In the title mononuclear cobalt complex, bis(2,6-dimethyl-1H,7H-benzo[1,2-d:4,5-d']diimidazole-kappaN(3))bis(thiocyanato-kappaN)cobalt(II), [Co(II)(NCS)(2)(DMBDIZ)(2)] or [Co(NCS)(2)(C(10)H(10)N(4))(2)], the cobalt(II) ion is coordinated to four N atoms, from two thiocyanate anions and two DMBDIZ ligands, in a distorted tetrahedral geometry. In the DMBDIZ ligand, the two imine N atoms are positioned cis with respect to one another. The crystal packing of the complex is dominated by both hydrogen bonding, involving two N-H...N and two N-H...S interactions, and aromatic pi-pi stacking.