diff --git a/src/ocrmypdf/_jobcontext.py b/src/ocrmypdf/_jobcontext.py
index b1c775d9..798650ff 100644
--- a/src/ocrmypdf/_jobcontext.py
+++ b/src/ocrmypdf/_jobcontext.py
@@ -10,9 +10,11 @@ from argparse import Namespace
 from collections.abc import Iterator
 from copy import copy
 from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Union
 
 from pluggy import PluginManager
 
+from ocrmypdf._options import OCROptions
 from ocrmypdf.pdfinfo import PdfInfo
 from ocrmypdf.pdfinfo.info import PageInfo
 
@@ -20,25 +22,38 @@ from ocrmypdf.pdfinfo.info import PageInfo
 class PdfContext:
     """Holds the context for a particular run of the pipeline."""
 
-    options: Namespace  #: The specified options for processing this PDF.
+    options: Union[Namespace, OCROptions]  #: The specified options for processing this PDF.
     origin: Path  #: The filename of the original input file.
     pdfinfo: PdfInfo  #: Detailed data for this PDF.
     plugin_manager: PluginManager  #: PluginManager for processing the current PDF.
 
     def __init__(
         self,
-        options: Namespace,
+        options: Union[Namespace, OCROptions],
         work_folder: Path,
         origin: Path,
         pdfinfo: PdfInfo,
         plugin_manager,
     ):
-        self.options = options
+        # Accept both types during transition
+        if isinstance(options, Namespace):
+            self.options = OCROptions.from_namespace(options)
+            self._legacy_options = options
+        else:
+            self.options = options
+            self._legacy_options = None
         self.work_folder = work_folder
         self.origin = origin
         self.pdfinfo = pdfinfo
         self.plugin_manager = plugin_manager
 
+    @property
+    def legacy_options(self) -> Namespace:
+        """Provide Namespace for plugin compatibility."""
+        if self._legacy_options is None:
+            self._legacy_options = self.options.to_namespace()
+        return self._legacy_options
+
     def get_path(self, name: str) -> Path:
         """Generate a ``Path`` for an intermediate file involved in processing.
 
@@ -67,7 +82,7 @@ class PageContext:
     capable of their serializing themselves via ``__getstate__``.
     """
 
-    options: Namespace  #: The specified options for processing this PDF.
+    options: Union[Namespace, OCROptions]  #: The specified options for processing this PDF.
     origin: Path  #: The filename of the original input file.
     pageno: int  #: This page number (zero-based).
     pageinfo: PageInfo  #: Information on this page.
@@ -93,8 +108,11 @@ class PageContext:
         state = self.__dict__.copy()
 
