BIMI Record Checker

BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) puts your brand logo right next to your emails in the recipient's inbox. Instead of a generic avatar or initials, your subscribers see your actual logo — in Gmail, Apple Mail, Yahoo, and more. It's a visual trust signal that makes your emails instantly recognizable, and early data suggests it can boost open rates by 10% or more. But BIMI isn't just a nice-to-have design feature — it requires strong email authentication, which means setting it up forces you to get your security right too.

What you need before BIMI will work

BIMI has strict prerequisites. First, you need a DMARC policy of at least p=quarantine (p=reject is even better). If you're still on p=none, BIMI won't activate — mailbox providers won't display your logo until you're actually protecting your domain from spoofing. Second, you need your SPF and DKIM fully passing. Third, you need a square SVG logo in the SVG Tiny Portable/Secure (SVG Tiny PS) format — not a regular SVG, not a PNG, not a JPEG. This specific format was chosen for security reasons (it doesn't allow embedded scripts).

The VMC certificate question

For Gmail specifically, you also need a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC), which costs around $1,500/year from providers like DigiCert or Entrust. The VMC requires a registered trademark for your logo. This sounds expensive, but for brands sending millions of emails, the improved recognition and open rates easily justify the cost. Apple Mail, Yahoo, and Fastmail display BIMI logos without a VMC, so you can start there while deciding whether the Gmail investment makes sense for your volume.

How to set up your BIMI record

BIMI is a DNS TXT record published at default._bimi.yourdomain.com. The record format is: v=BIMI1; l=https://yourdomain.com/logo.svg; a=https://yourdomain.com/vmc.pem. The l= tag points to your SVG logo URL (must be HTTPS), and the optional a= tag points to your VMC certificate. The logo URL must be publicly accessible — no authentication, no redirects. Host it on a reliable CDN so it loads quickly.

Common BIMI mistakes

The number one mistake is using the wrong SVG format. A regular SVG exported from Illustrator or Figma won't work — it must be converted to SVG Tiny PS. Several online converters handle this, but always test the result. Another mistake: having your DMARC policy set to p=none and wondering why the logo doesn't appear. BIMI requires enforcement. Check your authentication stack first with our deliverability score tool, and verify DNS propagation with our DNS propagation checker after publishing your BIMI record.