Missing or invalid BIMI certificate
Required mark certificate is absent or invalid.
Problem summary
Required mark certificate is absent or invalid.
Symptoms
- Providers require VMC/CMC but a= is missing or invalid
- Certificate expired or domain mismatch
- BIMI DNS otherwise correct
Possible causes
- Certificate never purchased/issued
- a= URL wrong or cert not matching the mark/domain
- Expired evidence
How to diagnose
- Inspect a= evidence URL and certificate validity
- Confirm mark and domain binding expectations for the CA
How to fix
- Obtain/renew the required mark certificate and publish a=
- Or omit BIMI where certificate-gated providers are out of scope
How to verify
- Certificate chain validates for the BIMI evidence URL
- Inspector no longer flags certificate errors
Prevention
- Calendar renewals for VMCs
- Re-check evidence after domain or logo changes
When to escalate
- Production mail is failing for a material share of recipients after remediation attempts