BIMI: how to show your logo in Gmail and Yahoo inboxes

Brand Indicators for Message Identification — BIMI — is the only way to render your logo next to your From name in a supporting mail client. Gmail, Yahoo, Fastmail, Apple Mail on iOS 16+, La Poste, GMX, ProtonMail (partial) and a growing list of smaller providers all display BIMI logos. The catch: you can't just publish an SVG and call it done. BIMI requires full DMARC enforcement as a prerequisite, an SVG that conforms to a specific security-hardened subset of the spec, and for Gmail specifically, a paid certificate that proves you own the trademark on the logo you're showing.

Prerequisite — DMARC at p=quarantine or p=reject

BIMI is built on top of DMARC. No provider will display your logo until your domain's DMARC record is published and set to enforcement — that means p=quarantine or p=reject. p=none won't cut it. Additionally, pct=100 is required; if your policy applies to only 50% of mail, BIMI stays off.

If you're not already at enforcement, don't jump straight to p=reject. Publish p=none with reporting first, read the aggregate reports for 2–4 weeks, fix any failing legitimate senders, then move to p=quarantine; pct=100. Only then turn your attention to BIMI.

The SVG Tiny Portable/Secure spec

BIMI uses a restricted subset of SVG called SVG Tiny Portable/Secure, or SVG Tiny PS. The restrictions exist so that mail clients can render the logo safely without executing anything or making external requests.

• No <script>. No event handlers.
• No external references — no <use href=...>, no xlink:href to external files, no embedded fonts.
• Must contain the baseProfile="tiny-ps" attribute on the root <svg> element.
• Must include a <title> child with your brand name.
• Must have a 1:1 aspect ratio (square viewBox).
• No raster embeds, no animation.

Minimal valid skeleton:

<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
     version="1.2"
     baseProfile="tiny-ps"
     viewBox="0 0 64 64">
  <title>Acme Corp</title>
  <!-- your paths here -->
</svg>

Where to host the SVG

The SVG must be served over HTTPS with a valid certificate. The exact URL is arbitrary — it doesn't have to live at any root path — but most teams put it at https://yourdomain.com/bimi-logo.svg for clarity. Make sure:

• HTTPS only (no redirects from HTTP).
• Content-Type: image/svg+xml.
• Publicly accessible — no auth, no IP restrictions.
• No robots.txt block on the path.

The BIMI DNS record

Publish a TXT record at default._bimi.yourdomain.com:

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

The fields: l= is the SVG location, a= is the VMC (if you have one). If you don't have a VMC, omit the a= field — some providers still render on SVG alone, others won't.

The default selector applies to all mail from the domain. For sub-brand logos on different sending subdomains, use different selectors.

The VMC (Verified Mark Certificate)

The VMC is an X.509 certificate issued by a small number of accredited authorities — Entrust and DigiCert are the two active issuers in 2026. It costs around $1,500 per year. To get one you must prove:

• Registered trademark. Your logo must be a trademark registered with a recognised national IP office (USPTO in the US, EUIPO in Europe, UKIPO in the UK, and several others). The registration must be live — pending applications don't count.
• Organisation verification. You have to prove the legal entity requesting the VMC is the one that owns the trademark. Similar in flavour to an EV SSL certificate vet.
• SVG match. The SVG you publish must visually match the trademarked logo — not a variant, not a seasonal edit.

The certificate is delivered as a .pem file you host next to the SVG. The BIMI DNS record's a= field points at it.

Which inboxes need VMC vs accept SVG alone

As of early 2026:

• Gmail: VMC required. No VMC, no logo displayed.
• Yahoo / AOL: VMC required (same policy as Gmail).
• Apple Mail (iOS 16+): VMC required or a newer Common Mark Certificate (CMC), which is cheaper but newer.
• Fastmail: SVG alone is enough — no VMC needed.
• La Poste, GMX: SVG alone.
• ProtonMail, Outlook.com: no BIMI support as of this writing.

If your audience is mostly Gmail and Yahoo (typical US B2C), the VMC is the only path to a visible logo. If you're targeting the Fastmail/GMX/La Poste crowd, SVG alone gets you there.

Testing

Two tools worth using before you go live:

• bimigroup.org validator — checks the DNS record, fetches the SVG, validates the SVG Tiny PS subset, and verifies the VMC chain.
• Send a test to a Gmail account you control — open on desktop Gmail. The logo should appear as the avatar within a few minutes of the DMARC enforcement going live. If it doesn't, the Gmail security icon (click on the sender) tells you whether Gmail found the VMC and whether it validated.

Cost/benefit — is it worth it?

Reported engagement lifts vary wildly: some studies show a 10–12% increase in recognised-brand opens with BIMI enabled, others show single-digit percentage lift. The honest summary: if your average send is 100k messages, a 5% open-rate lift from BIMI pays back the $1,500 VMC in a month. If you send 2,000 messages a month, the math doesn't work.

When NOT to bother:

• B2B cold outreach (recipients don't look at avatars when they don't know you).
• You don't have a registered trademark and aren't planning to file one.
• Your audience is in markets where BIMI-supporting clients are a minority.

Alternatives — Gravatar for smaller senders

Gravatar (run by Automattic) lets you attach an image to an email address. A subset of clients — including some webmail apps and older Fastmail configurations — fall back to Gravatar for the sender avatar if BIMI isn't available. It's free and takes five minutes. It won't show in Gmail or Yahoo, but for a solo consultant or a tiny brand, it's a zero-cost improvement.

Frequently asked questions