{"id":166,"date":"2021-11-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-13T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/resourcesnew\/how-do-i-use-a-kernal-mode-driver-signing-certificate-to-sign-driver-files\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T14:37:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T14:37:21","slug":"how-do-i-use-a-kernal-mode-driver-signing-certificate-to-sign-driver-files","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/resources\/how-do-i-use-a-kernal-mode-driver-signing-certificate-to-sign-driver-files\/","title":{"rendered":"How do I use a Kernel Mode Driver Signing Certificate to sign driver files?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 ez-toc-wrap-right counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/resources\/how-do-i-use-a-kernal-mode-driver-signing-certificate-to-sign-driver-files\/#The_kernel-mode_code_signing_policy_requires_that_a_kernel-mode_driver_be_signed_as_follows\" >The kernel-mode code signing policy requires that a kernel-mode driver be signed as follows:<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 mb-3 p-2\">\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_kernel-mode_code_signing_policy_requires_that_a_kernel-mode_driver_be_signed_as_follows\"><\/span>The kernel-mode code signing policy requires that a kernel-mode driver be signed as follows:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>A kernel-mode boot-start driver must have an embedded <a href=\"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/what-is-software-publisher-certificate\">Software Publisher Certificate (SPC)<\/a> This applies to any type of PnP or non-PnP kernel-mode boot-start driver.<\/li>\n<li>A non-PnP kernel-mode driver that is not a boot-start driver must have either a <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.microsoft.com\/en-us\/windows-hardware\/drivers\/install\/catalog-files\">catalog file<\/a> with an SPC signature or the driver file must include an embedded SPC signature.<\/li>\n<li>A PnP kernel-mode driver that is not a boot-start driver must have either an embedded SPC signature, a catalog file with a <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.microsoft.com\/en-us\/windows-hardware\/drivers\/install\/whql-release-signature\">WHQL release signature<\/a>, or a catalog file with an SPC signature. Although the kernel-mode code signing policy does not require that the catalog file of a PnP driver be signed, PnP device installation treats a driver assigned only if the catalog file of the driver is also signed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Like applications, software, codes, and scripts, Kernel-Mode Drivers can also be signed using EV Code Signing Certificates. The benefit of signing Kernel-Mode Drivers is that it helps users verify that these digitally signed kernel-mode driver packages are coming from a trusted organization or company.<\/p>\n<p>If it has been tampered with, the user will be notified via a warning sign at installation time.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Windows 10 now requires an EV code signing certificate for kernel-mode driver signing.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>The Process of Signing with EV Code Signing Certificate<\/h3>\n<p>Before you start Signing Kernel-Mode Drivers Using EV Code Signing Certificate steps below need to be followed:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Prepare EV Code Signing Certificate<\/li>\n<li>Download EV Code Signing Certificate<\/li>\n<li>Signing Kernel-Mode Drivers Using EV Code Signing Certificate<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>For Signing your Kernel-Mode Driver<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Open a Command Prompt in admin mode.<\/li>\n<li>Go to Windows <strong>Start<\/strong> and type <strong>cmd<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Right-click on <strong>Command Prompt<\/strong> and click on <strong>Run as administrator<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Run the command below in the Command Prompt<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>signtool sign \/v \/ac &#8220;C:pathCA-Name High Assurance EV Root CA.crt&#8221; \/tr http:\/\/timestamp.&lt;CA-Name&gt;.com \/td sha256 \/fd sha256 \/s my \/n &#8220;Subject Name&#8221; &#8220;c:pathtoExampleFileSigned.cat&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If the process was successful, you will see the response below, informing you that the program is signed and timestamped.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>c:Code&gt;signtool sign \/v \/ac &#8220;C:pathCA-Name High Assurance EV Root CA.crt&#8221; \/tr http:\/\/timestamp.&lt;CA-Name&gt;.com \/td sha256 \/fd sha256 \/s my \/n &#8220;Subject Name&#8221; &#8220;c:pathtoExampleFileSigned.cat&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Done Adding Additional Store.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Successfully signed and timestamped: ExampleFileSigned.cat<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"width: 100%; float: left; margin: 30px 0; border: 5px solid #d6d6d6; border-radius: 5px;\">\n<div style=\"width: 100%; float: left; background-color: #108ab3;\">\n<div class=\"container\" style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"padding-left: 20px;\">\n<h3 style=\"font-size: 24px; text-decoration: underline; line-height: 30px; color: #ffffff; font-weight: bold; padding: 15px 0;\">Buy EV Code Signing Certificate at Only $219 Per Year<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 mt-5 mb-4\">\n<h4 class=\"text-primary mb-4 pb-2 border-bottom\">Related Articles<\/h4>\n<div class=\"row g-4\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Per the kernel-mode code signing policy, it\ufffds mandatory signing driver files through code signing certificate. Let\ufffds understand how to do it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":[],"resources_category":[52],"class_list":["post-166","resources","type-resources","status-publish","hentry","resources_category-code-signing-resources"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How do I use a Kernel Mode Driver Signing Certificate to sign driver files?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Per the kernel-mode code signing policy, it\ufffds mandatory signing driver files through code signing certificate. 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