What Is BIMI? How to Set It Up After DMARC

What BIMI is

BIMI — Brand Indicators for Message Identification — is a standard that lets you display your verified brand logo next to every email you send in supporting inboxes (Gmail, Yahoo, Apple Mail, Fastmail). It is one of the few visual trust signals a sender can control, and it exists on top of DMARC.

BIMI is not a deliverability boost by itself. It is a display feature. But because it requires strict authentication first, senders who qualify for BIMI also tend to have the deliverability foundation right.

The prerequisites (all of them are hard-blocking)

SPF and DKIM published and aligned. Configure them with the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC setup guide.
DMARC at p=quarantine or p=reject. p=none does not qualify.
A trademark-registered logo in SVG Tiny 1.2 Portable/Secure format. Square, on a solid background, hosted over HTTPS.
A Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) from an approved authority (Entrust, DigiCert) for Gmail and Yahoo. Apple Mail also accepts CMC for Common Mark Certificates.

How to publish the BIMI record

BIMI is a single TXT record at default._bimi.yourdomain.com. The value points to the SVG and, if applicable, the VMC:

v=BIMI1; l=https://example.com/logo.svg; a=https://example.com/vmc.pem

v=BIMI1 — version tag, required.
l= — the HTTPS URL of the SVG logo.
a= — the HTTPS URL of the VMC (skip for Apple-only support).

Testing before you go live

Send a message to a Gmail account you control from your production sending domain and check that the logo renders in the message list. If it doesn't, run through:

DMARC is really at quarantine or reject and passing on the test message.
SVG is Tiny 1.2 Portable/Secure — most SVGs from design tools need to be scrubbed.
VMC chain validates and is not expired.
DNS has actually propagated (BIMI record queryable from a public resolver).

How BIMI fits into 2026 sender strategy

Under the Gmail and Yahoo bulk sender rules, DMARC is already effectively required. BIMI is the natural next step because it converts that authentication work into a visible trust signal — and it pairs well with the compounding gains from improving inbox placement rate.

Key takeaways

BIMI displays your verified logo next to your emails in supporting inboxes
DMARC at quarantine or reject, plus SPF/DKIM alignment, is a hard prerequisite
Gmail and Yahoo require a VMC; Apple Mail accepts CMC
The record itself is one TXT entry at default._bimi
Before publishing BIMI, confirm every campaign already passes DMARC by reviewing sender reputation and verifying your list with the free ListEmailCheck bulk verifier.