IHV Attested Signing Service

Microsoft provides an attested signing service for IHVs who would like to get a driver signed for testing purposes only. Attestation signed drivers cannot be published to Windows Update for retail audiences. IHVs who wish to attest sign their drivers for testing purposes can submit their driver through the Windows Hardware Compatibility Program (WHCP). This process does not require HLK test results. Under this process the IHV would affirm the following in order to get a Microsoft signed driver:

  • IHV attests that they have completely tested their driver
  • IHV attests that their product and driver will not break interoperability
  • IHV attests that they will monitor telemetry and remediate any issues (exact metrics to be determined at a later date)

When an IHV agrees to these terms, a signed driver will be returned. This signed driver cannot be distributed via Windows Update to retail users. In addition, the driver cannot be used in a Compatibility Test System and the product will not be listed on the Certified Products List. The signature that is returned from this process is different than one that is returned after you submit HLK test results to Microsoft. However, functionally there is no difference between the two signatures.

This option is only available for Windows 10 and Windows 11 for desktop editions operating system. The IHV Attested Signing Service is not available for the next version of Windows Server.