVG logo in BIMI-compliant profile.
The SVG must be square (1:1 aspect ratio), have a transparent or solid background, contain only paths and basic shapes, and meet specific size and complexity limits. The audit performs a basic compliance check against the SVG you publish; full validation requires BIMI Group's official validator. Conversion from typical marketing SVG to BIMI Tiny PS profile is usually a designer task, not an automated transform.
Prerequisite 4: VMC for Gmail display.
Gmail requires a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) issued by an authorized Certificate Authority (currently DigiCert or Entrust) that validates you legally own the trademark for your logo. VMC issuance involves trademark registration verification and corporate identity verification; budget 1-3 weeks for the process and $1,500-$2,000 USD for the certificate annually. Yahoo, Apple Mail, and Fastmail can display BIMI without VMC (they fall back to BIMI without certificate); Gmail strictly requires it.
Where most BIMI deployments stall.
DMARC at p=none, BIMI not eligible
Most common blocker by a wide margin. Operations want
BIMI before they've completed the DMARC enforcement
ramp. Fix: complete DMARC progression first
(none → quarantine → reject) over 30-60
days. BIMI configuration becomes valid as soon as
DMARC reaches p=quarantine with
pct=25 or higher.
SVG fails BIMI Tiny PS profile validation
Common SVG issues: rectangular dimensions instead of
square, embedded scripts (<script>
tags), external font references, animation elements,
filter effects. Fix: have your designer produce a
BIMI-compliant variant; BIMI Group's validator
identifies specific issues. Often the brand mark
simplifies meaningfully for BIMI compared to full
marketing SVG.
BIMI record published but no VMC, Gmail won't display
The audit reports BIMI publishing as valid but flags VMC absence. BIMI displays at Yahoo, Apple Mail, Fastmail without VMC; Gmail does not. Fix: apply for VMC through DigiCert or Entrust if Gmail display matters for your audience. Skip if Yahoo/Apple/Fastmail coverage is sufficient.
BIMI subdomain selector instead of default
BIMI supports per-selector configuration via subdomain
selectors (e.g., marketing._bimi.yourdomain.com).
Often configured by mistake when adapting from DKIM
patterns. Default selector
(default._bimi.yourdomain.com) applies
unless your sending explicitly references a non-default
selector. Most operations should publish at default.
SVG hosted on URL that returns redirect
BIMI requires the SVG URL to return the file directly,
not via redirect. Common when CDN configuration
normalizes URLs to canonical hosts. Fix: serve SVG
from the canonical URL with no redirects; ensure
HTTPS with valid certificate; ensure correct
Content-Type: image/svg+xml header.
VMC certificate present but expired or near expiry
VMCs are issued for one year and must be renewed. Expired VMCs cause Gmail to stop displaying BIMI until renewal completes. Renewal involves repeated trademark verification but typically faster than initial issuance. Schedule renewal 30-60 days before expiry to avoid display gaps.
What the logo actually does for engagement and what it costs.
The published research on BIMI engagement uplift comes mostly from Valimail, Red Sift, and the BIMI Working Group itself, all of which have commercial interest in encouraging BIMI adoption. The numbers should be read with that bias in mind, but the directional finding holds: brand logos increase recognition, recognition increases open rates, and BIMI is one of the few channels where logo display is consistent across inbox renderers.
The most commonly cited numbers from the published research: 21-39% lift in open rates for senders displaying BIMI logos compared to senders with no logo. The wide range reflects that the lift depends heavily on baseline recognition; brands with strong existing recognition see smaller relative lifts (the recipients already opened the mail), brands with weaker recognition see larger lifts (the logo provides recognition that did not exist before).
The structural cost: BIMI requires a Verified Mark Certificate from one of the two issuing CAs (DigiCert and Entrust as of 2026). VMC pricing runs USD 1,500-1,800 annually for a single mark, with discounts for multi-year commitments and for marks already registered as trademarks. The DMARC enforcement requirement (p=quarantine or p=reject at pct=100) typically takes 60-120 days to achieve from a starting position of no DMARC, which represents the larger time investment for most operators.
The breakeven calculation depends on sending volume, baseline open rates, and the value of additional opens. For a sender at 1M monthly volume with 20% baseline open rate, a 25% open-rate lift produces 50,000 additional monthly opens. If each open is worth even USD 0.10 in downstream conversion value, that produces USD 5,000 monthly value against approximately USD 150 monthly amortised VMC cost. The economics favour BIMI for any sender above roughly 100K monthly volume with reasonable downstream conversion value.
