diff --git a/onnxruntime/core/providers/dml/dml_provider_factory.cc b/onnxruntime/core/providers/dml/dml_provider_factory.cc
index 8c8bb39f97..c8891cb214 100644
--- a/onnxruntime/core/providers/dml/dml_provider_factory.cc
+++ b/onnxruntime/core/providers/dml/dml_provider_factory.cc
@@ -105,6 +105,10 @@ bool IsSoftwareAdapter(IDXGIAdapter1* adapter) {
 }
 
 std::shared_ptr<IExecutionProviderFactory> DMLProviderFactoryCreator::Create(int device_id) {
+  return Create(device_id, /*skip_software_device_check*/ false);
+}
+
+std::shared_ptr<IExecutionProviderFactory> DMLProviderFactoryCreator::Create(int device_id, bool skip_software_device_check) {
 #ifdef _GAMING_XBOX
     ComPtr<ID3D12Device> d3d12_device;
     D3D12XBOX_CREATE_DEVICE_PARAMETERS params = {};
@@ -120,8 +124,13 @@ std::shared_ptr<IExecutionProviderFactory> DMLProviderFactoryCreator::Create(int
   ComPtr<IDXGIAdapter1> adapter;
   ORT_THROW_IF_FAILED(dxgi_factory->EnumAdapters1(device_id, &adapter));
 
-  // Disallow using DML with the software adapter (Microsoft Basic Display Adapter) because CPU evaluations are much faster
-  ORT_THROW_HR_IF(E_INVALIDARG, IsSoftwareAdapter(adapter.Get()));
+  // Disallow using DML with the software adapter (Microsoft Basic Display Adapter) because CPU evaluations are much
+  // faster. Some scenarios though call for EP initialization without this check (as execution will not actually occur
+  // anyway) such as operation kernel registry enumeration for documentation purposes.
+  if (!skip_software_device_check)
+  {
+    ORT_THROW_HR_IF(E_INVALIDARG, IsSoftwareAdapter(adapter.Get()));
+  }
 
   ComPtr<ID3D12Device> d3d12_device;
   ORT_THROW_IF_FAILED(D3D12CreateDevice(adapter.Get(), D3D_FEATURE_LEVEL_11_0, IID_GRAPHICS_PPV_ARGS(d3d12_device.ReleaseAndGetAddressOf())));
diff --git a/onnxruntime/core/providers/dml/dml_provider_factory_creator.h b/onnxruntime/core/providers/dml/dml_provider_factory_creator.h
index 944a57cc06..3c3f04561d 100644
--- a/onnxruntime/core/providers/dml/dml_provider_factory_creator.h
+++ b/onnxruntime/core/providers/dml/dml_provider_factory_creator.h
@@ -10,5 +10,6 @@
 namespace onnxruntime {
 struct DMLProviderFactoryCreator {
   static std::shared_ptr<IExecutionProviderFactory> Create(int device_id);
+  static std::shared_ptr<IExecutionProviderFactory> Create(int device_id, bool skip_software_device_check);
 };
 }  // namespace onnxruntime
diff --git a/onnxruntime/python/onnxruntime_pybind_schema.cc b/onnxruntime/python/onnxruntime_pybind_schema.cc
index 15e26c7986..f594b5712a 100644
--- a/onnxruntime/python/onnxruntime_pybind_schema.cc
+++ b/onnxruntime/python/onnxruntime_pybind_schema.cc
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ void addGlobalSchemaFunctions(pybind11::module& m) {
             onnxruntime::ArmNNProviderFactoryCreator::Create(0),
 #endif
 #ifdef USE_DML
-            onnxruntime::DMLProviderFactoryCreator::Create(0),
+            onnxruntime::DMLProviderFactoryCreator::Create(0, /*skip_software_device_check*/ true),
 #endif
 #ifdef USE_NNAPI
             onnxruntime::NnapiProviderFactoryCreator::Create(0),