Table of Contents
- Introduction
- How to Add a Logo to Emails (Step-by-Step)
- Step 1: Get Your DMARC to Enforcement Level
- Step 2: Create Your Logo in SVG Tiny PS Format
- Step 3: Obtain a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC)
- Step 4: Publish the BIMI DNS Record
- Step 5: Verify and Monitor
- What If You Don't Have a Trademark?
- Other Things You Need to Know About Adding a Logo to Emails
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IntroductionHow to Add a Logo to Emails (Step-by-Step)Step 1: Get Your DMARC to Enforcement LevelStep 2: Create Your Logo in SVG Tiny PS FormatStep 3: Obtain a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC)Step 4: Publish the BIMI DNS RecordStep 5: Verify and MonitorWhat If You Don't Have a Trademark?Other Things You Need to Know About Adding a Logo to Emails
Introduction
Adding a brand logo that displays next to your emails in the recipient's inbox requires BIMI, or Brand Indicators for Message Identification. BIMI is the only email standard that lets senders control the avatar or icon that appears alongside their messages in email clients like Gmail, Apple Mail, and Yahoo. Without BIMI, the inbox shows a generic initial, a placeholder icon, or whatever profile photo is associated with the sending account.
Most senders assume logo display is something they can configure in their email platform. It isn't. Your ESP, CRM, or marketing tool controls what goes inside the email body. The sender avatar that appears next to the email in the inbox list is controlled by the recipient's email client, and the only way to influence it across providers is BIMI.
This article walks through the complete process of getting your logo to display in recipient inboxes, from the authentication prerequisites to the DNS configuration to the certificate that makes it work on Gmail.
How to Add a Logo to Emails (Step-by-Step)
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Step 1: Get Your DMARC to Enforcement Level
BIMI won't work until your DMARC policy is set to p=quarantine or p=reject. If your current DMARC is p=none or if you don't have a DMARC record at all, this is where you start.
Before changing your DMARC policy, make sure SPF and DKIM are passing on every legitimate email your domain sends. That means every platform: Google Workspace, your ESP, your CRM, your transactional email service, your marketing automation tool. Each one needs proper SPF inclusion and its own DKIM key pair published in DNS.
Run a DMARC report for at least two weeks at p=none before moving to enforcement. The reports show which emails are passing and failing authentication. Fix every failure before you change the policy. Moving to p=quarantine or p=reject with authentication gaps means your own legitimate emails get filtered.
Mailwarm's infrastructure health check audits SPF, DKIM, and DMARC across your entire domain, identifying exactly which services need attention before you can move to enforcement.
Step 2: Create Your Logo in SVG Tiny PS Format
BIMI requires a specific file format: SVG Tiny PS (Portable/Secure). A regular SVG won't work. A PNG won't work. A JPEG won't work. The format restriction exists because SVG Tiny PS prevents embedded scripts, external references, and other security risks that standard SVG allows.
Your logo must be square, centered in the viewable area, and recognizable at very small sizes (as small as 32x32 pixels in some clients). No text is recommended unless it's a core part of your logo mark.
Several online tools convert standard SVGs to SVG Tiny PS, including the BIMI Group's SVG converter. After conversion, validate the file using the BIMI Inspector tool to confirm it meets all requirements before publishing.
Host the SVG file on your web server at a publicly accessible HTTPS URL. The URL must be reachable by email providers; don't put it behind authentication or a CDN that blocks automated requests.
Step 3: Obtain a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC)
Gmail and Apple Mail require a VMC before they'll display your BIMI logo. Yahoo displays logos without a VMC, but with reduced visual prominence.
A VMC is a digital certificate that verifies you own the trademark associated with your logo. It's issued by DigiCert or Entrust (the only two licensed certificate authorities for VMCs as of 2026). The process requires proof of trademark registration in a qualifying jurisdiction, proof of domain ownership, and organizational verification.
The certificate costs between $1,000 and $1,500 per year. Processing takes two to six weeks depending on how quickly your documentation clears. Plan accordingly; this isn't something you can set up the same day you decide to implement BIMI.
Once issued, the VMC is a .pem file that you host on your web server at a publicly accessible HTTPS URL, similar to the logo file.
Step 4: Publish the BIMI DNS Record
Create a TXT record in your domain's DNS at: default._bimi.yourdomain.com
The record value follows this format: v=BIMI1; l=https://yourdomain.com/bimi/logo.svg; a=https://yourdomain.com/bimi/vmc.pem
The "l" parameter is the URL of your SVG Tiny PS logo. The "a" parameter is the URL of your VMC file. If you're publishing BIMI without a VMC (for Yahoo only), set a= to empty or omit it.
After publishing, allow time for DNS propagation and for email providers to cache the record. Gmail in particular doesn't check BIMI on every inbound message; it caches results and refreshes periodically.
Step 5: Verify and Monitor
After setup, send test emails to Gmail, Yahoo, and Apple Mail accounts and check whether the logo appears. Gmail sometimes takes a few days to start displaying new BIMI logos.
Use the BIMI Inspector (bimigroup.org/bimi-generator) to validate your entire BIMI chain: DNS record, logo format, VMC validity, and DMARC policy.
Monitor your DMARC reports ongoing. If DMARC compliance drops below the threshold that providers require for BIMI, the logo stops appearing. Authentication isn't a set-and-forget configuration; it needs continuous monitoring as your sending infrastructure changes.
What If You Don't Have a Trademark?
BIMI with a VMC requires a registered trademark. If your logo isn't trademarked, you can still publish a BIMI record without a VMC, and Yahoo will display the logo. Gmail and Apple Mail won't.
If trademark registration is something you're considering, the process takes 8 to 12 months in the US through the USPTO. Some companies start the trademark process specifically to unlock BIMI on Gmail, which represents a large enough share of global email users to justify the investment.
An alternative for Gmail specifically: if you send from a Google Workspace account, your Google profile photo displays as the sender avatar regardless of BIMI. This isn't BIMI, and it doesn't carry the same verified badge, but it does put a recognizable image next to your emails for Gmail recipients.
Other Things You Need to Know About Adding a Logo to Emails
How long does it take for the logo to appear after setup?
A few days to a few weeks. Gmail caches BIMI data and refreshes on its own schedule. Yahoo typically displays faster. Apple Mail depends on the client's cache refresh cycle.
Does the logo appear on every email I send?
Only on emails that pass DMARC. If a specific message fails SPF or DKIM for any reason, DMARC fails, and the logo won't display on that message even if BIMI is correctly configured.
Can I use different logos for different email types?
BIMI supports selector-based records, which means you can publish different logos for different selectors (e.g., marketing._bimi.yourdomain.com). However, provider support for non-default selectors is limited. For most implementations, a single logo at the default selector is the practical choice.
Does BIMI work with subdomains?
Each subdomain needs its own BIMI record and its own DMARC policy at enforcement level. If you send from both yourdomain.com and marketing.yourdomain.com, configure BIMI on both.
Will BIMI improve my deliverability?
Not directly. But the authentication requirements (DMARC enforcement) that BIMI depends on absolutely improve deliverability. And the brand recognition from logo display tends to increase open rates, which feeds positive engagement signals back into reputation scoring. Mailwarm monitors inbox placement and reputation across Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo, so you can track whether BIMI implementation correlates with deliverability improvements in your specific case.