         state['options'] = copy(self.options)
-        if not isinstance(state['options'].input_file, str | bytes | os.PathLike):
-            state['options'].input_file = 'stream'
-        if not isinstance(state['options'].output_file, str | bytes | os.PathLike):
-            state['options'].output_file = 'stream'
+        # Handle both OCROptions and Namespace
+        if hasattr(state['options'], 'input_file'):
+            if not isinstance(state['options'].input_file, str | bytes | os.PathLike):
+                state['options'].input_file = 'stream'
+        if hasattr(state['options'], 'output_file'):
+            if not isinstance(state['options'].output_file, str | bytes | os.PathLike):
+                state['options'].output_file = 'stream'
         return state
diff --git a/src/ocrmypdf/_options.py b/src/ocrmypdf/_options.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5de82f1c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ocrmypdf/_options.py
@@ -0,0 +1,228 @@
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2024 James R. Barlow
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: MPL-2.0
+
+"""Internal options model for OCRmyPDF."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+from argparse import Namespace
+from collections.abc import Iterable, Sequence
+from copy import copy
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Any, BinaryIO, Union
+
+from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, validator
+
+from ocrmypdf._defaults import DEFAULT_LANGUAGE, DEFAULT_ROTATE_PAGES_THRESHOLD
+
+PathOrIO = Union[BinaryIO, Path, str, bytes]
+
+
+class OCROptions(BaseModel):
+    """Internal options model that can masquerade as argparse.Namespace.
+    
+    This model provides proper typing and validation while maintaining
+    compatibility with existing code that expects argparse.Namespace behavior.
+    """
+    
+    # I/O options
+    input_file: PathOrIO
+    output_file: PathOrIO
+    sidecar: PathOrIO | None = None
+    
+    # Core OCR options
+    languages: list[str] = Field(default_factory=lambda: [DEFAULT_LANGUAGE])
+    output_type: str = 'pdfa'
+    force_ocr: bool = False
+    skip_text: bool = False
+    redo_ocr: bool = False
+    
+    # Job control
+    jobs: int | None = None
+    use_threads: bool = True
+    progress_bar: bool = True
+    quiet: bool = False
+    verbose: int = 0
+    keep_temporary_files: bool = False
+    
+    # Image processing
+    image_dpi: int | None = None
+    deskew: bool = False
+    clean: bool = False
+    clean_final: bool = False
+    rotate_pages: bool = False
+    remove_background: bool = False
+    remove_vectors: bool = False
+    oversample: int = 0
+    unpaper_args: str | None = None
+    
+    # OCR behavior
+    skip_big: float | None = None
+    pages: str | None = None
+    invalidate_digital_signatures: bool = False
+    
+    # Metadata
+    title: str | None = None
+    author: str | None = None
+    subject: str | None = None
+    keywords: str | None = None
+    
+    # Optimization
+    optimize: int | None = None
+    jpg_quality: int | None = None
+    png_quality: int | None = None
+    jbig2_lossy: bool | None = None
+    jbig2_page_group_size: int | None = None
+    jbig2_threshold: float | None = None
+    
+    # Advanced options
+    max_image_mpixels: float = 250.0
+    pdf_renderer: str = 'auto'
+    tesseract_config: Iterable[str] | None = None
+    tesseract_pagesegmode: int | None = None
+    tesseract_oem: int | None = None
+    tesseract_thresholding: int | None = None
+    tesseract_timeout: float | None = None
+    tesseract_non_ocr_timeout: float | None = None
+    tesseract_downsample_above: int | None = None
+    tesseract_downsample_large_images: bool | None = None
+    rotate_pages_threshold: float = DEFAULT_ROTATE_PAGES_THRESHOLD
+    pdfa_image_compression: str | None = None
+    color_conversion_strategy: str | None = None
+    user_words: os.PathLike | None = None
+    user_patterns: os.PathLike | None = None
+    fast_web_view: float | None = None
+    continue_on_soft_render_error: bool | None = None
+    
+    # Plugin system
+    plugins: Sequence[Path | str] | None = None
+    
+    # Store any extra attributes (for plugins and dynamic options)
+    _extra_attrs: dict[str, Any] = Field(default_factory=dict, exclude=True)
+    
+    def __getattr__(self, name: str) -> Any:
+        """Allow attribute access like argparse.Namespace."""
+        if name in self._extra_attrs:
+            return self._extra_attrs[name]
+        raise AttributeError(f"'{type(self).__name__}' object has no attribute '{name}'")
+    
+    def __setattr__(self, name: str, value: Any) -> None:
