How do I create a BIMI record?
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Ready to publish your BIMI record? You're in the home stretch. This is just a single DNS TXT record that you'll drop into your domain's DNS settings.
The record goes at this exact location: default._bimi.yourdomain.com (replace yourdomain.com with your actual domain). If a subdomain has no BIMI record, mailboxes that follow the BIMI draft look next at your main domain's record. You'll format it like this:
v=BIMI1; l=https://media.yourdomain.com/logo.svg; a=https://media.yourdomain.com/vmc.pem
Publish one BIMI record at this name. If two answer, mailboxes that follow the BIMI draft stop there and show no logo.
But Here's what each field does. The v=BIMI1 part just signals the version. The l= field (that's 'l' for logo) points to your SVG Tiny Portable Secure logo file. The a= field (authority) points to your Verified Mark Certificate file if you have one. For Gmail, the logo sits inside that PEM file, and the record links to it in a=.
Don't have a VMC yet? No problem. Just leave a= empty to show you're running self-asserted BIMI. Some records say a=self, but that value is not in the current BIMI draft. Some mailbox providers like Yahoo will display your logo without the certificate.
A record of v=BIMI1; l=; a=; is different. It means the domain is opting out of BIMI on purpose, often for one subdomain. No logo shows, and nothing needs fixing unless you want one.
And once you've built your record, log into your DNS registrar (GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Namecheap, Route53, or wherever your domain is hosted). Find the DNS records section, create a new TXT record, paste in the value above with your actual URLs, and save it. There is no fixed wait for a logo to appear, because each mailbox keeps its own cache. Google says up to 48 hours for Gmail, so don't panic if it doesn't work instantly, and test again after a day or two.
After you publish, verify the record is live with a BIMI validator tool to catch any syntax errors. Then check whether your mailbox provider supports BIMI so you know when to expect your logo to show up.
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