diff --git a/src/art/megatron/model_support/handlers/default_dense.py b/src/art/megatron/model_support/handlers/default_dense.py
index bb5cffaa..15e9e40c 100644
--- a/src/art/megatron/model_support/handlers/default_dense.py
+++ b/src/art/megatron/model_support/handlers/default_dense.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 import torch
 
 from art.megatron.model_support.spec import (
+    DEFAULT_DENSE_META,
     CompileWorkaroundConfig,
     LayerFamilyInstance,
     SharedExpertCompileState,
@@ -11,9 +12,9 @@
 
 
 class DefaultDenseHandler:
-    key = "default_dense"
+    key = DEFAULT_DENSE_META.key
     is_moe = False
-    native_vllm_lora_status = "disabled"
+    native_vllm_lora_status = DEFAULT_DENSE_META.native_vllm_lora_status
 
     def identity_lora_model_config(self, base_config: Any) -> Any:
         return base_config
diff --git a/src/art/megatron/model_support/handlers/qwen3_5.py b/src/art/megatron/model_support/handlers/qwen3_5.py
index 06ae9392..05dfd72c 100644
--- a/src/art/megatron/model_support/handlers/qwen3_5.py
+++ b/src/art/megatron/model_support/handlers/qwen3_5.py
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@
     _require_moe_experts,
 )
 from art.megatron.model_support.spec import (
+    QWEN3_5_DENSE_META,
+    QWEN3_5_MOE_META,
     CompileWorkaroundConfig,
     LayerFamilyInstance,
 )
@@ -38,8 +40,9 @@
 
 
 class Qwen35BaseHandler(DefaultDenseHandler):
+    # Abstract base; the two leaves below override `key` from their own meta.
     key = "qwen3_5_base"
-    native_vllm_lora_status = "validated"
+    native_vllm_lora_status = QWEN3_5_DENSE_META.native_vllm_lora_status
 
     def identity_lora_model_config(self, base_config: Any) -> Any:
         return getattr(base_config, "text_config", base_config)
@@ -364,11 +367,13 @@ def get_forward_kwargs(self, model: Any, **kwargs: Any) -> dict[str, Any]:
 
 
 class Qwen35DenseHandler(Qwen35BaseHandler):
-    key = "qwen3_5_dense"
+    key = QWEN3_5_DENSE_META.key
+    native_vllm_lora_status = QWEN3_5_DENSE_META.native_vllm_lora_status
 
 
 class Qwen35MoeHandler(Qwen35BaseHandler):
-    key = "qwen3_5_moe"
+    key = QWEN3_5_MOE_META.key
+    native_vllm_lora_status = QWEN3_5_MOE_META.native_vllm_lora_status
     is_moe = True
 
     def to_vllm_lora_tensors(
diff --git a/src/art/megatron/model_support/handlers/qwen3_dense.py b/src/art/megatron/model_support/handlers/qwen3_dense.py
index 5cf76e22..32d8e528 100644
--- a/src/art/megatron/model_support/handlers/qwen3_dense.py
+++ b/src/art/megatron/model_support/handlers/qwen3_dense.py
@@ -4,11 +4,12 @@
 from art.megatron.model_support.handlers.qwen3_common import (
     install_qwen3_text_preprocess_patch,
 )
+from art.megatron.model_support.spec import QWEN3_DENSE_META
 
 
 class Qwen3DenseHandler(DefaultDenseHandler):
-    key = "qwen3_dense"
-    native_vllm_lora_status = "validated"
+    key = QWEN3_DENSE_META.key
+    native_vllm_lora_status = QWEN3_DENSE_META.native_vllm_lora_status
 
     def install_preprocess_patch(self, model_chunks: Sequence[Any]) -> None:
         install_qwen3_text_preprocess_patch(model_chunks)
diff --git a/src/art/megatron/model_support/handlers/qwen3_moe.py b/src/art/megatron/model_support/handlers/qwen3_moe.py
index 61aa8fca..b9777fe7 100644
--- a/src/art/megatron/model_support/handlers/qwen3_moe.py
+++ b/src/art/megatron/model_support/handlers/qwen3_moe.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 from art.megatron.model_support.handlers.qwen3_common import (
     install_qwen3_text_preprocess_patch,
 )
-from art.megatron.model_support.spec import CompileWorkaroundConfig
+from art.megatron.model_support.spec import QWEN3_MOE_META, CompileWorkaroundConfig
 