+        """Allow attribute setting like argparse.Namespace."""
+        if name.startswith('_') or name in self.__fields__:
+            super().__setattr__(name, value)
+        else:
+            if not hasattr(self, '_extra_attrs'):
+                super().__setattr__('_extra_attrs', {})
+            self._extra_attrs[name] = value
+    
+    def __delattr__(self, name: str) -> None:
+        """Allow attribute deletion like argparse.Namespace."""
+        if name in self.__fields__:
+            super().__delattr__(name)
+        elif name in self._extra_attrs:
+            del self._extra_attrs[name]
+        else:
+            raise AttributeError(f"'{type(self).__name__}' object has no attribute '{name}'")
+    
+    @classmethod
+    def from_namespace(cls, ns: Namespace) -> OCROptions:
+        """Convert argparse.Namespace to OCROptions."""
+        # Extract known fields
+        known_fields = {}
+        extra_attrs = {}
+        
+        for key, value in vars(ns).items():
+            if key in cls.__fields__:
+                known_fields[key] = value
+            else:
+                extra_attrs[key] = value
+        
+        instance = cls(**known_fields)
+        instance._extra_attrs = extra_attrs
+        return instance
+    
+    def to_namespace(self) -> Namespace:
+        """Convert back to argparse.Namespace for compatibility."""
+        ns = Namespace()
+        
+        # Add pydantic fields
+        for field_name in self.__fields__:
+            field_value = getattr(self, field_name)
+            setattr(ns, field_name, field_value)
+        
+        # Add extra attributes
+        for key, value in self._extra_attrs.items():
+            setattr(ns, key, value)
+        
+        return ns
+    
+    @validator('languages')
+    def validate_languages(cls, v):
+        """Ensure languages list is not empty."""
+        if not v:
+            return [DEFAULT_LANGUAGE]
+        return v
+    
+    @validator('output_type')
+    def validate_output_type(cls, v):
+        """Validate output type is one of the allowed values."""
+        valid_types = {'pdfa', 'pdf', 'pdfa-1', 'pdfa-2', 'pdfa-3', 'none'}
+        if v not in valid_types:
+            raise ValueError(f"output_type must be one of {valid_types}")
+        return v
+    
+    @validator('pdf_renderer')
+    def validate_pdf_renderer(cls, v):
+        """Validate PDF renderer is one of the allowed values."""
+        valid_renderers = {'auto', 'hocr', 'sandwich', 'hocrdebug'}
+        if v not in valid_renderers:
+            raise ValueError(f"pdf_renderer must be one of {valid_renderers}")
+        return v
+    
+    @validator('clean_final')
+    def validate_clean_final(cls, v, values):
+        """If clean_final is True, also set clean to True."""
+        if v and 'clean' in values:
+            values['clean'] = True
+        return v
+    
+    @validator('jobs')
+    def validate_jobs(cls, v):
+        """Validate jobs is a reasonable number."""
+        if v is not None and (v < 0 or v > 256):
+            raise ValueError("jobs must be between 0 and 256")
+        return v
+    
+    @validator('verbose')
+    def validate_verbose(cls, v):
+        """Validate verbose level."""
+        if v < 0 or v > 2:
+            raise ValueError("verbose must be between 0 and 2")
+        return v
+    
+    @validator('oversample')
+    def validate_oversample(cls, v):
+        """Validate oversample DPI."""
+        if v < 0 or v > 5000:
+            raise ValueError("oversample must be between 0 and 5000")
+        return v
+    
+    @validator('max_image_mpixels')
+    def validate_max_image_mpixels(cls, v):
+        """Validate max image megapixels."""
+        if v < 0:
+            raise ValueError("max_image_mpixels must be non-negative")
+        return v
+    
+    @validator('rotate_pages_threshold')
+    def validate_rotate_pages_threshold(cls, v):
+        """Validate rotate pages threshold."""
+        if v < 0 or v > 1000:
+            raise ValueError("rotate_pages_threshold must be between 0 and 1000")
+        return v
+    
+    class Config:
+        extra = "forbid"  # Force use of _extra_attrs for unknown fields
+        arbitrary_types_allowed = True  # Allow BinaryIO, Path, etc.
+        validate_assignment = True  # Validate on attribute assignment
diff --git a/src/ocrmypdf/_validation.py b/src/ocrmypdf/_validation.py
index 76f9b7a4..fa16f516 100644
--- a/src/ocrmypdf/_validation.py
+++ b/src/ocrmypdf/_validation.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ from argparse import Namespace
 from collections.abc import Sequence
 from pathlib import Path
 from shutil import copyfileobj
+from typing import Union
 
