BIMI and your registered logo: putting your brand in the inbox

What BIMI is

Brand Indicators for Message Identification, or BIMI, is an open email specification maintained by an industry working group. It lets the owner of a domain publish the logo that mailbox providers should show next to authenticated messages from that domain. Where a provider supports it, recipients see your logo in the inbox list and in the message header instead of a generic initial or a blank avatar.

Mechanically, BIMI is a DNS text record at a fixed name under your domain. The record points to an SVG file of your logo and, optionally, to a certificate that vouches for your right to use it. When a message arrives, the mailbox provider checks that it passed DMARC, fetches the logo, validates the certificate if one is required, and displays the image.

The benefits are recognition and trust. Your messages stand out, recipients learn to associate the logo with mail that is really from you, and a spoofed message that lacks the logo looks wrong. BIMI does not by itself improve deliverability, but the authentication work it requires does help.

Why a registered logo matters

Most of the largest mailbox providers display a BIMI logo only when the record points to a certificate from an approved certificate authority. The main kind is a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC). Before issuing one, the certificate authority verifies your organization's legal identity and confirms that the logo in your SVG is a registered trademark owned by your organization at a trademark office it accepts. The USPTO is one of them. The image must match the registered mark, and in most cases the registration must have issued: a pending application is not enough.

A second kind, the Common Mark Certificate (CMC), has been available since 2023 for logos that have been in continuous use for a year or more, proven with evidence such as archived web pages, without a trademark registration. A CMC turns the logo on in some inboxes but not the extra verified indicator that some providers show for a VMC, and support differs between providers. Requirements are set by the certificate authorities and the mailbox providers, not by the USPTO, and they change; check the current rules of the providers you care about before you plan.

The technical requirements: SVG Tiny PS and DMARC

The logo file must be in a restricted profile of SVG called SVG Tiny Portable/Secure, or SVG Tiny PS. In practice that means a square canvas with the logo centered and some breathing room, a solid background color rather than transparency, a title element, and no scripts, external links, embedded raster images or other features that a mail client could not safely render. The file should be small; the specification recommends staying under 32 kilobytes. Most files exported straight from design software fail on the first attempt, so expect a conversion step.

Your domain must also have DMARC at an enforcement policy. DMARC builds on two other authentication records, SPF and DKIM, and its policy tells receiving servers what to do with mail that fails: nothing (none), quarantine, or reject. BIMI requires quarantine or reject, applied to all of your mail and, if you send from subdomains, to those too. A policy of none does not qualify. Moving to enforcement should be done in stages, with reporting turned on, so that legitimate mail sent on your behalf by billing, marketing or support tools is not lost.

The steps, in the order that saves time

1. File the trademark application for the logo you will display. Registration is the longest step, typically many months (see how long a trademark takes), and everything else can be done while it is pending.
2. Get email authentication in order: SPF and DKIM for every service that sends as your domain, then DMARC at a policy of none with reports, then quarantine, then reject.
3. Produce the logo as SVG Tiny PS, matching the registered mark exactly, and host it at an HTTPS address.
4. Once the registration issues, apply to a certificate authority for a Verified Mark Certificate. Expect identity checks on your organization and an annual fee set by the authority. If your logo has a year of documented use and you cannot wait, ask about a Common Mark Certificate as an interim step.
5. Publish the BIMI DNS record pointing to the SVG and the certificate.
6. Test with a BIMI validation tool and by sending to accounts at the providers you care about. Fix any DMARC or SVG errors it reports.

The trademark step is the long one. Started first, it finishes at about the same time as the rest. Started last, it adds most of a year to the project.

How Trademarky's brand set fits

When you run the free trademark check and continue into the brand studio, you can end with up to three marks: the word mark (your name in standard characters), the logo (the full design, with or without the words) and the icon (the symbol on its own, made square to work where words do not fit: app icons, social avatars, favicons and BIMI). Each is its own USPTO application: the first carries the $450 attorney fee, each further one in the same order $300, plus the USPTO fee of $350 per class.

For BIMI, the icon mark is the one you would register. Inboxes show the logo in a small square or circle, where a full logo with words rarely stays legible, and the certificate authority needs the displayed image to match the registered mark exactly. Registering the icon as a design mark, and then displaying that same icon, satisfies both.

Most brands still start with the word mark, because it is the broadest protection for the name, and add the icon when email, app stores or social channels make it worth filing. Your attorney will tell you on the free call which combination fits, and whether to claim color in the icon registration. The pricing page shows the cost of each mark.

Check whether your name and logo are clear before you file the mark your BIMI logo will depend on. Check my trademark for free

Questions about this topic

Do I need a registered trademark to use BIMI?

For a Verified Mark Certificate, yes: the certificate authority checks that the logo is a registered trademark you own. Since 2023 a Common Mark Certificate has been available for logos in use for a year or more without a registration, but it unlocks less in some inboxes. A few providers display a logo with no certificate at all. The rules are set by the providers and certificate authorities and change.

Can I use my word mark registration for BIMI?

Usually not for a graphic logo. A standard-character word mark covers the name in any font, not a specific design, and the certificate authority needs the displayed image to match the registered mark. Register the logo or icon you will actually show, as a design mark.

How long does BIMI take to set up?

The DNS, SVG and DMARC work takes days to a few weeks. The trademark registration, if you do not already have one for the logo, commonly takes the better part of a year, so start it first.

Related guides

• Word mark vs logo vs icon mark: Word marks, logos and icon marks explained: what each protects, which to file first, why a brand set is several applications, and when to claim color.
• How long does a trademark take?: A realistic U.S. trademark timeline: the wait for the first USPTO review, the 30-day publication, when the certificate arrives, and what slows it down.
• Trademark maintenance and renewal: keeping your registration alive: The Section 8, 9 and 15 filings that keep a U.S. trademark registration alive: when they are due, what the USPTO charges, grace periods and audits.

Contact

Trademarky, LLC, 78 SW 7th St, 5th FL, Miami, FL 33130. (305) 562-6800, hello@trademarky.io. Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm ET. Available by appointment.

This free check is an AI-assisted preliminary screening against known U.S. trademark records. It is not a comprehensive clearance search and not legal advice. Only a licensed attorney can advise you on whether to file.