 _QWEN3_MOE_COMPILE_WORKAROUND_FLAGS = (
     "alltoall_dtoh",
@@ -25,8 +25,8 @@
 
 
 class Qwen3MoeHandler(DefaultMoeHandler):
-    key = "qwen3_moe"
-    native_vllm_lora_status = "validated"
+    key = QWEN3_MOE_META.key
+    native_vllm_lora_status = QWEN3_MOE_META.native_vllm_lora_status
 
     def to_vllm_lora_tensors(
         self,
diff --git a/src/art/megatron/model_support/registry.py b/src/art/megatron/model_support/registry.py
index 910718ce..ef8cd842 100644
--- a/src/art/megatron/model_support/registry.py
+++ b/src/art/megatron/model_support/registry.py
@@ -1,16 +1,39 @@
-from art.megatron.model_support.handlers import (
-    DEFAULT_DENSE_HANDLER,
-    QWEN3_5_DENSE_HANDLER,
-    QWEN3_5_MOE_HANDLER,
-    QWEN3_DENSE_HANDLER,
-    QWEN3_MOE_HANDLER,
-)
+import importlib
+
 from art.megatron.model_support.spec import (
+    ALL_HANDLER_METAS,
+    DEFAULT_DENSE_META,
+    QWEN3_5_DENSE_META,
+    QWEN3_5_MOE_META,
+    QWEN3_DENSE_META,
+    QWEN3_MOE_META,
     DependencyFloor,
+    HandlerMeta,
     ModelSupportHandler,
     ModelSupportSpec,
 )
 
+# Handler modules top-level import megatron-core, so we keep the registry
+# importable without megatron-core by deferring those imports until something
+# actually needs a handler instance. The handler `key` / `native_vllm_lora_status`
+# values shared between spec construction (here) and the handler classes live
+# in `handler_meta.py`, which has no megatron dependency.
+_HANDLER_METAS_BY_KEY: dict[str, HandlerMeta] = {
+    meta.key: meta for meta in ALL_HANDLER_METAS
+}
+_HANDLERS_BY_KEY: dict[str, ModelSupportHandler] = {}
+
+
+def _load_handler(handler_key: str) -> ModelSupportHandler:
+    cached = _HANDLERS_BY_KEY.get(handler_key)
+    if cached is not None:
+        return cached
+    meta = _HANDLER_METAS_BY_KEY[handler_key]
+    handler = getattr(importlib.import_module(meta.module), meta.attr)
+    _HANDLERS_BY_KEY[handler_key] = handler
+    return handler
+
+
 _DENSE_TARGET_MODULES = (
     "q_proj",
     "k_proj",
@@ -48,15 +71,15 @@
 )
 
 DEFAULT_DENSE_SPEC = ModelSupportSpec(
-    key="default_dense",
-    handler_key=DEFAULT_DENSE_HANDLER.key,
+    key=DEFAULT_DENSE_META.key,
+    handler_key=DEFAULT_DENSE_META.key,
     default_target_modules=_DENSE_TARGET_MODULES,
-    native_vllm_lora_status=DEFAULT_DENSE_HANDLER.native_vllm_lora_status,
+    native_vllm_lora_status=DEFAULT_DENSE_META.native_vllm_lora_status,
 )
 
