BIMI Setup Guide: Display Your Brand Logo in Email Inboxes

What BIMI Does

BIMI puts your brand logo next to your authenticated email in the recipient's inbox. Instead of a generic avatar or initial, recipients see your actual logo — building trust and brand recognition.

Supported by: Gmail (with VMC), Apple Mail (without VMC), Yahoo (without VMC), Fastmail.

Not supported by: Outlook/Microsoft (as of March 2026).

Prerequisites

Before implementing BIMI, you must have:

1. DMARC at p=quarantine or p=reject with pct=100
   • If you're still at p=none, advance your DMARC first
2. SPF and DKIM properly configured and passing
3. A square brand logo (trademarked for VMC)

Step 1: Prepare Your Logo

BIMI requires SVG Tiny PS (Portable/Secure) format:

• Square aspect ratio (1:1)
• Centered logo on a solid background color
• No text that might be too small to read at thumbnail size
• SVG Tiny PS profile (not standard SVG)

Convert to SVG Tiny PS

Use the BIMI Group's SVG conversion tool or manually ensure your SVG includes:

<svg version="1.2" baseProfile="tiny-ps" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" ...>

Host the SVG file at a public HTTPS URL: https://yourdomain.com/brand/logo.svg

Step 2: Get a VMC (For Gmail)

A Verified Mark Certificate proves your logo is associated with a registered trademark.

Providers:

• DigiCert: ~$1,499/year
• Entrust: ~$1,299/year

Requirements:

• Your logo must be a registered trademark (USPTO, EUIPO, etc.)
• The trademark must be active and in good standing
• The organization on the VMC must match your DMARC-authenticated domain

Timeline: VMC issuance takes 2-6 weeks including trademark verification.

Without VMC: Skip this step. BIMI will work on Apple Mail and Yahoo. Gmail will show a checkmark but not your logo.

Step 3: Publish the BIMI Record

Add a TXT DNS record:

With VMC:

default._bimi.yourdomain.com  TXT  v=BIMI1; l=https://yourdomain.com/brand/logo.svg; a=https://yourdomain.com/brand/vmc.pem

Without VMC:

default._bimi.yourdomain.com  TXT  v=BIMI1; l=https://yourdomain.com/brand/logo.svg; a=

• l= points to your SVG Tiny PS logo file (HTTPS required)
• a= points to your VMC certificate file (leave empty if no VMC)

Step 4: Verify

1. Check DNS: Use MXToolbox BIMI Lookup or bimigroup.org/bimi-generator
2. Send test email: Send from your authenticated domain to Gmail, Apple Mail, Yahoo
3. Check logo display: Gmail may take 24-48 hours to start showing logos after DNS propagation

ROI Calculation

Factor	Value
VMC cost	~$1,500/year
Open rate improvement	10-39% (studies vary)
Monthly email volume	Your number
Revenue per additional open	Your number

If you send 100K emails/month with a 20% open rate, a 10% improvement means 2,000 additional opens per month. Value depends on your email revenue attribution.

For high-volume senders (500K+/month) where email drives significant revenue, BIMI ROI is clear. For low-volume senders, start without VMC (free) and add it when justified.

Practitioner note: BIMI is a credibility signal, not a deliverability fix. It won't improve inbox placement — that's what SPF, DKIM, and DMARC do. BIMI improves recognition and open rates once you're already in the inbox. Get authentication and reputation right first, then add BIMI.

Practitioner note: The SVG Tiny PS format requirement trips everyone up. Standard SVG files from your designer won't work. They need specific conversion. Budget 1-2 hours for logo preparation, or use the BIMI Group's generator tool.

For background on BIMI, see what is BIMI. For SVG formatting requirements, see BIMI SVG Tiny PS. BIMI requires DMARC at p=quarantine or higher. If you want BIMI implemented alongside your full authentication stack, schedule a consultation.

Sources

• BIMI Group: bimigroup.org
• DigiCert: VMC Certificates
• Google: BIMI in Gmail

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v1.0 · March 2026