 import pikepdf
 import PIL
@@ -22,6 +23,7 @@ from pluggy import PluginManager
 
 from ocrmypdf._defaults import DEFAULT_LANGUAGE, DEFAULT_ROTATE_PAGES_THRESHOLD
 from ocrmypdf._exec import unpaper
+from ocrmypdf._options import OCROptions
 from ocrmypdf.exceptions import (
     BadArgsError,
     InputFileError,
@@ -51,7 +53,7 @@ def check_platform() -> None:
 
 
 def check_options_languages(
-    options: Namespace, ocr_engine_languages: list[str]
+    options: Union[Namespace, OCROptions], ocr_engine_languages: list[str]
 ) -> None:
     if not options.languages:
         options.languages = [DEFAULT_LANGUAGE]
@@ -81,7 +83,7 @@ def check_options_languages(
         raise MissingDependencyError(msg)
 
 
-def check_options_output(options: Namespace) -> None:
+def check_options_output(options: Union[Namespace, OCROptions]) -> None:
     if options.output_type == 'none' and options.output_file not in (os.devnull, '-'):
         raise BadArgsError(
             "Since you specified `--output-type none`, the output file "
@@ -90,7 +92,7 @@ def check_options_output(options: Namespace) -> None:
         )
 
 
-def set_lossless_reconstruction(options: Namespace) -> None:
+def set_lossless_reconstruction(options: Union[Namespace, OCROptions]) -> None:
     lossless_reconstruction = False
     if not any(
         (
@@ -110,7 +112,7 @@ def set_lossless_reconstruction(options: Namespace) -> None:
         )
 
 
-def check_options_sidecar(options: Namespace) -> None:
+def check_options_sidecar(options: Union[Namespace, OCROptions]) -> None:
     if options.sidecar == '\0':
         if options.output_file == '-':
             raise BadArgsError("--sidecar filename needed when output file is stdout.")
@@ -125,7 +127,7 @@ def check_options_sidecar(options: Namespace) -> None:
         )
 
 
-def check_options_preprocessing(options: Namespace) -> None:
+def check_options_preprocessing(options: Union[Namespace, OCROptions]) -> None:
     if options.clean_final:
         options.clean = True
     if options.unpaper_args and not options.clean:
@@ -191,7 +193,7 @@ def _pages_from_ranges(ranges: str) -> set[int]:
     return set(pages)
 
 
-def check_options_ocr_behavior(options: Namespace) -> None:
+def check_options_ocr_behavior(options: Union[Namespace, OCROptions]) -> None:
     exclusive_options = sum(
         (1 if opt else 0)
         for opt in (options.force_ocr, options.skip_text, options.redo_ocr)
@@ -202,7 +204,7 @@ def check_options_ocr_behavior(options: Namespace) -> None:
         options.pages = _pages_from_ranges(options.pages)
 
 
-def check_options_metadata(options: Namespace) -> None:
+def check_options_metadata(options: Union[Namespace, OCROptions]) -> None:
     docinfo = [options.title, options.author, options.keywords, options.subject]
     for s in (m for m in docinfo if m):
         for char in s:
@@ -215,13 +217,13 @@ def check_options_metadata(options: Namespace) -> None:
                 )
 
 
-def check_options_pillow(options: Namespace) -> None:
+def check_options_pillow(options: Union[Namespace, OCROptions]) -> None:
     PIL.Image.MAX_IMAGE_PIXELS = int(options.max_image_mpixels * 1_000_000)
     if PIL.Image.MAX_IMAGE_PIXELS == 0:
         PIL.Image.MAX_IMAGE_PIXELS = None  # type: ignore
 
 
-def _check_plugin_invariant_options(options: Namespace) -> None:
+def _check_plugin_invariant_options(options: Union[Namespace, OCROptions]) -> None:
     check_platform()
     check_options_metadata(options)
     check_options_output(options)
@@ -232,18 +234,23 @@ def _check_plugin_invariant_options(options: Namespace) -> None:
     check_options_pillow(options)
 
