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BIMI for beginners: a plain-English guide

MailMaid Academy · · 2 min read DMARC pass
Short answer

BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) is a DNS record that points to a brand's logo so mailbox providers can display it next to authenticated messages. It depends on DMARC enforcement and, at Gmail and Apple, on a Verified Mark Certificate. If you are starting from zero: Reach DMARC p=quarantine (pct=100) or p=reject on the sending domain.

The one-sentence version#

BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) is a DNS record that points to a brand's logo so mailbox providers can display it next to authenticated messages. It depends on DMARC enforcement and, at Gmail and Apple, on a Verified Mark Certificate.

Why you should care#

A verified logo increases open rates and trust, and the DMARC prerequisite forces a domain to finish its authentication work. It is also a visible signal that a message is not a phish.

The mental model#

Think of BIMI as a contract between you and the mailbox providers receiving your mail. You publish or configure something they can check; they check it on every message; the result feeds their decision about where your message lands. Everything below is about making that check pass consistently.

Your first setup, step by step#

  1. Reach DMARC p=quarantine (pct=100) or p=reject on the sending domain.
  2. Produce your logo as an SVG Tiny 1.2 Portable/Secure file, square, centered, with a solid background.
  3. Obtain a VMC or CMC from an approved certificate authority if you want display in Gmail and Apple Mail.
  4. Publish default._bimi.yourdomain.com with l= (logo URL) and a= (certificate URL).
  5. Validate with a BIMI inspector and send a test to Gmail, Yahoo, and Apple seed accounts.
Example BIMI record
default._bimi.example.com.  IN TXT  "v=BIMI1; l=https://example.com/brand/logo.svg; a=https://example.com/brand/vmc.pem"

Words you will see#

  • Mailbox provider: Gmail, Microsoft, Yahoo, Apple, and the corporate gateways that decide where mail lands.
  • Authentication: proof that a message is from who it says it is (SPF, DKIM, DMARC).
  • Reputation: the provider's running score of your domain and IP.
  • Placement: whether a message reaches the inbox, spam, or is rejected.

Common mistakes#

  • Publishing BIMI while DMARC is still at p=none; providers ignore the record.
  • Uploading a standard SVG exported from a design tool; it must be the Tiny PS profile with no scripts or external references.
  • Hosting the logo on a non-HTTPS URL or behind a redirect.

Frequently asked questions#

Does BIMI work without a VMC?

Yahoo and Fastmail display BIMI logos with DMARC enforcement alone. Gmail and Apple require a VMC or CMC.

What image format does BIMI require?

SVG Tiny 1.2 Portable/Secure. No PNG, JPG, or standard SVG.

Does BIMI improve deliverability?

Not directly. Its prerequisite, DMARC enforcement, does. The logo mainly lifts engagement and trust.

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