Which inboxes actually display BIMI logos in 2026.
BIMI logo display works only when both the sender publishes the appropriate records and the receiving inbox supports the BIMI rendering. Support varies across inbox providers and continues to evolve through 2024-2026.
Full support with VMC requirement: Gmail (since July 2021, with VMC required for logo display in consumer Gmail since 2022), Yahoo Mail (since 2021), Apple Mail (since iOS 16 in 2022), Fastmail (since 2022). These are the inboxes that drive most of the engagement lift attributable to BIMI; they also represent the bulk of consumer email volume in most markets.
Partial support: AOL Mail (Yahoo infrastructure), some smaller mailbox providers that adopt BIMI from upstream. Display behaviour matches the Yahoo implementation but with smaller addressable audience.
No BIMI display: Microsoft Outlook (consumer and Microsoft 365 commercial), the major enterprise security gateways (Mimecast, Proofpoint, Barracuda), most webmail clients from regional providers. Microsoft specifically has not announced BIMI display plans through 2026 despite multiple public requests; the stated reason is concerns about phishing risk from spoofed logos, though the same VMC verification chain that Gmail uses would address those concerns.
The practical consequence for senders deciding whether to deploy BIMI: BIMI provides logo display to roughly 60-70% of the consumer email audience as of 2026 (Gmail and Yahoo plus Apple Mail), and approximately 0-10% of the business email audience (since most business email flows through Microsoft 365 or enterprise gateways). Senders whose audience is primarily consumer see meaningful BIMI ROI; senders whose audience is primarily B2B see limited direct ROI from logo display but may still benefit from the DMARC enforcement that BIMI requires as a side effect.
The most realistic framing of BIMI in 2026 is that the DMARC enforcement at p=reject is the structurally valuable property, and BIMI logo display is the visible reward that motivates organisations to complete the DMARC enforcement journey. Senders who complete the DMARC path benefit from the reduction in spoofing and the improved deliverability that p=reject enables, regardless of whether the BIMI logo actually displays to most of their recipients.
Frequently asked.
Does BIMI improve deliverability or just visibility?
Visibility, not deliverability directly. BIMI displays your logo next to messages in supporting mail clients; it does not affect spam filtering decisions. The indirect benefit is that the BIMI prerequisites (DMARC enforcement, authentication discipline) do improve deliverability; getting eligible for BIMI is a side-effect of operating well-configured email infrastructure. The logo display itself is brand visibility, not inbox placement.
Is VMC worth $1,500-$2,000 per year?
Depends on your audience composition. Gmail share of your recipient base is the key metric: if 60%+ of your recipients use Gmail and brand recognition affects engagement (consumer brand, financial services, regulated industries with phishing concerns), VMC is usually worth it. If your recipients are mostly business users on corporate Outlook or smaller providers, VMC ROI is marginal because Gmail-only display affects fewer recipients.
Can I use BIMI without DMARC enforcement?
No. The BIMI specification requires DMARC enforcement; this is not an arbitrary policy but a fundamental design decision to prevent BIMI from displaying logos for messages that could be spoofed. Operations sometimes ask if they can skip DMARC and just publish BIMI; the answer is consistently no, BIMI doesn't display without DMARC enforcement.
What if my brand uses different logos for different products?
BIMI supports multiple selectors for this case. You can
configure
marketing._bimi.yourdomain.com,
support._bimi.yourdomain.com, and so on,
with different SVGs and VMCs per selector. Sending mail
with the appropriate selector reference (via the
BIMI-Selector header) determines which
logo displays. Most operations publish only at default
and use a single brand mark.
How long does VMC issuance take?
1-3 weeks typical, contingent on trademark registration status and corporate identity verification speed. If your trademark is already registered with USPTO, EUIPO, or equivalent national authorities, the process moves faster. If you're filing trademark registration alongside VMC application, expect 6-12 months because trademark registration itself takes that long. Don't apply for VMC until trademark registration is complete.
What if my logo is not square?
You'll need a square variant for BIMI. Most brand systems include a square logomark alongside the primary horizontal logotype; BIMI typically uses the logomark. If your brand doesn't have a square mark, this is a brand-design conversation rather than a technical one; the design team needs to produce one before BIMI display becomes possible.