diff --git a/nextcloud_mcp_server/document_processors/classifier.py b/nextcloud_mcp_server/document_processors/classifier.py
index 3b8f7b30..5d1c6035 100644
--- a/nextcloud_mcp_server/document_processors/classifier.py
+++ b/nextcloud_mcp_server/document_processors/classifier.py
@@ -152,13 +152,15 @@ def classify_pdf(content: bytes) -> DocClassification:
             text = page.get_text("text")
             quality = _text_quality(text)
             coverage = _page_image_coverage(page)
-            # A page that is mostly a raster image is a scan/photo: its content
-            # (handwriting, stamps, figure text) is not fully in any text layer,
-            # so OCR is needed to capture it -- regardless of whether a partial
-            # text layer is present. Text quality/char-count are kept as
-            # diagnostic signals (flags + tuning metrics), not the trigger,
-            # because OCR only helps when there is an image to read.
-            needs_ocr = coverage >= IMAGE_COVERAGE_SCANNED
+            # OCR-worthy on the same three signals as classify_from_text (kept in
+            # sync so an operator reproducing routing offline gets the pipeline's
+            # answer): a mostly-raster scan, a junk/low-quality text layer (the
+            # word-merging case), or an effectively empty text layer.
+            needs_ocr = (
+                coverage >= IMAGE_COVERAGE_SCANNED
+                or quality < MIN_TEXT_QUALITY
+                or len(text.strip()) < MIN_PAGE_CHARS
+            )
             pages.append(
                 PageSignals(n, len(text), round(coverage, 3), quality, needs_ocr)
             )
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_doc_classifier.py b/tests/unit/test_doc_classifier.py
index a29109e3..c810e1be 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_doc_classifier.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_doc_classifier.py
@@ -268,3 +268,19 @@ def test_image_coverage_per_page():
     assert len(scan) == 2 and all(c >= 0.8 for c in scan)
     digital = clf.image_coverage_per_page(_digital_pdf(pages=2))
     assert len(digital) == 2 and all(c < 0.1 for c in digital)
+
+
+def test_scan_coverage_shorter_than_pages_falls_back_to_text():
+    # image_coverage shorter than the boundaries (the MAX_SAMPLED_PAGES cap):
+    # page 0 is flagged scanned; later pages fall back to the text-quality signal.
+    n = len(_CLEAN)
+    full = _CLEAN * 3
+    bounds = [
+        {"page": 1, "start_offset": 0, "end_offset": n},
+        {"page": 2, "start_offset": n, "end_offset": 2 * n},
+        {"page": 3, "start_offset": 2 * n, "end_offset": 3 * n},
+    ]
+    c = clf.classify_from_text(full, bounds, image_coverage=[1.0])
+    assert c.pages[0].needs_ocr is True  # scanned (coverage)
+    assert c.pages[1].needs_ocr is False  # clean text, no coverage entry
+    assert c.recommended_tier == "fast"  # only 1/3 pages bad