diff --git a/scripts/classifier_adapters.py b/scripts/classifier_adapters.py
index 5704de1..c0b3177 100644
--- a/scripts/classifier_adapters.py
+++ b/scripts/classifier_adapters.py
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ __all__ = [
     "ZeroShotAdapter",
     "GLiClassAdapter",
     "RerankerAdapter",
+    "FineTunedAdapter",
 ]
 
 LABELS: list[str] = [
@@ -263,3 +264,42 @@ class RerankerAdapter(ClassifierAdapter):
         pairs = [[text, LABEL_DESCRIPTIONS.get(label, label.replace("_", " "))] for label in LABELS]
         scores: list[float] = self._reranker.compute_score(pairs, normalize=True)
         return LABELS[scores.index(max(scores))]
+
+
+class FineTunedAdapter(ClassifierAdapter):
+    """Loads a fine-tuned checkpoint from a local models/ directory.
+
+    Uses pipeline("text-classification") for a single forward pass.
+    Input format: 'subject [SEP] body[:400]' — must match training format exactly.
+    Expected inference speed: ~10–20ms/email vs 111–338ms for zero-shot.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, name: str, model_dir: str) -> None:
+        self._name = name
+        self._model_dir = model_dir
+        self._pipeline: Any = None
+
+    @property
+    def name(self) -> str:
+        return self._name
+
+    @property
+    def model_id(self) -> str:
+        return self._model_dir
+
+    def load(self) -> None:
+        import scripts.classifier_adapters as _mod  # noqa: PLC0415
+        _pipe_fn = _mod.pipeline
+        if _pipe_fn is None:
+            raise ImportError("transformers not installed")
+        self._pipeline = _pipe_fn("text-classification", model=self._model_dir)
+
+    def unload(self) -> None:
+        self._pipeline = None
+
+    def classify(self, subject: str, body: str) -> str:
+        if self._pipeline is None:
+            self.load()
+        text = f"{subject} [SEP] {body[:400]}"
+        result = self._pipeline(text)
+        return result[0]["label"]
diff --git a/tests/test_classifier_adapters.py b/tests/test_classifier_adapters.py
index 85f9dc1..9741949 100644
--- a/tests/test_classifier_adapters.py
+++ b/tests/test_classifier_adapters.py
@@ -180,3 +180,90 @@ def test_reranker_adapter_picks_highest_score():
 def test_reranker_adapter_descriptions_cover_all_labels():
     from scripts.classifier_adapters import LABEL_DESCRIPTIONS, LABELS
     assert set(LABEL_DESCRIPTIONS.keys()) == set(LABELS)
+
+
+# ---- FineTunedAdapter tests ----
+
+def test_finetuned_adapter_classify_calls_pipeline_with_sep_format(tmp_path):
+    """classify() must format input as 'subject [SEP] body[:400]' — not the zero-shot format."""
+    from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
+    from scripts.classifier_adapters import FineTunedAdapter
+
+    mock_result = [{"label": "digest", "score": 0.95}]
+    mock_pipe_instance = MagicMock(return_value=mock_result)
+    mock_pipe_factory = MagicMock(return_value=mock_pipe_instance)
+
+    adapter = FineTunedAdapter("avocet-deberta-small", str(tmp_path))
+    with patch("scripts.classifier_adapters.pipeline", mock_pipe_factory):
+        result = adapter.classify("Test subject", "Test body")
+
+    assert result == "digest"
+    call_args = mock_pipe_instance.call_args[0][0]
+    assert "[SEP]" in call_args
+    assert "Test subject" in call_args
+    assert "Test body" in call_args
+
+
+def test_finetuned_adapter_truncates_body_to_400():
+    """Body must be truncated to 400 chars in the [SEP] format."""
+    from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
+    from scripts.classifier_adapters import FineTunedAdapter, LABELS
+
+    long_body = "x" * 800
+    mock_result = [{"label": "neutral", "score": 0.9}]
+    mock_pipe_instance = MagicMock(return_value=mock_result)
+    mock_pipe_factory = MagicMock(return_value=mock_pipe_instance)
+
+    adapter = FineTunedAdapter("avocet-deberta-small", "/fake/path")
+    with patch("scripts.classifier_adapters.pipeline", mock_pipe_factory):
+        adapter.classify("Subject", long_body)
+
+    call_text = mock_pipe_instance.call_args[0][0]
+    # "Subject [SEP] " prefix + 400 body chars = 414 chars max
+    assert len(call_text) <= 420
+
+
+def test_finetuned_adapter_returns_label_string():
+    """classify() must return a plain string, not a dict."""
+    from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
+    from scripts.classifier_adapters import FineTunedAdapter
+
+    mock_result = [{"label": "interview_scheduled", "score": 0.87}]
+    mock_pipe_instance = MagicMock(return_value=mock_result)
+    mock_pipe_factory = MagicMock(return_value=mock_pipe_instance)
+
+    adapter = FineTunedAdapter("avocet-deberta-small", "/fake/path")
+    with patch("scripts.classifier_adapters.pipeline", mock_pipe_factory):
+        result = adapter.classify("S", "B")
+
+    assert isinstance(result, str)
+    assert result == "interview_scheduled"
+
+
+def test_finetuned_adapter_lazy_loads_pipeline():
+    """Pipeline factory must not be called until classify() is first called."""
+    from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
+    from scripts.classifier_adapters import FineTunedAdapter
+
+    mock_pipe_factory = MagicMock(return_value=MagicMock(return_value=[{"label": "neutral", "score": 0.9}]))
+
+    with patch("scripts.classifier_adapters.pipeline", mock_pipe_factory):
+        adapter = FineTunedAdapter("avocet-deberta-small", "/fake/path")
+        assert not mock_pipe_factory.called
+        adapter.classify("s", "b")
+        assert mock_pipe_factory.called
+
+
+def test_finetuned_adapter_unload_clears_pipeline():
+    """unload() must set _pipeline to None so memory is released."""
+    from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
+    from scripts.classifier_adapters import FineTunedAdapter
+
+    mock_pipe_factory = MagicMock(return_value=MagicMock(return_value=[{"label": "neutral", "score": 0.9}]))
+
+    with patch("scripts.classifier_adapters.pipeline", mock_pipe_factory):
+        adapter = FineTunedAdapter("avocet-deberta-small", "/fake/path")
+        adapter.classify("s", "b")
+        assert adapter._pipeline is not None
+        adapter.unload()
+        assert adapter._pipeline is None