Set up BIMI

How-to guide

For:: Workspace admins
Needs permission:: providers:view
In the app:: Settings, then Senders

BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) lets mail apps that support it show your logo next to your messages. This BIMI setup guide covers what mailbox providers require, how to publish the record, and what ReputeCast checks: it confirms that a valid BIMI record exists for the sending domain and shows it under Settings, then Senders. BIMI is optional and never changes the Send Readiness verdict.

What BIMI needs

Requirement	BIMI Group	Gmail	Yahoo
DMARC policy	`p=quarantine` or `p=reject`, also for subdomains (`sp=`); `pct` 100	`p=quarantine` or `p=reject`, `pct=100`	`p=quarantine` or `p=reject`
Logo	SVG Tiny PS, the profile the BIMI standard defines	SVG Tiny PS (`baseProfile="tiny-ps"`, `version="1.2"`), at least 96 px, size in absolute pixels	A valid SVG logo
Certificate	VMC or CMC highly recommended; logos without one have limited support	Required: a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) or a Common Mark Certificate (CMC)	Not listed
Other	SPF, DKIM and DMARC aligned for all mail	Files served over HTTPS	Bulk mail with sufficient reputation and engagement

Sources, checked October 2026: BIMI Group, “Implementation Guide”, Google Workspace Admin Help, “Set up BIMI” and Yahoo Sender Hub, FAQ. A VMC needs a registered trademark for the logo; Google notes that trademark registration can take 6 to 12 months. A CMC covers logos without a trademark. Both are issued by the Mark Verifying Authorities listed by the BIMI Group.

Before you begin

The sending domain has working SPF, DKIM and DMARC (Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC), and the DMARC reports show that your legitimate mail passes (Read DMARC aggregate reports). Moving to an enforced policy before that sends real mail to spam.
You can publish DNS records for the domain and files on an HTTPS web server.
Seeing the BIMI status in ReputeCast needs providers:view, which the Owner, Admin, Editor and Viewer roles have.

Publish your BIMI record

Move DMARC to enforcement: p=quarantine or p=reject, with pct left out (it defaults to 100) or set to 100. If the record sits at the organizational domain, set sp= for subdomains too.
_dmarc.acme.io TXT
```
v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; sp=quarantine; rua=mailto:[email protected]
```
Prepare the logo as an SVG Tiny PS file. For Gmail, center it in a square on a solid background and keep it at 32 KB or less (Google, “Set up BIMI”, checked October 2026).
Request a VMC or a CMC for the logo from a Mark Verifying Authority. You receive a PEM file with the certificate and the logo.
Upload the SVG and the PEM file to a web server on your domain that serves them over HTTPS.
Publish a TXT record at default._bimi.<sending domain>, for example default._bimi.news.acme.io:
default._bimi.news.acme.io TXT
```
v=BIMI1; l=https://acme.io/brand/bimi-logo.svg; a=https://acme.io/brand/bimi-certificate.pem
```
Fill in l= with the address of the SVG even when you also publish a certificate in a=: ReputeCast reports a record without an https:// logo address as invalid. Without a certificate, leave out a=.
Wait for mailbox providers to pick it up. Google says it can take up to 48 hours before the logo shows.

What ReputeCast checks

ReputeCast reads the TXT record at default._bimi.<sending domain> each time it checks the domain’s records: every 30 minutes, and when you open the domain’s records page.

It looks only at the sending domain itself. A record published only at default._bimi.acme.io doesn’t count for news.acme.io.
The record must start with v=BIMI1 and have an l= address that starts with https://.
ReputeCast doesn’t download the logo or the certificate, and doesn’t check the DMARC policy for BIMI. Mailbox providers check those themselves.

The result shows in three places:

Domains table under Settings, then Senders, column BIMI: Set, Invalid, Not set, or Not checked before the first check.
The domain’s records page (select Records): the Optional card says whether the record is published.
Send Readiness, Authentication group: “BIMI record found” when it exists, otherwise “BIMI not required”. Both pass; BIMI never warns or blocks a send.

Check that it worked

The BIMI column for the domain shows Set.
After a send, your logo appears next to your messages in Gmail and Yahoo Mail on the web. It appears only where the mailbox provider’s own conditions are met, so it can take a while and may not show for every message.

Troubleshooting

BIMI shows Invalid. The record has no l= tag, an empty one, or a logo address that isn’t https://. Fix the record; ReputeCast checks again within 30 minutes.
BIMI shows Not set, but the record exists. It is published at the organizational domain or under another selector. Publish it at default._bimi.<sending domain>.
No logo in Gmail. Gmail needs a VMC or CMC, DMARC at quarantine or reject with pct=100, and an SVG Tiny PS logo. See Google’s Troubleshoot BIMI issues (checked October 2026).
No logo in Yahoo Mail. Yahoo shows logos only for bulk mail from senders with enough reputation and engagement. Check in Yahoo Mail on the web with a cleared cache.