Turn on Smart Card Plug and Play service
Verified with Windows 11 25H2 — updated on July 30, 2026
Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
Path in the GPO console
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Smart Card Description
This policy setting allows you to control whether Smart Card Plug and Play is enabled. If you enable or do not configure this policy setting, Smart Card Plug and Play will be enabled and the system will attempt to install a Smart Card device driver when a card is inserted in a Smart Card Reader for the first time. If you disable this policy setting, Smart Card Plug and Play will be disabled and a device driver will not be installed when a card is inserted in a Smart Card Reader. Note: This policy setting is applied only for smart cards that have passed the Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) testing process.
Registry
HKLM
SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\ScPnP Value name: EnableScPnP
Enabled: EnableScPnP = 1
Disabled: EnableScPnP = 0
MDM / Intune (CSP)
./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_Smartcard/SCPnPEnabled Microsoft Learn documentation Mapping data: Microsoft Learn (CC BY 4.0)
Export Builder
BETAConfigure the state, scope and options, then generate .reg, PowerShell, Intune and SCCM outputs — or add the setting to a multi-setting collection.
These exports write the registry — this is not a managed GPO. ⓘ
.reg file
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
; Exported from gporais.com
; Policy: Turn on Smart Card Plug and Play service
; State: Enabled
; Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\ScPnP]
"EnableScPnP"=dword:00000001More formats (PowerShell, Intune, SCCM)
PowerShell
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn on Smart Card Plug and Play service
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
$path = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\ScPnP'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'EnableScPnP' -Value 1 -Type DWordIntune XML
OMA-URI: ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_Smartcard/SCPnPEnabled
Data type: String
Value:
<enabled/>Intune Remediation
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn on Smart Card Plug and Play service
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
function Test-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Name,
[object]$Expected,
[ValidateSet('String', 'DWord', 'MultiString')][string]$Kind = 'String',
[switch]$Absent
)
try {
$item = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
return $Absent.IsPresent
}
if ($Absent.IsPresent) { return $false }
$actual = $item.$Name
if ($Kind -eq 'DWord') { return ([int64]$actual) -eq ([int64]$Expected) }
if ($Kind -eq 'MultiString') {
$actualValues = @($actual)
$expectedValues = @($Expected)
if ($actualValues.Count -ne $expectedValues.Count) { return $false }
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $expectedValues.Count; $i++) {
if ([string]$actualValues[$i] -ne [string]$expectedValues[$i]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
return [string]$actual -eq [string]$Expected
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\ScPnP' -Name 'EnableScPnP' -Expected 1 -Kind DWord)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn on Smart Card Plug and Play service
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
$path = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\ScPnP'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'EnableScPnP' -Value 1 -Type DWordSCCM scripts
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn on Smart Card Plug and Play service
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
# SCCM Configuration Item guidance:
# Create a Configuration Item of type "Setting: Script".
# Discovery script: use the Detection script below.
# Remediation script: use the Remediation script below.
# Compliance rule: the Discovery script output equals 'Compliant'.
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn on Smart Card Plug and Play service
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
function Test-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Name,
[object]$Expected,
[ValidateSet('String', 'DWord', 'MultiString')][string]$Kind = 'String',
[switch]$Absent
)
try {
$item = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
return $Absent.IsPresent
}
if ($Absent.IsPresent) { return $false }
$actual = $item.$Name
if ($Kind -eq 'DWord') { return ([int64]$actual) -eq ([int64]$Expected) }
if ($Kind -eq 'MultiString') {
$actualValues = @($actual)
$expectedValues = @($Expected)
if ($actualValues.Count -ne $expectedValues.Count) { return $false }
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $expectedValues.Count; $i++) {
if ([string]$actualValues[$i] -ne [string]$expectedValues[$i]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
return [string]$actual -eq [string]$Expected
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\ScPnP' -Name 'EnableScPnP' -Expected 1 -Kind DWord)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn on Smart Card Plug and Play service
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
$path = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\ScPnP'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'EnableScPnP' -Value 1 -Type DWordBuilding a multi-setting collection? Add this setting and generate combined .reg / PowerShell / GPO scripts.