diff --git a/access/config.py b/access/config.py
index 0883ead..5d9b2b3 100644
--- a/access/config.py
+++ b/access/config.py
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@ and configuration files with secure defaults.
 import os
 from typing import Optional
 from dataclasses import dataclass
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
+
+# Load environment variables from .env file
+load_dotenv()
 
 
 @dataclass
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 4bd9e95..96240b4 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ dependencies = [
     "utils>=1.0.2",
     "fastapi>=0.111.0",
     "uvicorn>=0.20.0",
+    "python-dotenv>=1.0.0",
 ]
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index 3fdc5a3..f203815 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -297,6 +297,15 @@ wheels = [
     { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/ee/49/1377b49de7d0c1ce41292161ea0f721913fa8722c19fb9c1e3aa0367eecb/pytest_cov-7.0.0-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:3b8e9558b16cc1479da72058bdecf8073661c7f57f7d3c5f22a1c23507f2d861", size = 22424, upload-time = "2025-09-09T10:57:00.695Z" },
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "python-dotenv"
+version = "1.1.1"
+source = { registry = "https://pypi.org/simple" }
+sdist = { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/f6/b0/4bc07ccd3572a2f9df7e6782f52b0c6c90dcbb803ac4a167702d7d0dfe1e/python_dotenv-1.1.1.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:a8a6399716257f45be6a007360200409fce5cda2661e3dec71d23dc15f6189ab", size = 41978, upload-time = "2025-06-24T04:21:07.341Z" }
+wheels = [
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/5f/ed/539768cf28c661b5b068d66d96a2f155c4971a5d55684a514c1a0e0dec2f/python_dotenv-1.1.1-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:31f23644fe2602f88ff55e1f5c79ba497e01224ee7737937930c448e4d0e24dc", size = 20556, upload-time = "2025-06-24T04:21:06.073Z" },
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "sniffio"
 version = "1.3.1"
@@ -366,6 +375,7 @@ dependencies = [
     { name = "db" },
     { name = "fastapi" },
     { name = "mysql-connector-python" },
+    { name = "python-dotenv" },
     { name = "utils" },
     { name = "uvicorn" },
 ]
@@ -389,6 +399,7 @@ requires-dist = [
     { name = "mysql-connector-python", specifier = ">=8.0.33" },
     { name = "pytest", marker = "extra == 'test'", specifier = ">=7.0.0" },
     { name = "pytest-cov", marker = "extra == 'test'", specifier = ">=4.0.0" },
+    { name = "python-dotenv", specifier = ">=1.0.0" },
     { name = "utils", specifier = ">=1.0.2" },
     { name = "uvicorn", specifier = ">=0.20.0" },
 ]