VMCs and CMCs: Can I Get a BIMI Certificate for Free?

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Spoiler Alert: You can’t get a free Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) or Common Mark Certificate (CMC) due to the manual validation that’s required.  

Mark certificates are key to displaying your brand’s logo upfront in recipients’ inboxes and in the sender field of emails on Gmail, Yahoo, Apple Mail, and other major email clients. But a Common or Verified Mark Certificate isn’t something you can get for free — here’s why. 

Free VMC Certificates Don’t Exist, But There Is Good News…

While we can’t give you a BIMI VMC or CMC certificate for free, we do offer the next best thing: a 10% discount!  

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  

Why You Can’t Get a Free Verified Mark Certificate or CMC 

There are several key reasons why you can’t get a BIMI CMC or VMC certificate for free:  

1. Every Organization Must Be Vetted Before a Certificate Can Be Issued  

Much like organization and extended validation (OV/EV) SSL/TLS certificates, both types of mark certificates also require manual business verification processes. This process involves having trained validation experts at a certification authority (CA) like DigiCert manually vet that you are who you say you are.  

As you can imagine, this doesn’t happen for free. This process requires people, and businesses need money to pay them and keep their lights on. (You know, basic business stuff).  

This is true for both Common Mark Certificates and Verified Mark Certificates. Hence why you can’t get a BIMI VMC certificate for free or a CMC for the same reason.  

2. Your Logo and Other Technical Compliance Requirements Must Be Verified 

As you likely know, Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) is a technical standard that has specific requirements. This includes everything from Domain Name System (DNS) records to specific logo formatting and file extension requirements. 

The issuing CA must ensure everything is up to snuff before it’ll issue your VMC or CMC: 

  • Your company has a registered trademark (for VMC certificates). The Mark Verification Authority (e.g., DigiCert) has to ensure that your logo actually has a verifiable registered trademark.  

3. Trademark Registrations Cost Money (in the Case of VMCs) 

The last reason you can’t get a VMC certificate for free is that a VMC requires your organization to have a trademarked logo. This is literally one of the key requirements of being able to get one of these certificates and, in the case of a verified mark certificate, what allows it to display a verified blue checkmark in Gmail and Yahoo and prevent it from being offered for at no cost.  

A side-by-side comparison of how emails appear when using a CMC, a VMC, or no Mark Certificate at all.
Image caption: A comparison graphic that illustrates the visual differences between having no mark certificate at all compared to a CMC logo and the verified checkmark a VMC provides. 

As you likely know, you can’t get a registered trademark for your logo for free — while costs vary based on which of the 17 countries’ trademark offices are recognized for the purposes of VMCs, the point is that there are still costs involved.  

For example, here’s a quick peak at the cost of a registered trademark through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), plus there are other potential additional costs as well: 

A screenshot from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) about some of the costs associated with registered trademarks
Image caption: A screenshot captured from the USPTO’s FAQs page that shows the base costs of a registered trademark in the U.S.

For VMCs: No trademark = no certificate = no verified checkmark. Capisce 

Get 10% Off Your Purchase of a New Verified Mark Certificate

Add a verified checkmark to your outbound emails using a VMC so recipients know they’re legitimate and can feel safe opening your messages.

Get 10% Off a 1-Year VMC

What Options Do You Have If You Don’t Have a Trademarked Logo? 

If getting a VMC is out of the question because you don’t have a registered trademark or government-claimed mark for your logo, there is good news: you can get a Common Mark Certificate (CMC) instead.  

While this BIMI certificate isn’t free, this type of lower-cost mark certificate is great for businesses that want to display their logo in Gmail recipients’ inboxes without needing to go through the process of trademarking stuff.  

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.

Get 10% Off a 1-Year CMC

 

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