BIMI Receiver Requirements Matrix
A date-stamped, primary-source-backed comparison of documented BIMI receiver requirements, recommendations, and unknowns.
BIMI Receiver Requirements Matrix
Last verified: 16 August 2026. This reference separates three things that are often conflated: the BIMI standard, a receiver’s published implementation policy, and observed behaviour for which no current primary source has been found. A successful implementation never guarantees logo display. Each mailbox provider decides whether to display a logo and may make a local determination for an individual domain.
Use this page as a source-checking starting point, not as a substitute for receiver documentation. Requirements change. Every material row below links to the strongest source used for that row.
How to read the matrix
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Requirement | A condition the named receiver documents as necessary for its BIMI implementation. |
| Recommendation | Published implementation guidance that is not described as an absolute condition. |
| Not documented by a primary source | makeBIMI has not treated third-party articles, isolated tests, or market commentary as sufficient evidence for a receiver-policy claim. |
| Receiver discretion | A correctly deployed record and certificate do not require a mailbox provider to show a logo. |
Documented receiver requirements
| Receiver or source | Published BIMI position | Documented requirements or notes | Source checked | Verification date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gmail / Google Workspace | Google publishes a BIMI deployment guide for Gmail. | Requirement: a VMC or CMC; DMARC with p=quarantine or p=reject and pct=100; a public BIMI-capable web server; an SVG meeting the documented conditions. Implementation note: Google documents including the entity, intermediate, and root certificates in the PEM chain in the stated order. |
Google Workspace: Set up BIMI | 16 Aug 2026 |
| Mailbox providers generally | A provider may choose whether to show a logo for a sender using BIMI and may make individual domain decisions. | Receiver discretion: no valid BIMI record can guarantee display. Review the named receiver’s own documentation before making deployment or procurement decisions. | BIMI Group: Mailbox Providers | 16 Aug 2026 |
| Microsoft Outlook | This matrix does not present Outlook as a documented BIMI display target. | The BIMI Group’s provider overview does not list Outlook as a BIMI-supporting mailbox provider. This is not evidence about future Microsoft policy; it is a compatibility boundary for current implementation planning. | BIMI Group: Mailbox Providers | 16 Aug 2026 |
| Apple Mail, Yahoo Mail, Fastmail, and other receivers | No receiver-specific implementation rule is stated here unless supported by the receiver’s current primary documentation. | Not documented by a primary source in this version. Do not generalise Gmail’s certificate, DMARC, or SVG instructions to another receiver without checking that receiver’s own guidance. | BIMI Group: Supporting Documents | 16 Aug 2026 |
Implementation baseline
A robust implementation begins with the standards-side work, then tests against the published requirements of the receiver that matters to the sender. The sequence is straightforward but unforgiving: obtain DMARC alignment and enforcement, prepare a strictly compliant SVG Tiny P/S logo, publish and host the BIMI record and any certificate material correctly, then validate the result before relying on inbox display.
- Start with BIMI: how it works for the technical sequence and the limits of receiver display.
- Confirm the DMARC enforcement requirement before treating BIMI as deployable.
- Validate the SVG Tiny P/S asset and publish the BIMI DNS record.
- Where the named receiver documents a certificate requirement, assess VMC and CMC separately from logo conversion and DNS publication.
- Use the free domain audit to identify public record and configuration gaps.
Issuer status. DigiCert and Entrust are the active VMC issuers. This statement concerns active VMC issuance, not a promise that a particular receiver will display a logo.
Source and change policy
The BIMI Group publishes the BIMI, receiver guidance, VMC-fetch and validation, reporting, and mark-certificate requirement materials that underpin the standard. Google publishes its own Gmail deployment guidance. This page records what those sources say as of the verification date rather than extrapolating one receiver’s policy across the market.
A correction is welcome when it includes a direct, current primary-source URL and identifies the statement that needs revision. A third-party list, an unsupported screenshot, or an isolated observation is not enough to change a receiver row.
Version history
| Version | Date | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | 16 Aug 2026 | Initial primary-source-bounded matrix. Gmail is the only receiver with detailed receiver-specific requirements in this version; other entries are deliberately limited to documented scope or documented uncertainty. |