No VMC in Record

What Does “No VMC in Record” Mean?

“No VMC in record” means the checker reports that VMC evidence is missing from the BIMI record. The BIMI draft makes a= optional, while Gmail's current setup requires a VMC or CMC. Brand Indicators for Message Identification draft 14 documents the controlling requirement or boundary.

Protocol processing may continue without evidence, but providers that require evidence will not accept the configuration for display. Certificate requirements and display remain provider policy.

Why Does No VMC in Record Appear?

No VMC in record appears when the a= tag is absent or effectively empty; invalid or unresolvable published evidence belongs to evidence discovery or validation and is not established as a trigger for this exact output. The exact diagnostic should be read at the scope of BIMI record authority-evidence tag rather than as proof that every BIMI layer failed.

How Do You Fix No VMC in Record?

To fix No VMC in record, obtain provider-supported mark evidence when required, publish its public HTTPS URL in a=, and keep l= valid.

Adding an a= URL does not validate the certificate or guarantee logo display.

What Should You Verify After Fixing No VMC in Record?

After fixing No VMC in record, confirm the target provider's current evidence policy and validate the resulting certificate chain. Verification should use the exact public selector, URL, record, or file evaluated by the receiver.

The correction clears only this condition; it does not guarantee that a receiver will display an indicator.

Key Takeaways

• The affected object is BIMI record authority-evidence tag.
• The direct correction is to obtain provider-supported mark evidence when required, publish its public HTTPS URL in a=, and keep l= valid.
• Adding an a= URL does not validate the certificate or guarantee logo display.