diff --git a/fme/core/registry/module.py b/fme/core/registry/module.py
index b1ee41d79..1f28a224f 100644
--- a/fme/core/registry/module.py
+++ b/fme/core/registry/module.py
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ def build(
         n_in_channels: int,
         n_out_channels: int,
         dataset_info: DatasetInfo,
-    ) -> nn.Module:
+    ) -> Module:
         """
         Build a nn.Module given information about the input and output channels
         and the dataset.
diff --git a/fme/core/registry/test_module_registry.py b/fme/core/registry/test_module_registry.py
index d2dce58e9..c2abc7ff9 100644
--- a/fme/core/registry/test_module_registry.py
+++ b/fme/core/registry/test_module_registry.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 from fme.core.coordinates import HybridSigmaPressureCoordinate, LatLonCoordinates
 from fme.core.dataset_info import DatasetInfo
 from fme.core.labels import LabelEncoding
+from fme.core.rand import set_seed
 from fme.core.registry.module import Module
 
 from .module import CONDITIONAL_BUILDERS, ModuleConfig, ModuleSelector
@@ -79,8 +80,27 @@ def test_module_selector_raises_with_bad_config():
         ModuleSelector(type="mock", config={"non_existent_key": 1})
 
 
-def get_noise_conditioned_sfno_module_selector() -> ModuleSelector:
-    return ModuleSelector(
+def get_noise_conditioned_sfno_module() -> Module:
+    img_shape = (9, 18)
+    n_in_channels = 5
+    n_out_channels = 6
+    all_labels = {"a", "b"}
+    timestep = datetime.timedelta(hours=6)
+    device = fme.get_device()
+    horizontal_coordinate = LatLonCoordinates(
+        lat=torch.zeros(img_shape[0], device=device),
+        lon=torch.zeros(img_shape[1], device=device),
+    )
+    vertical_coordinate = HybridSigmaPressureCoordinate(
+        ak=torch.arange(7, device=device), bk=torch.arange(7, device=device)
+    )
+    dataset_info = DatasetInfo(
+        horizontal_coordinates=horizontal_coordinate,
+        vertical_coordinate=vertical_coordinate,
+        timestep=timestep,
+        all_labels=all_labels,
+    )
+    selector = ModuleSelector(
         type="NoiseConditionedSFNO",
         config={
             "embed_dim": 8,
@@ -94,6 +114,22 @@ def get_noise_conditioned_sfno_module_selector() -> ModuleSelector:
             "spectral_transform": "sht",
         },
     )
+    module = selector.build(
+        n_in_channels=n_in_channels,
+        n_out_channels=n_out_channels,
+        dataset_info=dataset_info,
+    )
+    return module
+
+
+def load_state(selector_name: str) -> dict[str, torch.Tensor]:
+    state_dict_path = DATA_DIR / f"{selector_name}_state_dict.pt"
+    if not state_dict_path.exists():
+        raise RuntimeError(
+            f"State dict for {selector_name} not found at {state_dict_path}. "
+            "Please make sure the checkpoint exists and is committed to the repo."
+        )
+    return torch.load(state_dict_path)
 
 
 def load_or_cache_state(selector_name: str, module: Module) -> dict[str, torch.Tensor]:
@@ -110,40 +146,48 @@ def load_or_cache_state(selector_name: str, module: Module) -> dict[str, torch.T
         )
 
 
-SELECTORS = {
-    "NoiseConditionedSFNO": get_noise_conditioned_sfno_module_selector(),
+FROZEN_BUILDERS = {
+    "dbc2925_ncsfno": get_noise_conditioned_sfno_module,
 }
 
 
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     "selector_name",
-    SELECTORS.keys(),
+    FROZEN_BUILDERS.keys(),
 )
-def test_module_backwards_compatibility(selector_name: str):
-    torch.manual_seed(0)
-    img_shape = (9, 18)
-    n_in_channels = 5
-    n_out_channels = 6
-    all_labels = {"a", "b"}
-    timestep = datetime.timedelta(hours=6)
-    device = fme.get_device()
-    horizontal_coordinate = LatLonCoordinates(
-        lat=torch.zeros(img_shape[0], device=device),
-        lon=torch.zeros(img_shape[1], device=device),
-    )
-    vertical_coordinate = HybridSigmaPressureCoordinate(
-        ak=torch.arange(7, device=device), bk=torch.arange(7, device=device)
-    )
-    dataset_info = DatasetInfo(
-        horizontal_coordinates=horizontal_coordinate,
-        vertical_coordinate=vertical_coordinate,
-        timestep=timestep,
-        all_labels=all_labels,
-    )
-    module = SELECTORS[selector_name].build(
-        n_in_channels=n_in_channels,
-        n_out_channels=n_out_channels,
-        dataset_info=dataset_info,
-    )
+def test_frozen_module_backwards_compatibility(selector_name: str):
+    """
+    Backwards compatibility for frozen releases from specific commits.
+    """
+    set_seed(0)
+    module = FROZEN_BUILDERS[selector_name]()
+    loaded_state_dict = load_state(selector_name)
+    module.load_state(loaded_state_dict)
+
+
+LATEST_BUILDERS = {
+    "NoiseConditionedSFNO": get_noise_conditioned_sfno_module,
+}
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "selector_name",
+    LATEST_BUILDERS.keys(),
+)
+def test_latest_module_backwards_compatibility(selector_name: str):
+    """
+    Backwards compatibility for the latest module implementations.
+
+    Should be kept up-to-date with the latest code changes.
+    """
+    set_seed(0)
+    module = LATEST_BUILDERS[selector_name]()
     loaded_state_dict = load_or_cache_state(selector_name, module)
+    new_keys = set(module.get_state().keys()).difference(loaded_state_dict.keys())
     module.load_state(loaded_state_dict)
+    assert not new_keys, (
+        f"New keys {new_keys} were added to the state dict of {selector_name}, "
+        "which need to be added to the checkpoint to maintain comaptibility. "
+        "Please delete and regenerate the checkpoint to include these new keys, "
+        "and commit the updated checkpoint to the repo."
+    )
diff --git a/fme/core/registry/testdata/dbc2925_ncsfno_state_dict.pt b/fme/core/registry/testdata/dbc2925_ncsfno_state_dict.pt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f05bfa735
Binary files /dev/null and b/fme/core/registry/testdata/dbc2925_ncsfno_state_dict.pt differ