Loading...Yes, you can implement BIMI without a VMC — here’s how you can (and why to reconsider)
The term brand indicators for message identity (BIMI) refers to an email authentication standard that allows you to display your company’s brand logo in recipients’ inboxes and emails.
Because BIMI isn’t dependent on having a Mark Certificate such as a VMC or a Common Mark Certificate (CMC), you can implement BIMI on your email sender domain(s) with or without a VMC to prove you’re a legitimate sender for several email clients.
Get 10% Off Your Purchase of a New Common Mark Certificate
Add your organization’s verified brand logo to your outbound emails without needing to have a trademarked logo.
How to Implement BIMI Without a VMC
In a nutshell, setting up BIMI involves a few key steps:
- Setting up DKIM and/or SPF records
- Setting DMARC enforcement
- Preparing your logo to make it BIMI compliant
- Setting up a BIMI record
Related: How to Set Up BIMI for Your Domain (5 Steps)
In these cases, you can create a self-asserted BIMI DNS record to display your business’s logo to recipients for some email clients. (NOTE: A self-asserted BIMI record is the equivalent of a self-signed certificate in the sense that you’re putting it out there without a trusted third party verifying that it’s legitimate.)
Want to Learn More About How to Create a BIMI Record?
If you want to learn how to create a BIMI record, then check out our three-step tutorial that will walk you through the process.
However, there’s a caveat: your logo won’t be recognized as a verified logo.
Verified Mark Certificates = Authentication + Logo Verification
- VMCs enable the verified checkmark. When you send messages using a Verified Mark Certificate in Gmail or Yahoo Mail, recipients will see your company’s blue or green verified checkmark next to the sender’s name.
- Not using a VMC with BIMI means no checkmark. When you use BIMI without a VMC, message recipients using two major email clients won’t see a verified green (Yahoo Mail) or blue checkmark (Gmail) in their inboxes or emails.
Some Major Email Providers Require a Verified Mark Certificate
In addition to many major email service providers (ESPs) supporting BIMI, some take it a step further by requiring a VMC to be used with BIMI to display brand logos in emails. Gmail is one such example.
If the majority of your email recipients use Google Gmail (i.e., regular Gmail and Google Workspace Gmail) or Yahoo Mail, then you should avoid using BIMI without a VMC because you won’t be able to display your logo or a “verified” blue checkmark. Yup, that’s correct: Gmail requires a VMC.
In What Circumstances Could You Use BIMI Without a VMC?
So, why would you need or want to use BIMI without a VMC? There are a couple of key reasons:
- Your logo isn’t a registered trademark
- Your logo is a modified trademark
- You want a discount on your Verified Mark Certificate
If you’re one of the holdouts described in #3, then you’ll be happy to know that you can save 10% on a new Common or Verified Mark Certificate by using one of the following promo codes. (NOTE: Simply click on the promo code in the table below to load it to your cart automatically.)
| Common Mark Certificate Promo Codes | Verified Mark Certificate Promo Codes |
| 1-year certificate: CMC1save10 | 1-year certificate: VMC1save10 |
| 2-Year certificate: CMC2save10 | 2-Year certificate: VMC2save10 |
| 3-year certificate: CMC3save10 | 3-year certificate: VMC3save10 |
If one of the first two scenarios describes your situation but you still want to display your logo in messages to Gmail users, there’s good news for you as well…
You Can Use a CMC to Display Your Logo to Gmail Recipients
So long as you’ve demonstrably used the logo for at least 12 months, or your logo is a modified registered trademark, then your business can use a Common Mark Certificate (CMC) instead.
A CMC gives you the ability to display your company logo in the sender field of emails. However, only Gmail recognizes CMCs at this time.
| Pros of Using BIMI without a VMC | Cons of Using BIMI without a VMC |
| Your logo doesn’t require a registered trademark | BIMI can be implemented using as a “self-asserted” BIMI record, but your logo will be unverified |
| You can technically use BIMI without a VMC because some email providers don’t require them | Getting a registered trademark for your logo can be tedious and expensive |
| You can use a Common Mark Certificate as a less expensive alternative to use with BIMI, but they’re only supported by Gmail | You can’t display your verified checkmark in messages to Gmail or Yahoo Mail recipients |
| Saves you money on purchasing a certificate but may cost you email engagement and future sales opportunities |
Get 10% Off Your Purchase of a New Common Mark Certificate
Add your organization’s verified brand logo to your outbound emails without needing to have a trademarked logo.