Driver signing associates a digital signature with a driver package.

Windows device installation uses digital signatures to verify the integrity of driver packages and to verify the identity of the publishers of the driver packages. In addition, the kernel-mode code signing policy for 64-bit versions of Windows Vista and later versions of Windows specifies that a kernel-mode driver must be signed in order for the driver to load.

For an overview of digital signatures and how driver signing affects driver installation, see Overview of Digital Signatures for Driver Installation.

For an overview of the driver signing process, see Managing the Signing Process.

For information about how to sign drivers for development and test, see Signing Drivers during Development and Test.

For information about how to sign drivers for public release, see Signing Drivers for Public Release.

For information about how to troubleshoot problems during the installation of signed driver packages, see Troubleshooting Install and Load Problems with Signed Driver Packages.

For information about the signing tools that are provided in the Windows Driver Kit (WDK), see Tools for Signing Drivers.

For general information about Windows driver signing, see the Driver Signing Requirements for Windows Web site. For general information about device and driver installation, see the Device and Driver Installation Web site.

For general information about driver signing on Windows Vista and later versions of Windows, see the white paper "Digital Signatures for Kernel Modules on Systems Running Windows Vista" at the Driver Signing Requirements for Windows Web site.