[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":125},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$kqlHcOalytbyF":3},{"code":4,"status":5,"result":6},200,"OK",{"blocks":7,"title":117,"intro":118,"newsite":65,"introdisable":65,"related":119,"browser":117,"published":120,"updated":61,"tags":121,"author":122,"description":124},[8,15,20,24,28,33,37,41,45,49,53,68,72,76,80,84,88,92,96,100,105,109,113],{"content":9,"id":12,"isHidden":13,"type":14},{"level":10,"text":11},"h2","What is BIMI?","595ec605-d76a-4d0d-b047-bde9a1c47d2c",false,"heading",{"content":16,"id":18,"isHidden":13,"type":19},{"text":17},"\u003Cp>An emerging email specification, BIMI is a significant authority signal for users, as it displays the sender's official logo instead of a generic server placeholder. BIMI-enabled domains are therefore particularly relevant to corporate users, making it more likely that actual users will see their content.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>BIMI works as a paired system built on top of existing email authentication infrastructure, particularly DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance). SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) are also relevant, and BIMI would not function without these pre-existing systems. Before a logo can be shown, the sending domain must have DMARC enforcement in place with quarantine or reject policies, and this requirement ties brand visibility to verifiable security.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>The specification standard is maintained by the BIMI Group, whose members include major mailbox providers and email security organisations.\u003C/p>","353bfe73-87eb-47ff-ac52-feaa1f6cfee8","text",{"content":21,"id":23,"isHidden":13,"type":14},{"level":10,"text":22},"How Does BIMI Work?","a3808831-6c25-4744-bf7b-46a109077e23",{"content":25,"id":27,"isHidden":13,"type":19},{"text":26},"\u003Cp>Whenever an email is sent from a participating domain, the BIMI process follows a clearly defined sequence of events:\u003C/p>","1273a911-d942-44fc-adeb-e0f4ceb941fc",{"content":29,"id":32,"isHidden":13,"type":14},{"level":30,"text":31},"h4","#1: Email Authentication","26cd55b4-f27e-4e1c-a35c-b11f424839b8",{"content":34,"id":36,"isHidden":13,"type":19},{"text":35},"\u003Cp>The domain's DKIM and SPF records are used to verify the outbound email, confirming that it was sent from an authorised server and that its contents have not been modified in transit. DMARC then references the results of these checks to apply the domain's published policy.\u003C/p>","5d5c697e-7e8c-4c81-a9f4-b2caf21202cc",{"content":38,"id":40,"isHidden":13,"type":14},{"level":30,"text":39},"#2: BIMI lookup","fa542748-393e-419c-8293-b533d669434e",{"content":42,"id":44,"isHidden":13,"type":19},{"text":43},"\u003Cp>After it passes the DMARC authentication step, the message sender's DNS provides a BIMI TXT record in response to the receiving mailbox's query. BIMI TXT contains two pieces of information: the URL with the brand's logo file, and (optionally) the URL pointing to a \u003Ca href=\"/bimi-mark-certificates\">Mark Certificate\u003C/a>. Records are formatted according to a standardised format, published as a subdomain of the sending domain.\u003C/p>","1466386c-9aca-4a34-8026-83413c0fff8f",{"content":46,"id":48,"isHidden":13,"type":14},{"level":30,"text":47},"#3: Logo validation and display","d9b556df-dba0-4e17-8330-98f6cfe2400e",{"content":50,"id":52,"isHidden":13,"type":19},{"text":51},"\u003Cp>If there's a valid BIMI record and its associated certificate can be verified, the mailbox provider can then retrieve the logo and display it in the inbox. The logo file must be in a specific .svg format (SVG Tiny Portable/Secure) that's been hardened to prevent external references and embedded scripts.\u003C/p>","acd488d9-8ab2-43da-ad56-bb69e9cb811c",{"content":54,"id":66,"isHidden":13,"type":67},{"location":55,"image":56,"src":61,"alt":62,"caption":63,"link":63,"ratio":64,"crop":65},"kirby",[57],{"url":58,"width":59,"height":60,"srcset":61,"alt":61},"blog/what-is-bimi-and-how-it-helps-your-brand/49ca14a1b9-1780624308/mark-certificates-inbox.png",1312,1064,null,"BIMI Verfied Mark Certificate working in Inbox","","16/9","false","852ff5ef-64a4-4107-bc89-bc6c5e23cda3","image",{"content":69,"id":71,"isHidden":13,"type":14},{"level":10,"text":70},"Mark Certificates Explained","f559f4ea-2c34-4f06-9f2c-7f4edef00a03",{"content":73,"id":75,"isHidden":13,"type":19},{"text":74},"\u003Cp>A \u003Ca href=\"/bimi-mark-certificates\">Mark certificate\u003C/a> is the sign of authenticity for a brand's logo in the BIMI ecosystem. While not every mailbox provider requires one, major providers do, making them a valuable token. Mark Verifying Authorities (MVAs) are responsible for the issuing of Mark certificates, and there are two