What is BIMI and why is it important?
In short: BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) displays your brand logo next to authenticated emails in supported inboxes. It builds on DMARC—your logo appears only once DMARC is enforced and, at most major providers, once a certificate validates your logo. The payoff is stronger brand recognition, higher engagement, and better trust signals in the inbox.
What is BIMI?
Nobody wants their inboxes to be flooded with spam or unwanted emails. To combat this, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are email authentication methods that most businesses employ to inform their recipients that the emails they receive are legitimate and trustworthy.
BIMI, or Brand Indicators for Message Identification, is an email specification that adds an extra layer of trust by branding authenticated messages with your logo, so that receivers can readily identify your emails while being reassured about the source and validity of the message. It builds on the DMARC protocol rather than replacing any authentication step.
BIMI can be implemented, and your brand logo will be displayed, only if your DMARC checks pass and—at most major providers—a certificate validates your logo. We’ll cover both requirements below.
Check the image to know how your emails appear in a recipient’s mailbox before and after implementing BIMI: a generic placeholder gives way to your brand logo beside each message.
Does BIMI affect email marketing?
BIMI has a positive impact on email marketing because it is a trust-building approach that earns the confidence of email recipients. Listed below are some of the benefits of BIMI for your organization:
- Increases brand recognition – With BIMI, your brand’s logo appears alongside your email in a recipient’s inbox. The logo boosts visibility and lets recipients quickly recognize your organization, giving your brand a high level of inbox recognition.
- Increases email engagement – Because a verified logo signals trustworthiness, recipients are more likely to interact with the email. Industry studies have measured meaningfully higher open rates when a brand logo is present in the inbox.
- Lowers chances of getting spam trapped – BIMI can only be enabled on a domain with enforced DMARC and good sending hygiene, so a domain that qualifies for BIMI is generally one with fewer bounces and a lower likelihood of landing in the spam folder.
- Builds sender reputation – Reaching the DMARC enforcement that BIMI requires is itself a reputation win. Displaying a verified logo reinforces recipient trust, contributing to a positive sending reputation over time.
You Should Know: BIMI itself is not a ranking or deliverability protocol—mailbox providers decide inbox placement from your SPF, DKIM, DMARC, reputation, and engagement. BIMI’s direct effect is the visible logo and the trust it conveys; the deliverability gains come from the authentication and hygiene you put in place to qualify for it.
How does BIMI work?
BIMI relies on DMARC to do its work. It encourages organizations to move their DMARC policy to enforcement, which is what brings the brand logo into recipients’ inboxes. For BIMI to operate, a message must pass DMARC, after which supporting providers may display the brand’s logo alongside the email.
DMARC has three policies:
- p = none – If the email fails DMARC, no enforcement action is taken and mailbox providers are free to decide what to do with the message.
- p = quarantine – If a message fails the DMARC check, mailbox providers should treat it with caution and quarantine it (typically to spam).
- p = reject – If a message fails the DMARC check, mailbox providers should reject or block it from being delivered.
A p = none policy does not satisfy BIMI. For BIMI to work, you must enforce DMARC at p = quarantine or p = reject with pct=100 (no sampling). When a message then passes DMARC, it signals a legitimate sender, and your logo can appear alongside the email in the recipient’s inbox.
How to set up BIMI for your organization
BIMI is a text record added to your domain’s DNS, and the lookup works much like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. When an email is delivered, the receiving server checks the BIMI record, verifies your logo (and certificate, where required), and places your logo in the recipient’s inbox. You can follow the BIMI Group’s implementation guide for the full walkthrough.
To set up BIMI:
- Authenticate all your email domains with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
- Set DMARC to p = quarantine or p = reject with pct=100 for your domain (apply this to both the parent domain and any sending subdomains).
- Create a square version of your logo in the BIMI-compatible SVG Tiny PS format and host it on an HTTPS server.
- Obtain a certificate for your logo—either a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) or, if you don’t hold a registered trademark, a Common Mark Certificate (CMC).
- Publish the BIMI text record to your DNS, pointing to your logo (and certificate).
VMC or CMC: choosing a BIMI certificate
Previously, VMC was effectively the only path to a logo at major providers. That changed in September 2024, when the BIMI Group and Google introduced the Common Mark Certificate (CMC), giving brands two options:
- Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) – Requires a registered (or government) trademark for your logo. It works across the major BIMI providers and is the only option that unlocks Gmail’s blue verified checkmark. Apple Mail requires a VMC.
- Common Mark Certificate (CMC) – Does not require a trademark; instead it verifies prior use of your logo (generally at least 12 months). Gmail displays a CMC-backed logo, but without the blue checkmark. A CMC is a more accessible, lower-cost route for smaller brands.
Either way, the logo display is always at the receiving provider’s discretion and depends on your domain reputation.
BIMI tips and tricks
- Make sure your domains are authenticated properly. You can verify your DMARC record with tools like the DMARC record check.
- Ensure your logo follows the correct format. Use the BIMI Group’s SVG conversion tools to confirm it’s valid SVG Tiny PS.
- If you hit any hurdles while implementing BIMI, read the BIMI Group’s FAQ for senders and ESPs for more help.
Mailbox providers that support BIMI
BIMI support has expanded since this article first listed providers in September 2022. As of 2026, notable support includes:
- Gmail and Google Workspace – Requires a VMC or CMC; the blue verified checkmark is reserved for VMC.
- Apple Mail (iCloud) – Now supports BIMI (added after this article was written) and requires a VMC.
- Yahoo Mail (excluding Yahoo Japan), AOL, Netscape – The most permissive; can display a logo even from a self-asserted record, though a certificate and good reputation still help.
- Fastmail, Zoho Mail, La Poste, and others – Support BIMI with varying requirements; check each provider’s current documentation.
Important: Microsoft Outlook, Outlook.com, and Microsoft 365 do not currently render standard BIMI logos for inbound mail, and have pursued a separate “brand” approach instead. If a large share of your audience uses Outlook, plan for BIMI not to reach them. For the always-current list, see the BIMI Group’s provider infographic.