diff --git a/src/paperless/parsers/__init__.py b/src/paperless/parsers/__init__.py
index 7be3abadd..ea67ade00 100644
--- a/src/paperless/parsers/__init__.py
+++ b/src/paperless/parsers/__init__.py
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 from typing import Protocol
 from typing import Self
+from typing import TypedDict
 from typing import runtime_checkable
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
@@ -46,10 +47,32 @@ if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from types import TracebackType
 
 __all__ = [
+    "MetadataEntry",
     "ParserProtocol",
 ]
 
 
+class MetadataEntry(TypedDict):
+    """A single metadata field extracted from a document.
+
+    All four keys are required. Values are always serialised to strings —
+    type-specific conversion (dates, integers, lists) is the responsibility
+    of the parser before returning.
+    """
+
+    namespace: str
+    """URI of the metadata namespace (e.g. 'http://ns.adobe.com/pdf/1.3/')."""
+
+    prefix: str
+    """Conventional namespace prefix (e.g. 'pdf', 'xmp', 'dc')."""
+
+    key: str
+    """Field name within the namespace (e.g. 'Author', 'CreateDate')."""
+
+    value: str
+    """String representation of the field value."""
+
+
 @runtime_checkable
 class ParserProtocol(Protocol):
     """Structural contract for all Paperless-ngx document parsers.
@@ -281,6 +304,41 @@ class ParserProtocol(Protocol):
         """
         ...
 
+    def extract_metadata(
+        self,
+        document_path: Path,
+        mime_type: str,
+    ) -> list[MetadataEntry]:
+        """Extract format-specific metadata from the document.
+
+        Called by the API view layer on demand — not during the consumption
+        pipeline. Results are returned to the frontend for per-file display.
+
+        For documents with an archive version, this method is called twice:
+        once for the original file (with its native MIME type) and once for
+        the archive file (with ``"application/pdf"``). Parsers that produce
+        archives should handle both cases.
+
+        Implementations must not raise. A failure to read metadata is not
+        fatal — log a warning and return whatever partial results were
+        collected, or ``[]`` if none.
+
+        Parameters
+        ----------
+        document_path:
+            Absolute path to the file to extract metadata from.
+        mime_type:
+            MIME type of the file at ``document_path``. May be
+            ``"application/pdf"`` when called for the archive version.
+
+        Returns
+        -------
+        list[MetadataEntry]
+            Zero or more metadata entries. Returns ``[]`` if no metadata
+            could be extracted or the format does not support it.
+        """
+        ...
+
     # ------------------------------------------------------------------
     # Context manager
     # ------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/src/paperless/parsers/text.py b/src/paperless/parsers/text.py
index 9e4d89c85..99d9dab08 100644
--- a/src/paperless/parsers/text.py
+++ b/src/paperless/parsers/text.py
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ if TYPE_CHECKING:
     import datetime
     from types import TracebackType
 
+    from paperless.parsers import MetadataEntry
+
 logger = logging.getLogger("paperless.parsing.text")
 
 _SUPPORTED_MIME_TYPES: dict[str, str] = {
@@ -276,6 +278,20 @@ class TextDocumentParser:
         """
         return None
 
+    def extract_metadata(
+        self,
+        document_path: Path,
+        mime_type: str,
+    ) -> list[MetadataEntry]:
+        """Extract format-specific metadata from the document.
+
+        Returns
+        -------
+        list[MetadataEntry]
+            Always ``[]`` — plain text files carry no structured metadata.
+        """
+        return []
+
     # ------------------------------------------------------------------
     # Private helpers
     # ------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/src/paperless/tests/parsers/test_text_parser.py b/src/paperless/tests/parsers/test_text_parser.py
index 0b702eda2..d2f095f5c 100644
--- a/src/paperless/tests/parsers/test_text_parser.py
+++ b/src/paperless/tests/parsers/test_text_parser.py
@@ -189,6 +189,37 @@ class TestTextParserThumbnail:
         assert text_parser.get_page_count(sample_txt_file, "text/plain") is None
 
 
+class TestTextParserMetadata:
+    """Verify extract_metadata behaviour."""
+
+    def test_extract_metadata_returns_empty_list(
+        self,
+        text_parser: TextDocumentParser,
+        sample_txt_file: Path,
+    ) -> None:
+        result = text_parser.extract_metadata(sample_txt_file, "text/plain")
+
+        assert result == []
+
+    def test_extract_metadata_returns_list_type(
+        self,
+        text_parser: TextDocumentParser,
+        sample_txt_file: Path,
+    ) -> None:
+        result = text_parser.extract_metadata(sample_txt_file, "text/plain")
+
+        assert isinstance(result, list)
+
+    def test_extract_metadata_ignores_mime_type(
+        self,
+        text_parser: TextDocumentParser,
+        sample_txt_file: Path,
+    ) -> None:
+        """extract_metadata returns [] regardless of the mime_type argument."""
+        assert text_parser.extract_metadata(sample_txt_file, "application/pdf") == []
+        assert text_parser.extract_metadata(sample_txt_file, "text/csv") == []
+
+
 class TestTextParserRegistry:
     """Verify that TextDocumentParser is registered by default."""
 
diff --git a/src/paperless/tests/test_registry.py b/src/paperless/tests/test_registry.py
index 05b0d45a2..66c4baa45 100644
--- a/src/paperless/tests/test_registry.py
+++ b/src/paperless/tests/test_registry.py
@@ -66,7 +66,6 @@ def dummy_parser_cls() -> type:
             self,
             document_path: Path,
             mime_type: str,
-            file_name: str | None = None,
             *,
             produce_archive: bool = True,
         ) -> None:
@@ -85,7 +84,6 @@ def dummy_parser_cls() -> type:
             self,
             document_path: Path,
             mime_type: str,
-            file_name: str | None = None,
         ) -> Path:
             return Path("/tmp/thumbnail.webp")
 
@@ -96,6 +94,13 @@ def dummy_parser_cls() -> type:
         ) -> int | None:
             return None
 
+        def extract_metadata(
+            self,
+            document_path: Path,
+            mime_type: str,
+        ) -> list:
+            return []
+
         def __enter__(self) -> Self:
             return self