diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 73edeb5..177a965 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -119,6 +119,7 @@ This package allows you to configure various options for loading and managing co
 ### `ignoreServerIsOlderVersionError`
 - **Type**: `boolean`
 - **Optional**: `true`
+- **Default**: `false`
 - **Description**: Indicates whether to ignore the error when the server version is older than the requested version.
 - **Environment Variable**: `CONFIG_IGNORE_SERVER_IS_OLDER_VERSION_ERROR`
 
@@ -128,6 +129,13 @@ This package allows you to configure various options for loading and managing co
 - **Default**: `./config`
 - **Description**: The path to the local configuration folder.
 
+### `disableHotReload`
+- **Type**: `boolean`
+- **Optional**: `true`
+- **Default**: `false`
+- **Description**: Indicates whether hot-reloading should be disabled. If true, the SDK fetches the remote configuration exactly once upon startup and never starts the background polling loop.
+- **Environment Variable**: `CONFIG_DISABLE_HOT_RELOAD`
+
 ### `pollIntervalMs`
 - **Type**: `number`
 - **Optional**: `true`
@@ -150,6 +158,7 @@ The following environment variables can be used to configure the options:
 - `CONFIG_OFFLINE_MODE`: Sets the `offlineMode` option.
 - `CONFIG_IGNORE_SERVER_IS_OLDER_VERSION_ERROR`: Sets the `ignoreServerIsOlderVersionError` option.
 - `CONFIG_POLL_INTERVAL_MS`: Sets the `pollIntervalMs` option.
+- `CONFIG_DISABLE_HOT_RELOAD`: Sets the `disableHotReload` option.
 
 ## Configuration Merging and Validation
 
diff --git a/src/config.ts b/src/config.ts
index 2e68865..bca0bcb 100644
--- a/src/config.ts
+++ b/src/config.ts
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ export async function config<T extends { [typeSymbol]: unknown; $id: string }>(
   debug('config called with options: %j', { ...options, schema: options.schema.$id });
   const { schema: baseSchema, metricsRegistry, onChange, ...unvalidatedOptions } = options;
   const initOptions = initializeOptions(unvalidatedOptions);
-  const { configName, offlineMode, version, ignoreServerIsOlderVersionError } = initOptions;
+  const { configName, offlineMode, version, ignoreServerIsOlderVersionError, disableHotReload } = initOptions;
 
   // Load Local and Env Configs First (Independent of remote state)
   const dereferencedSchema = await loadSchema(baseSchema);
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ export async function config<T extends { [typeSymbol]: unknown; $id: string }>(
   let validatedConfig: ReturnType<typeof mergeAndValidate>;
 
   // Handle Remote Config and Polling
-  if (offlineMode !== true) {
+  if (!offlineMode) {
     debug('handling fetching remote data');
     // check if the server is using an older version of the schemas package
     const capabilitiesResponse = await getServerCapabilities();
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ export async function config<T extends { [typeSymbol]: unknown; $id: string }>(
         satisfies: semverSatisfies,
       });
     }
-    if (ignoreServerIsOlderVersionError !== true && gt(LOCAL_SCHEMAS_PACKAGE_VERSION, capabilitiesResponse.schemasPackageVersion)) {
+    if (!ignoreServerIsOlderVersionError && gt(LOCAL_SCHEMAS_PACKAGE_VERSION, capabilitiesResponse.schemasPackageVersion)) {
       debug(
         'server is using an older version of the schemas package. local: %s, remote: %s',
         LOCAL_SCHEMAS_PACKAGE_VERSION,
@@ -131,8 +131,10 @@ export async function config<T extends { [typeSymbol]: unknown; $id: string }>(
     validatedConfig = mergeAndValidate(remoteConfig);
 
     // Setup polling
-    changeDetector = new ChangeDetector(baseSchema.$id, initOptions, currentEtag, onChange);
-    changeDetector.start();
+    if (!disableHotReload) {
+      changeDetector = new ChangeDetector(baseSchema.$id, initOptions, currentEtag, onChange);
+      changeDetector.start();
+    }
   } else {
     // If offline, bypass remote and just merge local/env
     validatedConfig = mergeAndValidate({});
diff --git a/src/errors.ts b/src/errors.ts
index bcb1d37..d0732a9 100644
--- a/src/errors.ts
+++ b/src/errors.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ const configErrors = {
   schemaVersionMismatchError: { code: 7, payload: {} as { remoteSchemaVersion: string; localSchemaVersion: string } },
   promClientNotInstalledError: { code: 8, payload: {} as { message: string } },
   serverVersionMismatchError: { code: 9, payload: {} as { remoteServerVersion: string; localServerVersion: string; satisfies: string } },
+  onChangeCallbackMissingError: { code: 10, payload: {} },
   // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
 } as const satisfies Record<string, { code: number; payload: any }>;
 
diff --git a/src/metrics.ts b/src/metrics.ts
index d45b686..cc8547b 100644
--- a/src/metrics.ts
+++ b/src/metrics.ts
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ export function initializeMetrics(registry: Registry, schemaId: string, actualVe
       name: configName,
       request_version: version,
       actual_version: actualVersion,
-      offline_mode: String(offlineMode ?? false),
+      offline_mode: String(offlineMode),
       schemas_package_version: LOCAL_SCHEMAS_PACKAGE_VERSION,
       package_version: PACKAGE_VERSION,
       schema_id: schemaId,
diff --git a/src/options.ts b/src/options.ts
index a40893b..4fda7ca 100644
--- a/src/options.ts
+++ b/src/options.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@ const defaultOptions: BaseOptions = {
   configServerUrl: 'http://localhost:8080',
   version: 'latest',
   pollIntervalMs: 30000,
+  offlineMode: false,
+  ignoreServerIsOlderVersionError: false,
+  localConfigPath: './config',
+  disableHotReload: false,
   terminatePod: true,
 };
 
