BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) displays your company logo directly in Gmail and Apple Mail inboxes, making authenticated email visually distinct from spoofed mail. For high-volume B2C senders, brand recognition in the inbox measurably increases open rates and recipient trust. BIMI requires a DMARC policy at p=quarantine or p=reject as a prerequisite, meaning it also validates that your domain's authentication stack is at enforcement level. Absence of BIMI is a missed opportunity for inbox differentiation at the accounts where it matters most — Gmail and Apple Mail — per the 2022 BIMI specification.
Info because BIMI absence has no deliverability impact and is only relevant for high-volume B2C senders who have already achieved DMARC enforcement and consistent brand sending.
Once DMARC enforcement is in place, publish the BIMI record at default._bimi.yourdomain.com:
default._bimi.yourdomain.com TXT "v=BIMI1; l=https://yourdomain.com/brand/logo.svg; a=https://yourdomain.com/brand/cert.pem"
The SVG must conform to the BIMI SVG Tiny PS profile — square, no external references, no scripts. For Gmail logo display a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) from Entrust or DigiCert is required and must be referenced in the a= tag. Track this record in your infrastructure-as-code alongside SPF, DKIM, and DMARC so any domain authentication migration keeps BIMI in sync.
ID: deliverability-engineering.dns-auth.bimi-record
Severity: info
What to look for: Count all BIMI-related DNS records and for each, search for BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) record strings (v=BIMI1), SVG logo file references for BIMI, or Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) configuration. Also look for documentation or comments mentioning BIMI. BIMI requires p=quarantine or p=reject DMARC and is primarily relevant for high-volume senders seeking brand logo display in Gmail and Apple Mail.
Pass criteria: At least 1 BIMI record is defined at default._bimi.yourdomain.com with a valid l= tag pointing to an SVG logo and optionally a a= tag for VMC. BIMI prerequisites (DMARC enforcement, aligned SPF/DKIM) are also in place.
Fail criteria: No BIMI record defined or referenced in codebase or infrastructure.
Skip (N/A) when: The project is not a high-volume B2C sender where brand recognition in the inbox is a priority, or DMARC enforcement is not yet at p=quarantine/p=reject.
Detail on fail: "No BIMI record defined — brand logo will not appear in Gmail/Apple Mail inboxes" (low priority until DMARC enforcement and sending volume justify it)
Remediation: Once DMARC is at p=quarantine or p=reject, add a BIMI DNS record:
default._bimi.yourdomain.com TXT "v=BIMI1; l=https://yourdomain.com/brand/logo.svg; a=https://yourdomain.com/brand/certificate.pem"
The SVG must meet BIMI specification requirements (square, no external references, specific SVG profile). VMC from Entrust or DigiCert is required for Gmail logo display.