diff --git a/signature/policy_config.go b/signature/policy_config.go
index 1f74e19d99..20821a3509 100644
--- a/signature/policy_config.go
+++ b/signature/policy_config.go
@@ -24,6 +24,15 @@ import (
 	"github.com/docker/docker/reference"
 )
 
+// systemDefaultPolicyPath is the policy path used for DefaultPolicy().
+// You can override this at build time with
+// -ldflags '-X github.com/containers/image/signature.systemDefaultPolicyPath=$your_path'
+var systemDefaultPolicyPath = builtinDefaultPolicyPath
+
+// builtinDefaultPolicyPath is the policy pat used for DefaultPolicy().
+// DO NOT change this, instead see systemDefaultPolicyPath above.
+const builtinDefaultPolicyPath = "/etc/containers/policy.json"
+
 // InvalidPolicyFormatError is returned when parsing an invalid policy configuration.
 type InvalidPolicyFormatError string
 
@@ -33,6 +42,24 @@ func (err InvalidPolicyFormatError) Error() string {
 
 // FIXME: NewDefaultPolicy, from default file (or environment if trusted?)
 
+// DefaultPolicy returns the default policy of the system.
+// Most applications should be using this method to get the policy configured
+// by the system administrator.
+// ctx should usually be nil, can be set to override the default.
+// NOTE: When this function returns an error, report it to the user and abort.
+// DO NOT hard-code fallback policies in your application.
+func DefaultPolicy(ctx *types.SystemContext) (*Policy, error) {
+	return NewPolicyFromFile(defaultPolicyPath(ctx))
+}
+
+// defaultPolicyPath returns a path to the default policy of the system.
+func defaultPolicyPath(ctx *types.SystemContext) string {
+	if ctx != nil && ctx.SignaturePolicyPath != "" {
+		return ctx.SignaturePolicyPath
+	}
+	return systemDefaultPolicyPath
+}
+
 // NewPolicyFromFile returns a policy configured in the specified file.
 func NewPolicyFromFile(fileName string) (*Policy, error) {
 	contents, err := ioutil.ReadFile(fileName)
diff --git a/signature/policy_config_test.go b/signature/policy_config_test.go
index 6062ce1839..7a0c15777d 100644
--- a/signature/policy_config_test.go
+++ b/signature/policy_config_test.go
@@ -63,6 +63,40 @@ var policyFixtureContents = &Policy{
 	},
 }
 
+func TestDefaultPolicy(t *testing.T) {
+	// We can't test the actual systemDefaultPolicyPath, so override.
+	// TestDefaultPolicyPath below tests that we handle the overrides and defaults
+	// correctly.
+
+	// Success
+	policy, err := DefaultPolicy(&types.SystemContext{SignaturePolicyPath: "./fixtures/policy.json"})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, policyFixtureContents, policy)
+
+	for _, path := range []string{
+		"/this/doesnt/exist", // Error reading file
+		"/dev/null",          // A failure case; most are tested in the individual method unit tests.
+	} {
+		policy, err := DefaultPolicy(&types.SystemContext{SignaturePolicyPath: path})
+		assert.Error(t, err)
+		assert.Nil(t, policy)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDefaultPolicyPath(t *testing.T) {
+	// The common case
+	path := defaultPolicyPath(nil)
+	assert.Equal(t, systemDefaultPolicyPath, path)
+	// There is a context, but it does not override the path.
+	path = defaultPolicyPath(&types.SystemContext{})
+	assert.Equal(t, systemDefaultPolicyPath, path)
+
+	// Path overridden
+	const nondefaultPath = "/this/is/not/the/default/path.json"
+	path = defaultPolicyPath(&types.SystemContext{SignaturePolicyPath: nondefaultPath})
+	assert.Equal(t, nondefaultPath, path)
+}
+
 func TestNewPolicyFromFile(t *testing.T) {
 	// Success
 	policy, err := NewPolicyFromFile("./fixtures/policy.json")
diff --git a/types/types.go b/types/types.go
index b67e6b3012..c5eb5ab65b 100644
--- a/types/types.go
+++ b/types/types.go
@@ -147,3 +147,12 @@ type ImageInspectInfo struct {
 	Os            string
 	Layers        []string
 }
+
+// SystemContext allows parametrizing access to implicitly-accessed resources,
+// like configuration files in /etc and users' login state in their home directory.
+// Various components can share the same field only if their semantics is exactly
+// the same; if in doubt, add a new field.
+// It is always OK to pass nil instead of a SystemContext.
+type SystemContext struct {
+	SignaturePolicyPath string // If not "", overrides the system's default path for signature.Policy configuration.
+}