BIMI record checker
Enter your domain. We read the BIMI record, test the logo and certificate links, and check that DMARC is strict enough for a logo to show. No sign-up.
What BIMI needs before a logo appears
BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) lets you put your logo beside your mail in the inbox. You publish one TXT record, and mailbox providers fetch the logo it points to. The catch is that the record is the last step, not the first.
Your domain has to pass DMARC at enforcement, which means SPF and DKIM already align for every service that sends as you. Then the logo has to be an SVG in the Tiny Portable/Secure profile, served over HTTPS. For Gmail you also need a mark certificate, a VMC or a CMC, bought from a certificate authority.
That's why a BIMI record on its own proves little. The checker above reads the record and the DMARC policy together, so you see the whole chain in one place.
| Tag | What it holds | What we check |
|---|---|---|
| v=BIMI1 | The version. Always first. | The record starts with it |
| l= | HTTPS link to your SVG logo | HTTPS, and the file ends in .svg |
| a= | HTTPS link to your VMC or CMC (.pem) | Present and on HTTPS |
| DMARC p= | Your DMARC policy, read from _dmarc | quarantine at 100%, or reject |
| DMARC sp= | The subdomain policy, if set | Anything but none |
Tag rules from the BIMI Group's published specification, read September 2026.
The four reasons a BIMI logo fails
DMARC is not at enforcement. This is the most common one. Moving from p=none to p=quarantine takes a few weeks of reading your DMARC reports, because you need to know every service that sends as your domain before you tell receivers to junk the rest. Our DMARC report analyzer reads those reports in your browser.
The logo file is the wrong kind of SVG. A logo exported straight from a design tool usually carries scripts, external links or the wrong base profile. It must be SVG Tiny Portable/Secure, square, with a solid background.
No mark certificate. Gmail reads the a= tag and shows nothing without a valid VMC or CMC behind it.
Reputation. Even with every record right, a provider can hold the logo back from a domain with a poor sending history. Bounces feed that history directly, which is where clean lists come in.
Why bounce rate matters to BIMI
Providers show logos to senders they trust, and trust tracks how your mail behaves. A send where 5% of addresses hard-bounce tells the receiver you mail addresses you never checked. That hurts your domain reputation, and reputation is the gate BIMI sits behind.
ZapBounce checks each address with its own SMTP check on port 25 and closes the connection before any message is sent. You get valid, invalid, catch-all or unknown for every address, and unknowns are never billed. See the pricing: 1,000 checks cost $5, and credits never expire.
Questions people ask
What does a BIMI checker test?
It reads the TXT record at default._bimi on your domain, checks that the logo URL is an HTTPS link to an SVG file, checks for a mark certificate in the a= tag, and confirms DMARC is at p=quarantine or p=reject. All four have to line up before a mailbox provider shows your logo.
Why is my BIMI logo not showing in Gmail?
Gmail shows a BIMI logo only when the record points at a Verified Mark Certificate or a Common Mark Certificate, and only when DMARC is at enforcement. The third common cause is a logo saved as a plain SVG instead of the SVG Tiny Portable/Secure profile BIMI requires.
Do I need a VMC for BIMI?
For Gmail, yes: Gmail displays the logo only when the a= tag points at a Verified Mark Certificate or a Common Mark Certificate. A BIMI record without one is still valid, and some other providers read it, so publish the record first and add the certificate when you buy it.
What DMARC policy does BIMI need?
p=quarantine or p=reject, applied to 100% of mail. A policy of p=none, a quarantine policy with pct below 100, or a subdomain policy of sp=none all disqualify the domain.
Where do I publish a BIMI record?
As a TXT record at default._bimi.yourdomain.com, with a value like v=BIMI1; l=https://yourdomain.com/logo.svg; a=https://yourdomain.com/vmc.pem. Use a selector other than default only if your mail is set up to request it.
Protect the reputation your logo depends on
Check every address before you send. 100 free checks every month, no card, and unknown results are never billed.