BIMI record checker

Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) is an email specification that allows organizations to display their official brand logo next to authenticated messages in supporting email clients like Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and Apple Mail. It works by publishing a DNS TXT record that points to your logo file and optional VMC certificate.

Yes, BIMI requires your domain to have a DMARC policy of either 'quarantine' or 'reject' (p=quarantine or p=reject). A DMARC policy of 'none' is not sufficient. This requirement ensures that only properly authenticated emails display your brand logo, preventing impersonation.

A Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) is a digital certificate issued by a Certificate Authority (like DigiCert or Entrust) that validates your legal right to use your trademarked logo. Gmail and Apple Mail require a VMC to display your BIMI logo. Yahoo Mail does not require a VMC, making it a good place to start testing your BIMI implementation.

As of 2024, Gmail (requires VMC), Yahoo Mail (no VMC required), Apple Mail on iOS 24+ and macOS Ventura+ (requires VMC), and Fastmail all support BIMI. Microsoft Outlook is currently piloting BIMI support. Support continues to expand across the email ecosystem.

Your BIMI logo must be in SVG Tiny Portable/Secure (SVG Tiny P/S) format. It must be a square image, no larger than 32KB, hosted on an HTTPS URL. The SVG must not contain any external references, scripts, or animations. Most design tools can export to standard SVG, but you may need a specialized converter for SVG Tiny P/S compliance.

After properly configuring your BIMI DNS record, it can take 24-72 hours for DNS propagation. Email providers may then take additional time (sometimes weeks) to cache and display your logo. Gmail in particular may take longer as it verifies your VMC and builds trust with your sending domain.

VMC certificates typically cost between $1,000 and $1,500 per year, issued by authorized Certificate Authorities like DigiCert and Entrust. You need a registered trademark with an intellectual property office (like the USPTO) to qualify. Some organizations start with Yahoo Mail (no VMC needed) before investing in a VMC for Gmail display.

For email providers that require a VMC (like Gmail and Apple Mail), you need a registered trademark. However, Yahoo Mail and Fastmail support BIMI without a VMC, so you can display your logo there without trademark registration. This is a great way to start benefiting from BIMI while working toward full VMC certification.

A BIMI record is a DNS TXT record published at default._bimi.yourdomain.com with the format: v=BIMI1; l=https://example.com/logo.svg; a=https://example.com/cert.pem. The 'l=' tag points to your SVG logo URL and the 'a=' tag (optional) points to your VMC certificate file.

Common reasons include: missing or invalid VMC certificate (Gmail requires VMC), DMARC policy set to 'none' instead of 'quarantine' or 'reject', SVG logo not in the required Tiny P/S format, logo file exceeding 32KB, DNS propagation delays, or insufficient sending reputation. Use this checker to diagnose specific issues.