How to Allow Non-Admins to Install Printer Drivers

By default, modern Windows environments require administrative privileges to install printer drivers due to security mitigations. This behavior is governed in the Windows Registry by the RestrictDriverInstallationToAdministrators DWORD value under the Point and Print policies key. Modifying this setting allows system administrators to either enforce strict administrator-only installation rules or permit standard, non-administrative users to install approved printer drivers on their local machines.

The Registry Setting

The specific registry key and value controlling printer driver installation permissions are:

Registry Path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Printers\PointAndPrint
Value Name: RestrictDriverInstallationToAdministrators
Value Type: REG_DWORD
Value Data:
- 1 = Enabled (Default/Secure). Only administrators can install printer drivers.
- 0 = Disabled. Non-administrative users are permitted to install printer drivers using Point and Print.

How to Configure the Setting Using Regedit

Press Windows Key + R, type regedit, and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
Navigate to the following path:
```
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Printers\PointAndPrint
```
(Note: If the PointAndPrint key does not exist under Printers, right-click on Printers, select New > Key, and name it PointAndPrint.)
Inside the PointAndPrint key, look for the DWORD (32-bit) value named RestrictDriverInstallationToAdministrators.
If it does not exist, right-click in the right pane, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it RestrictDriverInstallationToAdministrators.
Double-click the value to edit it:
- Set the data to 0 to allow standard users to install printer drivers.
- Set the data to 1 to restrict driver installation strictly to administrators.
Click OK and restart the Print Spooler service or restart the computer for the changes to take effect.

Security Considerations

Microsoft introduced the default value of 1 for this setting to mitigate critical vulnerabilities associated with Windows Point and Print functionality (such as PrintNightmare). Setting this value to 0 lowers the security posture of the endpoint, making it potentially vulnerable to malicious printer drivers installed from untrusted print servers. If enabled, it is best practice to combine this change with server-specific Point and Print restrictions to ensure users can only connect to trusted, internal print servers.