 QWEN3_MOE_SPEC = ModelSupportSpec(
-    key="qwen3_moe",
-    handler_key=QWEN3_MOE_HANDLER.key,
+    key=QWEN3_MOE_META.key,
+    handler_key=QWEN3_MOE_META.key,
     model_names=(
         "Qwen/Qwen3-30B-A3B",
         "Qwen/Qwen3-30B-A3B-Base",
@@ -64,12 +87,12 @@
         "Qwen/Qwen3-235B-A22B-Instruct-2507",
     ),
     default_target_modules=_QWEN3_MOE_TARGET_MODULES,
-    native_vllm_lora_status=QWEN3_MOE_HANDLER.native_vllm_lora_status,
+    native_vllm_lora_status=QWEN3_MOE_META.native_vllm_lora_status,
 )
 
 QWEN3_DENSE_SPEC = ModelSupportSpec(
-    key="qwen3_dense",
-    handler_key=QWEN3_DENSE_HANDLER.key,
+    key=QWEN3_DENSE_META.key,
+    handler_key=QWEN3_DENSE_META.key,
     model_names=(
         "Qwen/Qwen3-0.6B",
         "Qwen/Qwen3-0.6B-Base",
@@ -87,34 +110,34 @@
         "Qwen/Qwen3-32B-Base",
     ),
     default_target_modules=_DENSE_TARGET_MODULES,
-    native_vllm_lora_status=QWEN3_DENSE_HANDLER.native_vllm_lora_status,
+    native_vllm_lora_status=QWEN3_DENSE_META.native_vllm_lora_status,
 )
 
 QWEN3_5_DENSE_SPEC = ModelSupportSpec(
-    key="qwen3_5_dense",
-    handler_key=QWEN3_5_DENSE_HANDLER.key,
+    key=QWEN3_5_DENSE_META.key,
+    handler_key=QWEN3_5_DENSE_META.key,
     model_names=(
         "Qwen/Qwen3.5-4B",
         "Qwen/Qwen3.5-27B",
         "Qwen/Qwen3.6-27B",
     ),
     default_target_modules=_QWEN3_5_DENSE_TARGET_MODULES,
-    native_vllm_lora_status=QWEN3_5_DENSE_HANDLER.native_vllm_lora_status,
+    native_vllm_lora_status=QWEN3_5_DENSE_META.native_vllm_lora_status,
     dependency_floor=DependencyFloor(
         megatron_bridge="e049cc00c24d03e2ae45d2608c7a44e2d2364e3d",
     ),
 )
 
 QWEN3_5_MOE_SPEC = ModelSupportSpec(
-    key="qwen3_5_moe",
-    handler_key=QWEN3_5_MOE_HANDLER.key,
+    key=QWEN3_5_MOE_META.key,
+    handler_key=QWEN3_5_MOE_META.key,
     model_names=(
         "Qwen/Qwen3.5-35B-A3B",
         "Qwen/Qwen3.5-397B-A17B",
         "Qwen/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B",
     ),
     default_target_modules=_QWEN3_5_MOE_TARGET_MODULES,
-    native_vllm_lora_status=QWEN3_5_MOE_HANDLER.native_vllm_lora_status,
+    native_vllm_lora_status=QWEN3_5_MOE_META.native_vllm_lora_status,
     dependency_floor=DependencyFloor(
         megatron_bridge="e049cc00c24d03e2ae45d2608c7a44e2d2364e3d",
     ),
@@ -143,14 +166,6 @@
     for spec in PROBE_ONLY_MODEL_SUPPORT_SPECS
     for model_name in spec.model_names
 }
-_HANDLERS_BY_KEY: dict[str, ModelSupportHandler] = {
-    DEFAULT_DENSE_HANDLER.key: DEFAULT_DENSE_HANDLER,
-    QWEN3_DENSE_HANDLER.key: QWEN3_DENSE_HANDLER,
-    QWEN3_MOE_HANDLER.key: QWEN3_MOE_HANDLER,
-    QWEN3_5_DENSE_HANDLER.key: QWEN3_5_DENSE_HANDLER,
-    QWEN3_5_MOE_HANDLER.key: QWEN3_5_MOE_HANDLER,
-}
-
 QWEN3_DENSE_MODELS = frozenset(QWEN3_DENSE_SPEC.model_names)
 QWEN3_MOE_MODELS = frozenset(QWEN3_MOE_SPEC.model_names)
 QWEN3_5_DENSE_MODELS = frozenset(QWEN3_5_DENSE_SPEC.model_names)
@@ -195,7 +210,7 @@ def get_model_support_handler(
 def get_model_support_handler_for_spec(
     spec: ModelSupportSpec,
 ) -> ModelSupportHandler:
-    return _HANDLERS_BY_KEY[spec.handler_key]
+    return _load_handler(spec.handler_key)
 