types:\u003C/p>","7f3a93d4-830f-4839-b193-5fca6e82c150",{"content":77,"id":79,"isHidden":13,"type":14},{"level":30,"text":78},"Verified Mark Certificates (VMCs)","0771e542-f1a3-4ec6-b571-b22bc563a6ee",{"content":81,"id":83,"isHidden":13,"type":19},{"text":82},"\u003Cp>VMCs are the original BIMI certificates. To get one, the submitting organisation must hold a registered trademark for the logo they want to display. The issuing Certificate Authority validates the trademark registration, confirms the organisation's identity, and verifies the logo against the trademarked property. VMCs are widely supported by major email providers, including Gmail, Apple Mail, and others. \u003C/p>","adb54801-763a-45ef-8a16-6618b0d83f4f",{"content":85,"id":87,"isHidden":13,"type":14},{"level":30,"text":86},"Common Mark Certificates (CMCs)","71445800-9fb4-4ac4-9f61-9ec4edb6bbee",{"content":89,"id":91,"isHidden":13,"type":19},{"text":90},"\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"/bimi-mark-certificates\">CMCs are a newer type of BIMI certificate\u003C/a>, with GMail only accepting them as of late 2024. CMCs do not require a registered trademark; instead, the applicant must provide evidence that they have publicly used the supplied logo on a domain under their control for at least the past 12 months. Apple Mail, on the other hand, does not accept CMCs at all as of 2026.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>Some mail providers, like Yahoo, may display a BIMI logo based on self-asserted BIMI records. If there's no record of the supplied logo having previously been associated with a certificate, it can be used. This, however, does not have the same verification benefits as a full, certificated BIMI record.\u003C/p>","39766626-88cc-4585-92fa-3f53a29a29d0",{"content":93,"id":95,"isHidden":13,"type":14},{"level":10,"text":94},"Full List of BIMI Requirements","e6854680-cd3c-42ae-b913-332291cd2430",{"content":97,"id":99,"isHidden":13,"type":19},{"text":98},"\u003Cp>The proper setup of BIMI involves meeting a set of technical requirements:\u003C/p>","9550ec15-0efa-4661-9fcf-3dd6049af9e3",{"content":101,"id":103,"isHidden":13,"type":104},{"text":102},"\u003Cul>\u003Cli>DMARC enforcement for the given domain ('p=none' is insufficient; 'p=quarantine' or 'p=reject' are necessary).\u003C/li>\u003Cli>SPF and DKIM alignment.\u003C/li>\u003Cli>SVG Tiny P/S logo: standard .svg files are not accepted.\u003C/li>\u003Cli>Logo available via a public HTTPS URL.\u003C/li>\u003Cli>Mark Certificate (VMC or CMC, where applicable).\u003C/li>\u003Cli>BIMI DNS txt record, published at 'default._bimi.[\u003Ca href=\"http://domain.com\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">domain.com\u003C/a>], with references to the logo and certificate URLs.\u003C/li>\u003C/ul>","d0ba9eeb-42f3-4d3b-bcaa-1600d9d7fd3b","list",{"content":106,"id":108,"isHidden":13,"type":19},{"text":107},"\u003Cp>It's worth underlining, too, that BIMI adoption is far from universal. While the biggest mailbox providers do support it, there are caveats in some instances, as with Apple Mail's (lack of) CMC support.\u003C/p>","a18a1b86-c6c6-4b8c-80f3-9de8a9c8eee8",{"content":110,"id":112,"isHidden":13,"type":14},{"level":10,"text":111},"BIMI and Email Security","23285eb1-2955-4f45-ac84-7bbf372a49bf",{"content":114,"id":116,"isHidden":13,"type":19},{"text":115},"\u003Cp>BIMI's biggest boon by far is its value as a marketing tool. Domain authority is significantly improved by the added visibility of the company logo, along with the expected boost in open rates and brand recall. BIMI also comes with a built-in security improvement.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>Due to the forced DMARC enforcement, a proper implementation of BIMI necessarily requires that the provider domain have active controls against email spoofing. A domain that cannot be impersonated cannot have a false logo shown alongside a spoofed message. In effect, this means that the logo functions as a signal of domain integrity. Users know that the message came from the organisation it claims to represent, with all the appropriate authentication checks properly passed.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>BIMI is therefore effectively a trust mechanism, with the backend authentication outcome plainly shown to the recipient of the communication.\u003C/p>","db72f75f-43b8-44e8-b64b-79f2f50e6e7f","What is BIMI, and How It Helps Your Brand","BIMI stands for Brand Indicators for Message Identification. It's an email specification standard that allows organisations to display their verified logo directly in the recipient's inbox as part of the authenticated email message.",[],"5 June 2026","Articles",{"id":123},"rSGuMHwF","What are BIMI and Verified Mark Certificates? And how do they improve your brand when customers see your emails in their inbox? Let's do a deep dive into BIMI, VMC, and CMC Certificates.",1780631739203]