BIMI Setup Guide: Display Your Logo in Gmail, Yahoo, and Apple Mail

BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) lets you display your company logo directly in recipients’ email inboxes. When someone receives your email in Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or Apple Mail, they see your verified brand logo instead of a generic avatar or initial.

This guide walks through everything you need to implement BIMI, from prerequisites to DNS configuration to troubleshooting.

Why BIMI Matters

Email inboxes are crowded. Your messages compete with dozens of others for attention. BIMI gives you a visual advantage by displaying your recognizable brand logo right in the inbox view, before recipients even open your email.

Beyond visibility, BIMI signals trust. A verified logo tells recipients this email genuinely comes from your organization, not an impersonator. This is especially valuable for transactional emails, marketing campaigns, and any communication where brand recognition matters.

The major email providers now support BIMI: Gmail (with VMC), Yahoo Mail, Apple Mail (with VMC), and Fastmail. Together, these cover the majority of consumer and business email users.

BIMI Requirements

Before you can implement BIMI, your domain needs to meet specific technical requirements.

DMARC at Enforcement

BIMI only works when your domain has DMARC configured at enforcement level. This means your DMARC policy must be either p=quarantine or p=reject with pct=100.

If your current policy is p=none, you need to progress through the enforcement journey first. BIMI is essentially the reward for achieving full DMARC enforcement. Check your current DMARC status with our DMARC Checker.

SVG Tiny PS Logo

Your brand logo must be in SVG Tiny PS format, a restricted version of SVG designed for security. This format removes features that could be exploited, like JavaScript and external references.

Requirements for your SVG file:

• Square aspect ratio (1:1, like 512x512)
• viewBox attribute on the root SVG element
• No script elements or event handlers
• No animations (animate, animateTransform, animateMotion)
• No external references (images, fonts, stylesheets)
• No foreignObject elements
• File size under 32KB recommended

Use our BIMI SVG Checker to validate your logo before deployment.

HTTPS Hosting

Your logo SVG file must be hosted on a publicly accessible HTTPS URL. The URL should be stable and reliable since email clients will fetch it when displaying your messages.

Good hosting options include your company’s CDN, cloud storage with public access (S3, GCS, Azure Blob), or your main website’s assets directory.

VMC Certificate (For Gmail and Apple Mail)

Gmail and Apple Mail require a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) to display your logo. A VMC is issued by a certificate authority (DigiCert or Entrust) after verifying your trademark registration.

VMC requirements:

• Active trademark registration with an eligible intellectual property office
• Logo must match the registered trademark
• Domain ownership verification
• Organization validation

VMCs cost approximately $1,500/year. If you primarily care about Yahoo Mail visibility or want to test BIMI before investing in a VMC, you can implement BIMI without one and add the certificate later.

Step-by-Step BIMI Setup

Step 1: Verify DMARC Enforcement

First, confirm your domain has DMARC at enforcement. Run your domain through our DMARC Checker and verify:

• Policy is p=quarantine or p=reject
• Percentage is pct=100 (or omitted, which defaults to 100)
• SPF and DKIM are both passing and aligned

If you are not at enforcement yet, focus on that first. Our DMARC Policy Guide explains the progression from monitoring to enforcement.

Step 2: Prepare Your SVG Logo

Convert your brand logo to SVG Tiny PS format. Most design tools export standard SVG, which needs conversion.

Start with your source logo (ideally vector format like AI or EPS). Export as SVG, then strip out unsupported elements. The key restrictions:

Remove these if present:

• All <script> tags
• Event attributes (onclick, onload, onmouseover, etc.)
• <animate>, <animateTransform>, <animateMotion>, <set> elements
• <foreignObject> elements
• External references in href or xlink:href
• <image> elements with external sources
• @import statements in styles
• Any <style> elements referencing external stylesheets

Ensure these are correct:

• Root <svg> element has viewBox attribute
• Width and height are equal (square)
• xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" is present

After preparing your SVG, validate it with our BIMI SVG Checker. The tool will identify any remaining compliance issues.

Step 3: Host Your Logo

Upload your validated SVG to a secure HTTPS location. The URL should be:

• Publicly accessible (no authentication required)
• Using HTTPS (HTTP will not work)
• Stable (do not change the URL after deployment)
• Fast and reliable (affects email client rendering)

Example URL: https://cdn.yourcompany.com/brand/logo-bimi.svg

Test the URL by opening it directly in a browser. You should see your logo render correctly.

