How to fix Word not running macros that are digitally-signed?

Try, instead, using Disable All Macros (with notificaton).

These settings have titles which are misleading. Disable all macros with notification will allow you to let any macro to run and will notify you about ones that are not “trusted” before running them. Those in trusted locations will run without asking you.

Leaving the setting as it is will still work so long as you do the rest of these instructions but will not give you the option to let a macro run anyway.

**Set a folder (or many folders) as a Trusted Location.
**Word will run macros in trusted locations even if you have one of the other options chosen.

Place the template (or document) with the macros that you want to be able to run in a folder listed as a Trusted Location.

I am a fellow user and have had commercial and self-certificates in the past. I've found that maintaining control over what is in my trusted locations is far easier than certificates.

Sorry, I cannot explain why what you did is not working. All I can do is tell you something that I know will work.

It sounds like you've taken the right steps to enable digitally-signed macros in Word, but there are a few things you might want to check to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Trusted Publisher: Ensure that your self-signed certificate is added to the Trusted Publishers list. You can do this by going to the Trust Center, selecting Trusted Publishers, and checking if your certificate is listed there. If it's not, you may need to add it manually.
2. Macro Settings: Double-check that your macro settings are indeed set to "Disable all macros except digitally signed macros". Sometimes, settings may revert or not save correctly.
3. Certificate Validity: Ensure that the certificate you created using SelfCert.exe is still valid and has not expired. Self-signed certificates can sometimes have limited validity periods.
4. VBA Project Access: You mentioned that you selected "Trust access to the VBA project object model". Ensure that this setting is still enabled after restarting Word.
5. Document Location: If your macros are in a document that is not in a trusted location, Word may still block them. You can add the folder containing your documents to the Trusted Locations in the Trust Center.
6. Restart Word: After making changes, make sure to completely close and restart Word for the changes to take effect.

If you've checked all these settings and the issue persists, it may be worth testing with a different document or recreating the certificate to see if that resolves the problem.

References:

• Use policies to manage how Office handles macros
• Security notes for Office solution developers