 
 def default_target_modules_for_model(
@@ -216,7 +231,7 @@ def native_vllm_lora_status_for_model(
     *,
     allow_unvalidated_arch: bool = False,
 ) -> str:
-    return get_model_support_handler(
+    return get_model_support_spec(
         base_model,
         allow_unvalidated_arch=allow_unvalidated_arch,
     ).native_vllm_lora_status
diff --git a/src/art/megatron/model_support/spec.py b/src/art/megatron/model_support/spec.py
index 1e5858c8..612664c7 100644
--- a/src/art/megatron/model_support/spec.py
+++ b/src/art/megatron/model_support/spec.py
@@ -1,9 +1,66 @@
 from typing import Any, Literal, Protocol, Sequence
 
-from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
+from pydantic import BaseModel, ConfigDict, Field
 
 RolloutWeightsMode = Literal["lora", "merged"]
 NativeVllmLoraStatus = Literal["disabled", "wip", "validated"]
+
+
+class HandlerMeta(BaseModel):
+    """Single source of truth for a registered handler's key, status, and
+    lazy-load address. Kept megatron-free so the registry and spec layer can
+    be imported without `megatron-core` installed."""
+
+    model_config = ConfigDict(frozen=True)
+
+    key: str
+    native_vllm_lora_status: NativeVllmLoraStatus
+    module: str
+    attr: str
+
+
+DEFAULT_DENSE_META = HandlerMeta(
+    key="default_dense",
+    native_vllm_lora_status="disabled",
+    module="art.megatron.model_support.handlers.default_dense",
+    attr="DEFAULT_DENSE_HANDLER",
+)
+
+QWEN3_DENSE_META = HandlerMeta(
+    key="qwen3_dense",
+    native_vllm_lora_status="validated",
+    module="art.megatron.model_support.handlers.qwen3_dense",
+    attr="QWEN3_DENSE_HANDLER",
+)
+
+QWEN3_MOE_META = HandlerMeta(
+    key="qwen3_moe",
+    native_vllm_lora_status="validated",
+    module="art.megatron.model_support.handlers.qwen3_moe",
+    attr="QWEN3_MOE_HANDLER",
+)
+
+QWEN3_5_DENSE_META = HandlerMeta(
+    key="qwen3_5_dense",
+    native_vllm_lora_status="validated",
+    module="art.megatron.model_support.handlers.qwen3_5",
+    attr="QWEN3_5_DENSE_HANDLER",
+)
+
+QWEN3_5_MOE_META = HandlerMeta(
+    key="qwen3_5_moe",
+    native_vllm_lora_status="validated",
+    module="art.megatron.model_support.handlers.qwen3_5",
+    attr="QWEN3_5_MOE_HANDLER",
+)
+
+ALL_HANDLER_METAS: tuple[HandlerMeta, ...] = (
+    DEFAULT_DENSE_META,
+    QWEN3_DENSE_META,
+    QWEN3_MOE_META,
+    QWEN3_5_DENSE_META,
+    QWEN3_5_MOE_META,
+)
 SharedExpertCompileState = Literal[
     "none",
     "shared_experts",