BIMI VMC: DigiCert vs Entrust — Which to Choose

DigiCert VMC

Price: ~$1,500/year Validation time: 1-3 weeks typically Portal: CertCentral

DigiCert was the first CA to offer VMCs and has the most experience with the validation process. Their CertCentral portal is well-documented, and support is responsive.

Pros:

• Established VMC issuance track record
• Faster validation in my experience
• Strong documentation and support
• CertCentral dashboard for certificate management

Cons:

• Same price as Entrust
• No meaningful technical differentiation

Entrust VMC

Price: ~$1,500/year Validation time: 2-4 weeks typically Portal: Entrust Certificate Services

Entrust entered the VMC market shortly after DigiCert. Their certificates are technically identical and accepted by the same BIMI-supporting providers.

Pros:

• Competitive pricing
• Good support
• If you already use Entrust TLS certificates, single vendor simplifies management

Cons:

• Slightly slower validation in some cases
• Less VMC-specific documentation

The Validation Process

Both CAs follow the same validation requirements:

1. Trademark verification: Your logo must be a registered trademark in an approved jurisdiction (US, EU, UK, Canada, Japan, Australia, and others)
2. Domain ownership: Prove you control the domain in the BIMI record
3. Logo review: Your SVG file must meet SVG Tiny PS requirements
4. Organization validation: Standard EV-level organizational verification

Practitioner note: The trademark verification is where most applications stall. If your trademark registration is pending, you can't get a VMC. Plan ahead — trademark registration can take 6-12 months in the US. Start the trademark process well before you need BIMI.

Which to Choose

Factor	DigiCert	Entrust
Price	~$1,500/yr	~$1,500/yr
Validation speed	1-3 weeks	2-4 weeks
Documentation	Excellent	Good
Technical result	Identical	Identical

My recommendation: If you don't have a preference, go with DigiCert. Slightly faster, better documented for BIMI specifically. If you're already an Entrust customer, stay with Entrust — the certificate is the same.

Practitioner note: I've processed VMCs through both CAs. The certificates are interchangeable — Gmail doesn't care which CA issued it. The only real difference is the validation experience, and DigiCert has been marginally smoother in my projects.

After You Get the VMC

Once your VMC is issued:

1. Host the PEM certificate file at an HTTPS URL
2. Host your SVG Tiny PS logo at an HTTPS URL
3. Update your BIMI DNS record:

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

4. Verify with the BIMI Inspector

For help with the full BIMI implementation — from SVG preparation through VMC procurement and DNS setup — schedule a consultation.

Sources

• DigiCert: Verified Mark Certificates
• Entrust: Verified Mark Certificates
• BIMI Group: VMC Requirements
• Google: BIMI requirements for Gmail

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v1.0 · April 2026