BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) displays your trademarked logo next to your messages in the Gmail and Yahoo inbox. It's a branding win — readers recognize your sender at a glance, click-through rises 5-15 % per published case studies — and a security signal: only authenticated, DMARC-enforcing senders with verified trademarks qualify. The catch: it requires a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) from a Certificate Authority, which costs $1,000-1,500/year, plus engineering time to publish a properly-shaped SVG logo and DNS record.
This walkthrough covers when BIMI is worth it, the total cost (which is more than just the VMC), the AcelleMail-side prep, and the SVG specifications that actually pass validation.
When BIMI is worth it#
BIMI is a branding investment, not a deliverability fix. The math:
- For B2C brands with high recognition value (consumer products, retail, hospitality), the inbox-logo lift on click-through is meaningful enough to clear the $1,500/year cost easily.
- For B2B / SaaS senders, the lift is smaller (B2B mail is read in Gmail less often than consumer mail), but still positive.
- For transactional-only senders (just receipts, password resets), BIMI's visual lift doesn't translate to revenue — skip.
Rule of thumb: if you send > 100k consumer emails/month and have a trademarked logo, BIMI is worth it. Below that, the engineering + certification cost exceeds the lift.
Prerequisites#
Three hard prerequisites:
- DMARC at
p=quarantine or p=reject with pct=100. This is non-negotiable. See DMARC Enforcement Migration for the migration path; expect 90 days from p=none to p=reject.
- A registered trademark on the logo. Most CAs require the trademark be registered with USPTO, EUIPO, JPO, IPI, or one of a small list of accepted IP offices. Common-law trademark or unregistered marks are not accepted.
- The logo as a properly-shaped SVG. Specific format requirements; not just any SVG works (see "SVG specs" below).
Total cost breakdown#
| Line item |
One-time |
Annual |
| Trademark registration (if not already filed) |
$250-2,000 |
$0 (renewals every 10 years) |
| VMC certificate (DigiCert) |
— |
~$1,500 |
| VMC certificate (Entrust) |
— |
~$1,000 |
| SVG production by designer |
$200-500 |
$0 |
| Engineering time (DNS publish, validation) |
~4 hours |
~1 hour (cert renewal) |
| Year 1 total (no existing trademark) |
~$2,000-3,000 |
~$1,000-1,500 |
DigiCert and Entrust are the two main VMC issuers. Pick by whichever has the cleaner workflow with your trademark office; pricing is negotiable for multi-year commits.
SVG specs#
The BIMI SVG profile is strict — far stricter than browser SVG. Common rejections:
- Must be SVG 1.2 Tiny PS (Portable/Secure profile) — strips animation, scripting, external references.
- Square aspect ratio (1:1). Not horizontal logo with text — square mark only.
- Maximum 32 KB file size.
- No transparency in the inner content (background must be opaque or fully transparent).
- Title element required.
- Single namespace (
xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg") only.
Tools to validate:
DNS record#
Once the SVG and VMC are ready:
TXT default._bimi.example.com
"v=BIMI1; l=https://example.com/bimi.svg; a=https://example.com/vmc.pem"
l= — URL of your SVG. Must be HTTPS, served from a domain you control.a= — URL of your VMC certificate (PEM format from the CA). Must be HTTPS.
The default part is a selector — same concept as DKIM. You can have multiple BIMI selectors for different from-addresses (e.g. marketing._bimi.example.com for marketing mail, transactional._bimi.example.com for receipts).
Verify with bimigroup.org/lookup-tool/.
AcelleMail-side prep#
AcelleMail doesn't have a BIMI-specific feature, but the prerequisites map to existing fields:
- DMARC enforcement: AcelleMail's
SendingDomain.verify() checks DKIM + SPF; ensuring both pass aligned mail (per the DMARC migration playbook) gets you to p=reject ready.
- Per-customer / per-domain SVG: Multi-tenant AcelleMail with multiple customers' brands needs per-domain BIMI selectors. Configure each customer's
SendingDomain to use a per-customer subdomain so the BIMI selector is scoped right.
Why most BIMI implementations fail validation#
The BIMI Group's stats: ~40 % of first-attempt VMC submissions are rejected, usually for one of:
- SVG too complex — exported from Illustrator with extra metadata, gradients, or filter effects that aren't in the Tiny PS profile.
- Trademark mismatch — the SVG logo differs from the trademark filing (e.g. different colors, slight shape variation). The two must be visually identical.
- Trademark scope mismatch — trademark covers a different goods/services class than the email use case.
- DMARC alignment issue —
p=reject published but actual mail not aligning. Validation includes a deliverability check.
Plan 4-6 weeks from "decided to do BIMI" to "logo appearing in Gmail." Don't promise the marketing team a date until the SVG and VMC are both approved.
Display where#
| Provider |
BIMI display |
| Gmail (web + mobile) |
Yes, requires VMC |
| Yahoo Mail |
Yes, requires VMC |
| Apple Mail (iOS 16+) |
Yes, requires VMC |
| Outlook.com (consumer) |
Not yet (announced; no rollout date) |
| Office 365 (corporate) |
No |
| ProtonMail |
No |
| FastMail |
No |
So BIMI primarily affects Gmail + Yahoo + Apple consumer mail. Roughly 60-75 % of B2C inbox traffic for most senders.
Related reading#
FAQ#
Can I use BIMI without a VMC?#
Gmail used to allow "self-asserted" BIMI without VMC; that policy ended 2023. Today, no VMC = no logo display.
What if my logo isn't trademarked?#
You need to file a trademark first. USPTO costs $250-350 per class; takes 8-14 months. EUIPO is faster (~6 months). Plan ahead.
How long is the VMC valid?#
12 months. Renew annually. The renewal process is shorter than initial issuance (~1-2 weeks).
Does BIMI improve deliverability?#
Marginally — Gmail mentions BIMI participation in their sender-reputation factors. The bigger lift is engagement (recognition → opens → clicks → engagement signal → reputation lift). Don't deploy BIMI primarily for deliverability; the math is via engagement.
