diff --git a/modelopt/torch/utils/serialization.py b/modelopt/torch/utils/serialization.py
index da16f7514c..dc880b86b8 100644
--- a/modelopt/torch/utils/serialization.py
+++ b/modelopt/torch/utils/serialization.py
@@ -54,9 +54,11 @@ def safe_save(obj: Any, f: str | os.PathLike | BinaryIO, **kwargs) -> None:
 
 
 def safe_load(f: str | os.PathLike | BinaryIO | bytes, **kwargs) -> Any:
-    """Load a checkpoint securely using weights_only=True by default."""
-    kwargs.setdefault("weights_only", True)
+    """Load a checkpoint securely using ``weights_only=True`` by default.
 
+    NOTE: We dont set default ``weights_only`` (interpret as True for torch>=2.6) so you can override it with
+    ``export TORCH_FORCE_NO_WEIGHTS_ONLY_LOAD=1`` if you see ``pickle.UnpicklingError`` and trust the checkpoint.
+    """
     if isinstance(f, (bytes, bytearray)):
         f = BytesIO(f)
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/torch/utils/test_serialization.py b/tests/unit/torch/utils/test_serialization.py
index 32851d3a09..cb3233739c 100644
--- a/tests/unit/torch/utils/test_serialization.py
+++ b/tests/unit/torch/utils/test_serialization.py
@@ -16,7 +16,9 @@
 """Tests for Modelopt's serialization utilities."""
 
 from io import BytesIO
+from pickle import UnpicklingError
 
+import pytest
 import torch
 
 from modelopt.torch.opt.config import ModeloptBaseConfig
@@ -70,3 +72,25 @@ def test_safe_load_with_path(tmp_path):
     loaded_state = safe_load(file_path)
 
     assert loaded_state["data"] == 42
+
+
+class _UnsafeObj:
+    """Not registered in torch safe globals — unpickling fails with weights_only=True."""
+
+    def __init__(self, v):
+        self.v = v
+
+
+def test_safe_load_env_var_bypasses_weights_only(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """Verify TORCH_FORCE_NO_WEIGHTS_ONLY_LOAD=1 allows safe_load to load objects unsafe for weights_only."""
+    file_path = tmp_path / "unsafe.pt"
+    torch.save({"obj": _UnsafeObj(42)}, file_path)
+
+    # Always fails when weights_only is not set (default=True)
+    with pytest.raises(UnpicklingError):
+        safe_load(file_path)
+
+    # With the env var, safe_load (no explicit weights_only) defers to torch's default=False
+    monkeypatch.setenv("TORCH_FORCE_NO_WEIGHTS_ONLY_LOAD", "1")
+    loaded = safe_load(file_path)
+    assert loaded["obj"].v == 42