Verified Mark Certificates (VMCs)

When recipients see familiar brand logos, they are more likely to feel confident that emails have been sent by reputable sources. VMCs facilitate logos, which offer a powerful form of visual reassurance. This makes recipients more likely to open and read emails. Furthermore, the email authentication protocols required to use VMCs can improve sender reputation and deliverability by minimizing the risk of brand spoofing. Google also shows a blue checkmark indicating the sender of this email has verified that they own the domain and the logo in the profile image.

Typically an organization's legal team can provide details around your trademark status. Having this data, you can look on the World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) website and search for your organization's logo. Once you find your logo in the database, verify registration status (trademark must not expire within 397 days of verification), jurisdiction and a match between the logo you use in email and the trademarked version. As of September 2025, VMC guidelines officially recognize 17 intellectual property offices:

• United States Patent and Trademark Office
• Canadian Intellectual Property Office
• European Union Intellectual Property Office
• UK Intellectual Property Office
• Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt
• Japan Trademark Office
• Spanish Patent and Trademark Office O.A.
• IP Australia
• Intellectual Property India
• Korean Intellectual Property Office
• Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial
• French Institut National de la Propriete Industrielle
• Benelux Office for Intellectual Property
• Denmark Ministry of Culture
• Swedish Intellectual Property Office
• Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property
• Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand

If your logo is not registered with a recognized intellectual property office, you need to go through the trademark registration process in the appropriate jurisdiction. This process can take months, so plan ahead. Alternatively, if your organization is unable to register their logo, or is looking for a more accessible path to BIMI compliance, you may want to start with a Common Mark Certificate (CMC) which allows your organization to display your logo in emails without a trademark.

The issuance of a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) typically takes two to six weeks. However, if your organization does not yet have a registered trademark, the process can take longer.

VMC validation includes:

• Organization Validation
• Face-to-Face Validation
• Logo Verification
• Trademark Verification
• Domain Control Validation
• Checks of the domain’s Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA)

To streamline issuance, it’s best to complete your trademark registration and have all necessary documentation ready before applying for a VMC.

Before starting the setup process, we recommend having the following information ready. This will help you move through the setup smoothly without losing progress. 

• Domain names you want to associate with your CMC/ VMC
• Certificate Signing Request (CSR)
  • Must include all domains you’re associating now
  • Cannot include more domains than purchased
  • You can start with one domain and add more later
• Domain validation method for each domain (Email, DNS, or HTTP)
• Organization details: legal name, registration number, and address
• Validation contact information
• Trademark details: registration number, jurisdiction, and DUNS number
  • View list of verified trademark offices for VMC (Not needed for CMC) 
• Logo in SVG format
  • Max size: 24 KB
  • Must meet CMC/ VMC logo requirements (square aspect ratio, no transparency)

Your logo must be:

• In SVG Tiny Portable/Secure (SVG Tiny 1.2) format.
• Square aspect ratio (e.g., 600x600 pixels).
• Under 24 KB in file size.
• Free of scripts, external links, embedded fonts, or raster images.
• Include a <title> tag with your company name.
• Hosted on a secure HTTPS server.

You can use tools provided by the BIMI Group or manually edit the SVG file using a text editor to ensure compliance.

No, logo display depends on whether the recipient’s email client supports BIMI. VMCs are recognized by major providers like Gmail and Yahoo, but not all email services have adopted BIMI yet. While VMC ensures your logo is eligible to display, actual visibility depends on client-side support and configuration.