At Valimail, we want our customers to enjoy all the benefits of authenticating their email, and today that includes Brand Indicators for Message Identification, also known as BIMI. BIMI provides a way for domain owners to have their logo displayed with their email messages when mail is sent to participating mailbox providers under certain conditions. This promotes better brand recognition and higher recipient trust for your email, and should in turn drive higher levels of engagement.

To fully participate in BIMI, a domain owner must meet all of the following requirements:

BIMI requires that both your email domain and your organizational domain (if different) have published DMARC policies that are “at enforcement”. This means:

The logos used for BIMI must be in a specific format, called “SVG Tiny Portable Secure”. See https://www.valimail.com/blog/bimi-compatible-logos/ for more information on this format.

Some mailbox providers require that logos used with BIMI be verified as associated with the domain through the issuance of a VMC. Certification Authorities that issue VMCs are currently requiring that logos be registered trademarks in a limited number of jurisdictions around the world.

Currently supported jurisdictions are the United States, Canada, most of Europe, Japan, and Australia. As of July 2021, the following are supported:

The full list can be found in this document (PDF) from the BIMI Group.

You can check the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO). If your organization’s logo can be found and has an active, registered trademark, you may use your logo to obtain a BIMI certificate. Otherwise, check in with your Legal team.

At present, not all mailbox providers require Verified Mark Certificates (VMCs) to support the display of logos through BIMI, so as long as your DMARC policy is correctly configured, you can still partially participate in BIMI. In addition to VMCs, there's now an alternative path available through Common Mark Certificates (CMC), which offer a way to display your logo without the need for a registered trademark. This makes CMCs a more accessible option for organizations that may not yet have trademark protection in a supported jurisdiction. The BIMI standards body also has plans to broaden access over time, including expanding support for more jurisdictions and logo options, so even if you're currently unable to meet all the VMC requirements, there are now other ways to start building your BIMI presence.

Previously, getting BIMI on Gmail required a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) tied to a trademarked logo, a costly and time-consuming process that limited flexibility. Now, Google has announced support for Common Mark Certificates (CMCs), which don’t require a trademark. If your logo has been in use for at least a year, you can qualify for BIMI with a CMC. This update makes BIMI more accessible and expands logo display across Gmail on both mobile and desktop.

The main advantage of a CMC is that it doesn’t require a trademark, and it allows minor variations in your logo, unlike a VMC, which requires an exact match to your registered trademark. Just keep in mind that only VMCs qualify for Google’s blue checkmark.

Here's a quick comparison between a VMC and a CMC:

Check out our blog post for answers to frequently asked questions about Common Mark Certificates.

Contact your Valimail Sales Representative, who can help you through the process of getting set up with Amplify, our automated BIMI solution. If you are not yet a Valimail customer, email us at [email protected].