Starting with Windows Vista, the kernel-mode code signing policy controls whether a kernel-mode driver will be loaded. The signing requirements depend on the version of the Windows operating system and on whether the driver is being signed for public release or by a development team during the development and test of a driver.

By default, the kernel-mode code signing policy for 64-bit versions of Windows Vista and later versions of Windows require that a kernel-mode driver be signed in order for the driver to be loaded. This requirement can be temporarily overridden to facilitate the development or debugging of a driver.

For a 64-bit version of Windows, the kernel mode code signing policy requires the following, Test signing should be enabled, and the kernel-mode driver needs to be test-signed. Whether it is a PnP kernel-mode boot-start driver or a non-PnP, both of them need to have an embedded test signature.