diff --git a/crates/rutster/src/config.rs b/crates/rutster/src/config.rs
index 765f626..99a8e59 100644
--- a/crates/rutster/src/config.rs
+++ b/crates/rutster/src/config.rs
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 //! Closes 2026-07-04 scalability review "HTTP bind hardcoded" (minor).
 
 use std::net::{IpAddr, SocketAddr};
+use std::path::PathBuf;
 
 use rutster_media::MediaAddressConfig;
 use rutster_trunk::provider::TwilioCredentials;
@@ -222,6 +223,59 @@ pub fn twilio_credentials(
     }))
 }
 
+/// `RUTSTER_TLS_CERT` — filesystem path to the TLS certificate (PEM) used by
+/// the axum HTTPS surface (deploy slice C §5.4).
+///
+/// `None` means the operator did not enable HTTPS; `main.rs` will serve plain
+/// HTTP. `Some(path)` is validated to point at an existing regular file so a
+/// typo fails-fast at startup instead of failing mid-request.
+///
+/// This is a pure function over `Option<String>` (not a direct `std::env::var`
+/// call) so unit tests never mutate process env and never touch the real
+/// filesystem unless the test itself creates a tempfile.
+pub fn tls_cert_path(raw: Option<String>) -> Result<Option<PathBuf>, String> {
+    match raw {
+        None => Ok(None),
+        Some(s) => {
+            let p = PathBuf::from(s);
+            if !p.is_file() {
+                return Err(format!(
+                    "RUTSTER_TLS_CERT {:?}: file does not exist (or is not a regular file)",
+                    p.display()
+                ));
+            }
+            Ok(Some(p))
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// `RUTSTER_TLS_KEY` — filesystem path to the TLS private key (PEM) paired
+/// with [`tls_cert_path`].
+///
+/// `None` means HTTPS is disabled; `main.rs` will serve plain HTTP. When both
+/// `RUTSTER_TLS_CERT` and `RUTSTER_TLS_KEY` are `Some`, `main.rs` feeds the
+/// pair to `tokio_rustls` (or equivalent) to terminate TLS on the signaling
+/// surface. The mutual presence check lives in `main.rs`, not here — this
+/// parser only validates its own path.
+///
+/// Like the other parsers in this module, the function is pure over
+/// `Option<String>` so tests stay deterministic and env-free.
+pub fn tls_key_path(raw: Option<String>) -> Result<Option<PathBuf>, String> {
+    match raw {
+        None => Ok(None),
+        Some(s) => {
+            let p = PathBuf::from(s);
+            if !p.is_file() {
+                return Err(format!(
+                    "RUTSTER_TLS_KEY {:?}: file does not exist (or is not a regular file)",
+                    p.display()
+                ));
+            }
+            Ok(Some(p))
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
@@ -430,4 +484,35 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(err.contains("RUTSTER_TRUSTED_PROXIES"));
         assert!(err.contains("not-a-cidr"));
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn tls_cert_path_none_when_unset() {
+        assert!(tls_cert_path(None).unwrap().is_none());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn tls_cert_path_some_when_file_exists() {
+        let path = std::env::temp_dir().join("rutster_tls_cert_path_test.txt");
+        std::fs::write(&path, b"test cert").unwrap();
+        let result = tls_cert_path(Some(path.to_str().unwrap().to_string())).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(result, Some(path.clone()));
+        let _ = std::fs::remove_file(&path);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn tls_cert_path_rejects_missing_file_with_var_name_in_error() {
+        let err = tls_cert_path(Some("/nonexistent/cert.pem".into())).unwrap_err();
+        assert!(err.contains("RUTSTER_TLS_CERT"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn tls_key_path_none_when_unset() {
+        assert!(tls_key_path(None).unwrap().is_none());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn tls_key_path_rejects_missing_file_with_var_name_in_error() {
+        let err = tls_key_path(Some("/nonexistent/key.pem".into())).unwrap_err();
+        assert!(err.contains("RUTSTER_TLS_KEY"));
+    }
 }