BIMI Records Explained: How to Display Your Logo in the Inbox

Have you ever noticed how emails from major brands like Apple, Netflix, or Bank of America display their official logo right next to their sender name in your inbox, while yours just shows a generic initial?

That logo is powered by a protocol called BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification).

In this guide, goodboycoder explains what BIMI is, why it builds immediate trust with your recipients, and the exact steps to implement it for your domain.

BIMI Record Generator

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What is BIMI?

BIMI is an email specification that allows domain owners to publish their verified corporate logo in DNS. When participating mailbox providers (like Google, Yahoo, and Fastmail) receive an authenticated email from your domain, they query your DNS for the BIMI record and display your logo in the UI.

Why You Need BIMI

Instant Brand Recognition: Stand out in crowded inboxes.
Trust & Security: Because BIMI requires strict DMARC enforcement, displaying your logo proves to the recipient that the email is not a phishing attempt.
Higher Open Rates: Visual trust signals inherently increase subscriber engagement.

The Prerequisites for BIMI

You cannot simply upload a logo and expect it to appear. BIMI is a reward for strong email security. Before configuring BIMI, you must have:

Strict DMARC Policy: Your domain must have a DMARC policy of p=quarantine or p=reject. Use our DMARC Checker to verify your current policy.
Proper SPF & DKIM: Emails must pass SPF and DKIM alignment. Use our SPF Checker and DKIM Checker to validate.
An SVG Tiny PS Logo: Your logo must be hosted publicly as a strictly formatted SVG Tiny Portable Secure (PS) file.
(Optional but recommended) VMC: A Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) issued by a recognized certificate authority, proving you hold the trademark for the logo. Gmail and Apple Mail strictly require a VMC.

How to Configure Your BIMI Record

BIMI relies on a simple TXT record published at default._bimi.yourdomain.com.

Step 1: Format your Logo

Export your logo as an SVG Tiny PS file. It must be square, have a solid background (no transparency), and be hosted securely over HTTPS.

Step 2: Publish the TXT Record

Publish a TXT record with the v=BIMI1 tag.

Example Record:

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

v=BIMI1: Identifies the record as BIMI.
l=: The URL of your hosted SVG logo.
a=: (Optional) The URL to your Verified Mark Certificate (PEM file).

BIMI Checker

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Testing Your BIMI Setup

Once you publish your BIMI record, it can take up to 48 hours for mailbox providers to recognize it and cache the logo. Use our suite of DNS and Deliverability tools to ensure your foundation is rock solid before rolling it out to production!