Which email clients show the logo?
Gmail, Apple Mail and Yahoo render BIMI logos, along with smaller providers such as Fastmail and Zoho. Gmail also shows a blue verified badge next to the sender name. Outlook and Microsoft 365 do not display BIMI logos as of July 2026, and Microsoft has said it has no short-term plans to add it.
Do I need a registered trademark?
Yes, and there is no way around it. The logo must be a trademark registered at one of eight accepted offices: the USPTO, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, EUIPO, the UK Intellectual Property Office, the German DPMA, the Japan Trademark Office, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, or IP Australia.
Does a Latvian trademark count?
A national registration at the Latvian Patent Office is not on the accepted list. Companies in Latvia normally register an EU trademark at EUIPO instead, which covers Latvia along with every other EU country. If you do not have one, that is the first step and it takes months, so start there.
How much does a VMC certificate cost?
A single year is 1578.07 EUR. Two years work out at 1499.16 EUR a year (2998.32 EUR for the term) and three years at 1446.56 EUR a year (4339.69 EUR for the term), all excluding VAT. A VMC really is in a different price class from an SSL certificate, so the first question worth asking is not the price but the trademark: without one registered at an accepted office, no budget can buy you a VMC.
How long does it take?
Validation runs 3 to 7 working days once your documents are in, including the notarised identity copies and the video call. If your DMARC is still on p=none or the trademark is not registered yet, the real timeline is set by those, not by the certificate.
What is the difference between VMC and CMC?
A VMC covers a registered trademark. A CMC (Common Mark Certificate) was introduced for logos that are not trademarked, for example a mark in public use for over a year, but it is supported by fewer mailbox providers. If you hold a trademark, the VMC is the one that works everywhere BIMI works.
Will my logo show on every email?
On mail sent from the domain covered by the BIMI record and passing DMARC, yes, in the clients that support BIMI. Mail sent through third-party tools also needs to authenticate correctly for that domain, so it is worth checking your newsletter or CRM platform before you buy.
Do I still need this if I already have SPF, DKIM and DMARC?
Those keep forged mail out. A VMC is the visible half: it turns work nobody sees into a logo and a verified badge your recipients do see. It is also the only part of email authentication your marketing team can point at.
