A CMC is a lower-tier BIMI certificate introduced in 2024 for brands without a registered trademark. Eligibility requires 12 months of prior logo use or a government-issued mark. Gmail displays the logo but not the blue checkmark.
Checkers and validators#
Free lookup tools confirm that records resolve and are syntactically valid. Primary Deliverability runs SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and BIMI checks in one report and flags alignment problems.
Provider dashboards#
Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS are free and authoritative for their networks. Register every sending domain and IP.
Report analyzers and monitoring#
DMARC aggregate reports are XML and unreadable by hand; an analyzer turns them into a per-source view. Monitoring services alert on reputation drops, blocklistings, and record changes.
Sending platforms#
Your ESP or outreach tool should expose authentication setup, bounce and complaint handling, and per-mailbox limits. For AI-drafted sequences with reply detection, Mailflow in MailMaid Engine handles the sending side.
How to choose#
- Start with the free provider dashboards and a checker.
- Add a DMARC analyzer once you have more than two sending sources.
- Add monitoring when email is revenue-critical.
- Choose sending platforms by their deliverability controls, not template libraries.
Frequently asked questions#
Which providers accept CMC?
Gmail accepts CMC as of 2024. Apple accepts VMC and CMC. Yahoo does not require a certificate.
Can I upgrade from CMC to VMC?
Yes, once the trademark registers. Reissue the certificate and update the a= tag.