Step 4: Obtain a VMC (Optional but Recommended)

If you want your logo to display in Gmail and Apple Mail, you need a VMC. Contact DigiCert or Entrust to begin the process.

You will need:

• Proof of trademark registration
• Domain ownership verification
• Organization documentation

The certificate authority will issue a PEM file containing your VMC. Host this file at a secure HTTPS URL, similar to your logo.

Example URL: https://cdn.yourcompany.com/brand/vmc.pem

Step 5: Create Your BIMI DNS Record

Generate your BIMI DNS record using our BIMI Generator or construct it manually.

The record format:

v=BIMI1; l=https://cdn.yourcompany.com/brand/logo-bimi.svg; a=https://cdn.yourcompany.com/brand/vmc.pem

Components:

• v=BIMI1 - Version identifier (required)
• l= - URL to your SVG logo (required)
• a= - URL to your VMC certificate (optional, omit if you do not have one)

Without a VMC:

v=BIMI1; l=https://cdn.yourcompany.com/brand/logo-bimi.svg

Step 6: Publish the DNS Record

Add a TXT record to your domain’s DNS:

• Host/Name: default._bimi (or default._bimi.yourdomain.com depending on your DNS provider)
• Type: TXT
• Value: Your BIMI record string

The selector is typically default unless you have a specific reason to use a custom selector.

After publishing, DNS propagation typically takes 15-60 minutes, though some resolvers cache longer. Use our BIMI Checker to verify your record is live.

Step 7: Test and Monitor

After DNS propagation, test your setup:

1. Run your domain through our BIMI Checker
2. Send a test email to a Yahoo Mail account (displays without VMC)
3. If you have a VMC, send a test email to Gmail and verify the logo appears

Initial display in Gmail can take several days as Google verifies your setup. Yahoo typically displays logos within 24-48 hours.

BIMI Without a VMC

You can implement BIMI without a Verified Mark Certificate. Your logo will display in email clients that do not require VMC validation, primarily Yahoo Mail and Fastmail.

This approach makes sense when:

• You want to test BIMI before investing in a VMC
• Your trademark registration is pending
• VMC cost is not justified for your current email volume
• Yahoo Mail represents a significant portion of your recipients

The setup process is identical, just omit the a= parameter from your BIMI record.

Later, when you obtain a VMC, simply update your BIMI DNS record to include the certificate URL. No other changes required.

Common BIMI Issues

Logo Not Displaying

Check these in order:

1. DMARC policy: Must be p=quarantine or p=reject with pct=100
2. DNS record: Verify the TXT record exists at default._bimi.yourdomain.com
3. Logo URL: Must be HTTPS, publicly accessible, returning valid SVG
4. SVG compliance: Run through our BIMI SVG Checker
5. VMC (for Gmail): Required and must be valid

Gmail Shows Generic Avatar

Gmail requires a valid VMC. Without one, Gmail will not display your BIMI logo regardless of other configuration. Verify your VMC is valid, correctly formatted, and accessible at the URL in your BIMI record.

Yahoo Shows Logo But Gmail Does Not

This typically indicates a VMC issue. Yahoo displays logos without VMC verification, so if Yahoo works but Gmail does not, focus on your VMC setup.

SVG Checker Reports Errors

Common SVG issues and fixes:

• Non-square aspect ratio: Adjust viewBox or add transparent padding to make dimensions equal
• Missing viewBox: Add viewBox="0 0 100 100" (adjust numbers to match your design)
• Contains scripts: Remove all <script> tags and event handler attributes
• External references: Inline all fonts and convert external images to embedded data URIs or vector paths

BIMI and Email Deliverability

BIMI does not directly affect email deliverability. Your emails will reach inboxes based on the same factors as before: sender reputation, authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), content quality, and engagement metrics.

However, BIMI indirectly helps deliverability by increasing recipient engagement. When people recognize your logo, they are more likely to open your email and less likely to mark it as spam. Better engagement signals improve your sender reputation over time.

Next Steps

Once BIMI is working, consider these optimizations:

Monitor DMARC reports to ensure authentication stays healthy. Any SPF or DKIM failures will prevent BIMI from displaying for those messages. Verkh provides continuous monitoring and alerts when authentication issues arise.

Track engagement metrics before and after BIMI implementation. Many organizations see measurable improvements in open rates once their logo displays consistently.

Expand to subdomains if you send email from multiple subdomains. Each subdomain needs its own BIMI record (or you can use a wildcard selector for consistent branding).

Ready to verify your BIMI setup? Use our BIMI Checker to validate your configuration, or start monitoring your domain for continuous authentication oversight.