BIMI — Brand Indicators for Message Identification

BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) is an emerging email standard that allows organizations to display their official brand logo next to authenticated emails in supported email clients. It is designed to increase consumer trust and brand recognition in the inbox. BIMI is published as a DNS TXT record and requires a strong DMARC policy to be in place before a logo can be displayed.

1. The sending domain publishes a BIMI DNS TXT record pointing to a logo file (SVG format) and optionally a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC).

2. The receiving mail client queries the BIMI record.

3. If DMARC passes with p=quarantine or p=reject, and the logo URL is valid, the client displays the brand logo in the inbox.

4. With a VMC (issued by a Certificate Authority like DigiCert or Entrust), the logo is considered verified and receives a checkmark indicator in some clients.

BIMI records are published at: default._bimi.{domain}

Example:

Key fields:

• v=BIMI1 — version

• l= — URL to the SVG logo (must be HTTPS, SVG Tiny PS format)

• a= — URL to the VMC certificate PEM file (required by some providers)

If you don't have a VMC yet, you can omit a= but logo display will be limited to providers that don't require it.

The logo must be in SVG Tiny Portable/Secure (SVG P/S) format — a restricted subset of SVG that disallows scripts, external references, and animations.

• Must be a square aspect ratio

• Must be served over HTTPS

• File size should be kept small (under 32KB recommended)

• Must be a registered trademark for VMC issuance

Tools like Inkscape or Adobe Illustrator can export SVG, but you may need to manually clean the file to meet SVG Tiny PS requirements.

A VMC is a digital certificate issued by a CA (DigiCert or Entrust) that verifies your brand logo is associated with a registered trademark. VMCs are required by Gmail and other major providers for the blue verified checkmark.

To obtain a VMC:

1. Register your logo as a trademark in your country.

2. Submit your trademark registration to a CA (DigiCert or Entrust).

3. Complete domain validation.

4. The CA issues a PEM certificate you host on your domain.

VMCs typically cost $1,000–$1,500/year. See MailGeeks.com for guidance on the process.

Prerequisites before BIMI will display:

• DMARC must be at p=quarantine or p=reject

• SPF and DKIM must be properly configured

• Logo must meet SVG Tiny PS requirements

• A VMC is required by Gmail and Yahoo Mail

Email clients with BIMI support: Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Apple Mail (iOS 16+), Fastmail, Proton Mail (beta).

Outlook does not currently support BIMI.