diff --git a/tests/test_tokenizer_utils.py b/tests/test_tokenizer_utils.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0b046e0c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_tokenizer_utils.py
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+"""Tests for tokenizer utility helpers."""
+
+import types
+from unittest.mock import patch
+
+
+def test_load_model_with_fallback_returns_successful_load_result():
+    from vllm_mlx.utils.tokenizer import load_model_with_fallback
+
+    fake_model = object()
+    fake_tokenizer = object()
+    fake_mlx_lm = types.SimpleNamespace(
+        load=lambda *args, **kwargs: (fake_model, fake_tokenizer)
+    )
+
+    with (
+        patch("vllm_mlx.utils.tokenizer._needs_tokenizer_fallback", return_value=False),
+        patch("vllm_mlx.utils.tokenizer._needs_strict_false", return_value=False),
+        patch("vllm_mlx.utils.tokenizer._try_inject_mtp_post_load"),
+        patch.dict("sys.modules", {"mlx_lm": fake_mlx_lm}),
+    ):
+        model, tokenizer = load_model_with_fallback("mlx-community/Qwen3.5-4B")
+
+    assert model is fake_model
+    assert tokenizer is fake_tokenizer
+
+
+def test_load_model_with_fallback_uses_tokenizer_fallback_for_tokenizer_errors():
+    from vllm_mlx.utils.tokenizer import load_model_with_fallback
+
+    fake_model = object()
+    fake_tokenizer = object()
+
+    def _raise(*args, **kwargs):
+        raise ValueError("Tokenizer class Foo does not exist")
+
+    fake_mlx_lm = types.SimpleNamespace(load=_raise)
+
+    with (
+        patch("vllm_mlx.utils.tokenizer._needs_tokenizer_fallback", return_value=False),
+        patch("vllm_mlx.utils.tokenizer._needs_strict_false", return_value=False),
+        patch("vllm_mlx.utils.tokenizer._try_inject_mtp_post_load"),
+        patch(
+            "vllm_mlx.utils.tokenizer._load_with_tokenizer_fallback",
+            return_value=(fake_model, fake_tokenizer),
+        ) as fallback,
+        patch.dict("sys.modules", {"mlx_lm": fake_mlx_lm}),
+    ):
+        model, tokenizer = load_model_with_fallback("example/model")
+
+    fallback.assert_called_once_with("example/model")
+    assert model is fake_model
+    assert tokenizer is fake_tokenizer