diff --git a/llms/mlx_lm/utils.py b/llms/mlx_lm/utils.py
index 229ee238..cffa2a89 100644
--- a/llms/mlx_lm/utils.py
+++ b/llms/mlx_lm/utils.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import shutil
 import time
 from pathlib import Path
 from textwrap import dedent
-from typing import Any, Callable, Dict, Generator, Optional, Tuple, Union
+from typing import Any, Callable, Dict, Generator, Optional, Tuple, Type, Union
 
 import mlx.core as mx
 import mlx.nn as nn
@@ -355,6 +355,7 @@ def load_model(
     model_path: Path,
     lazy: bool = False,
     model_config: dict = {},
+    get_model_classes: Callable[[dict], Tuple[Type[nn.Module], Type]] = _get_classes,
 ) -> nn.Module:
     """
     Load and initialize the model from a given path.
@@ -364,8 +365,11 @@ def load_model(
         lazy (bool): If False eval the model parameters to make sure they are
             loaded in memory before returning, otherwise they will be loaded
             when needed. Default: ``False``
-        model_config(dict, optional): Configuration parameters for the model.
+        model_config (dict, optional): Configuration parameters for the model.
             Defaults to an empty dictionary.
+        get_model_classes (Callable[[dict], Tuple[Type[nn.Module], Type]], optional):
+            A function that returns the model class and model args class given a config.
+            Defaults to the _get_classes function.
 
     Returns:
         nn.Module: The loaded and initialized model.
@@ -392,7 +396,7 @@ def load_model(
     for wf in weight_files:
         weights.update(mx.load(wf))
 
-    model_class, model_args_class = _get_classes(config=config)
+    model_class, model_args_class = get_model_classes(config=config)
 
     model_args = model_args_class.from_dict(config)
     model = model_class(model_args)
diff --git a/llms/tests/test_utils_load_model.py b/llms/tests/test_utils_load_model.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..73ee1352
--- /dev/null
+++ b/llms/tests/test_utils_load_model.py
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+import unittest
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import mlx.nn as nn
+from mlx_lm.models.qwen2 import Model as Qwen2Model
+from mlx_lm.utils import get_model_path, load_model
+
+HF_MODEL_PATH = "mlx-community/Qwen1.5-0.5B-Chat-4bit"
+
+
+class TestLoadModelCustomGetClasses(unittest.TestCase):
+
+    def test_load_model_with_custom_get_classes(self):
+        class CustomQwenModel(nn.Module):
+            def __init__(self, args):
+                super().__init__()
+                self.config = args
+                self.custom_attribute = "This is a custom model"
+
+            def load_weights(self, weights):
+                self.qwenWeights = weights
+
+        class CustomQwenConfig:
+            @classmethod
+            def from_dict(cls, config):
+                instance = cls()
+                for k, v in config.items():
+                    setattr(instance, k, v)
+                return instance
+
+        def custom_get_classes(config):
+            return CustomQwenModel, CustomQwenConfig
+
+        model_path = get_model_path(HF_MODEL_PATH)
+        model = load_model(model_path, get_model_classes=custom_get_classes)
+
+        self.assertIsInstance(model, CustomQwenModel)
+        self.assertTrue(hasattr(model, "custom_attribute"))
+        self.assertEqual(model.custom_attribute, "This is a custom model")
+        self.assertTrue(hasattr(model, "qwenWeights"))
+
+    def test_load_model_with_default_get_classes(self):
+        model_path = get_model_path(HF_MODEL_PATH)
+        model = load_model(model_path)
+
+        self.assertIsInstance(model, Qwen2Model)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()