@@ -22,6 +26,7 @@ const envOptions: Partial<Record<keyof BaseOptions, string>> = {
   offlineMode: process.env.CONFIG_OFFLINE_MODE,
   ignoreServerIsOlderVersionError: process.env.CONFIG_IGNORE_SERVER_IS_OLDER_VERSION_ERROR,
   pollIntervalMs: process.env.CONFIG_POLL_INTERVAL_MS,
+  disableHotReload: process.env.CONFIG_DISABLE_HOT_RELOAD,
   terminatePod: process.env.CONFIG_TERMINATE_POD,
 };
 
diff --git a/src/rollout/ChangeDetector.ts b/src/rollout/ChangeDetector.ts
index 55c850e..8cc3fd3 100644
--- a/src/rollout/ChangeDetector.ts
+++ b/src/rollout/ChangeDetector.ts
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ export class ChangeDetector {
     if (this.timer) {
       clearTimeout(this.timer);
     }
-    const baseInterval = this.options.pollIntervalMs!;
+    const baseInterval = this.options.pollIntervalMs;
     const jitter = baseInterval * JITTER_PERCENTAGE;
     // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-magic-numbers
     const randomJitter = (Math.random() * 2 - 1) * jitter;
diff --git a/src/types.ts b/src/types.ts
index 014da30..ea3163d 100644
--- a/src/types.ts
+++ b/src/types.ts
@@ -56,21 +56,27 @@ export interface BaseOptions {
   /**
    * Indicates whether the configuration should be loaded in offline mode.
    */
-  offlineMode?: boolean;
+  offlineMode: boolean;
   /**
    * Indicates whether to ignore the error when the server version is older than the requested version.
    */
-  ignoreServerIsOlderVersionError?: boolean;
+  ignoreServerIsOlderVersionError: boolean;
   /**
    * The path to the local configuration folder.
    * @default './config'
    */
-  localConfigPath?: string;
+  localConfigPath: string;
   /**
    * The polling interval in milliseconds.
    * @default 30000
    */
-  pollIntervalMs?: number;
+  pollIntervalMs: number;
+  /**
+   * Indicates whether hot-reloading should be disabled.
+   * If true, the SDK fetches the remote configuration exactly once upon startup.
+   * @default false
+   */
+  disableHotReload: boolean;
   /**
    * Indicates whether the pod will be terminated after an update.
    * @default true
@@ -112,10 +118,11 @@ export const optionsSchema: JSONSchemaType<BaseOptions> = {
       ],
     },
     configServerUrl: { type: 'string' },
-    offlineMode: { type: 'boolean', nullable: true },
-    ignoreServerIsOlderVersionError: { type: 'boolean', nullable: true },
-    localConfigPath: { type: 'string', default: './config', nullable: true },
-    pollIntervalMs: { type: 'integer', default: 30000, nullable: true },
+    offlineMode: { type: 'boolean' },
+    ignoreServerIsOlderVersionError: { type: 'boolean' },
+    localConfigPath: { type: 'string', default: './config' },
+    pollIntervalMs: { type: 'integer', default: 30000 },
+    disableHotReload: { type: 'boolean', default: false },
     terminatePod: { type: 'boolean', default: true },
   },
 };
diff --git a/tests/config.spec.ts b/tests/config.spec.ts
index 4e6447c..753bab8 100644
--- a/tests/config.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/config.spec.ts
@@ -215,6 +215,8 @@ describe('config', () => {
         localConfigPath: './tests/config',
         offlineMode: true,
         pollIntervalMs: 3000,
+        disableHotReload: false,
+        ignoreServerIsOlderVersionError: false,
         terminatePod: true,
       });
     });
diff --git a/tests/rollout.spec.ts b/tests/rollout.spec.ts
index 4439b6c..04c0ff3 100644
--- a/tests/rollout.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/rollout.spec.ts
@@ -289,4 +289,32 @@ describe('Continuous Polling (ChangeDetector)', () => {
       expect(time).toBeLessThanOrEqual(maxWait);
     });
   });
+
+  it('should not start polling if disableHotReload is true', async () => {
+    // Arrange
+    const initialConfigData = createMockConfigData();
+
+    client
+      .intercept({ path: '/capabilities', method: 'GET' })
+      .reply(StatusCodes.OK, { serverVersion: '2.0.0', schemasPackageVersion: '99.9.9', pubSubEnabled: false });
+    client
+      .intercept({ path: `/config/name/1?shouldDereference=true&schemaId=${commonDbPartialV1.$id}`, method: 'GET' })
+      .reply(StatusCodes.OK, initialConfigData, { headers: { etag: 'etag-1' } });
+
+    // Act
+    await config({
+      configName: 'name',
+      version: 1,
+      schema: commonDbPartialV1,
+      localConfigPath: './tests/config',
+      onChange: onChangeMock,
+      disableHotReload: true,
+    });
+
+    // Advance time beyond the polling interval
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(DEFAULT_POLL_INTERVAL * (1 + JITTER_PERCENTAGE) + 1);
+
+    // Assert
+    expect(onChangeMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
 });