 
-def _check_plugin_options(options: Namespace, plugin_manager: PluginManager) -> None:
-    plugin_manager.hook.check_options(options=options)
-    ocr_engine_languages = plugin_manager.hook.get_ocr_engine().languages(options)
+def _check_plugin_options(options: Union[Namespace, OCROptions], plugin_manager: PluginManager) -> None:
+    # Convert to Namespace for plugin compatibility during transition
+    if isinstance(options, OCROptions):
+        legacy_options = options.to_namespace()
+    else:
+        legacy_options = options
+    plugin_manager.hook.check_options(options=legacy_options)
+    ocr_engine_languages = plugin_manager.hook.get_ocr_engine().languages(legacy_options)
     check_options_languages(options, ocr_engine_languages)
 
 
-def check_options(options: Namespace, plugin_manager: PluginManager) -> None:
+def check_options(options: Union[Namespace, OCROptions], plugin_manager: PluginManager) -> None:
     _check_plugin_invariant_options(options)
     _check_plugin_options(options, plugin_manager)
 
 
-def create_input_file(options: Namespace, work_folder: Path) -> tuple[Path, str]:
+def create_input_file(options: Union[Namespace, OCROptions], work_folder: Path) -> tuple[Path, str]:
     if options.input_file == '-':
         # stdin
         log.info('reading file from standard input')
@@ -288,7 +295,7 @@ def create_input_file(options: Namespace, work_folder: Path) -> tuple[Path, str]
             raise InputFileError(msg) from e
 
 
-def check_requested_output_file(options: Namespace) -> None:
+def check_requested_output_file(options: Union[Namespace, OCROptions]) -> None:
     if options.output_file == '-':
         if sys.stdout.isatty():
             raise BadArgsError(
@@ -306,7 +313,7 @@ def check_requested_output_file(options: Namespace) -> None:
 
 
 def report_output_file_size(
-    options: Namespace,
+    options: Union[Namespace, OCROptions],
     input_file: Path,
     output_file: Path,
     optimize_messages: Sequence[str] | None = None,
diff --git a/src/ocrmypdf/api.py b/src/ocrmypdf/api.py
index 0d737aef..87037073 100644
--- a/src/ocrmypdf/api.py
+++ b/src/ocrmypdf/api.py
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ from warnings import warn
 import pluggy
 
 from ocrmypdf._logging import PageNumberFilter
+from ocrmypdf._options import OCROptions
 from ocrmypdf._pipelines.hocr_to_ocr_pdf import run_hocr_to_ocr_pdf_pipeline
 from ocrmypdf._pipelines.ocr import run_pipeline, run_pipeline_cli
 from ocrmypdf._pipelines.pdf_to_hocr import run_hocr_pipeline
@@ -216,7 +217,7 @@ def _kwargs_to_cmdline(
 
 def create_options(
     *, input_file: PathOrIO, output_file: PathOrIO, parser: ArgumentParser, **kwargs
-) -> Namespace:
+) -> OCROptions:
     """Construct an options object from the input/output files and keyword arguments.
 
     Args:
@@ -226,7 +227,7 @@ def create_options(
         **kwargs: Keyword arguments.
 
     Returns:
-        argparse.Namespace: A Namespace object containing the parsed arguments.
+        OCROptions: An options object containing the parsed arguments.
 
     Raises:
         TypeError: If the type of a keyword argument is not supported.
@@ -248,17 +249,19 @@ def create_options(
         cmdline.append('stream://sidecar')
 
     parser.enable_api_mode()
-    options = parser.parse_args(cmdline)
+    namespace_options = parser.parse_args(cmdline)
     for keyword, val in deferred.items():
-        setattr(options, keyword, val)
+        setattr(namespace_options, keyword, val)
 
-    if options.input_file == 'stream://input_file':
-        options.input_file = input_file
-    if options.output_file == 'stream://output_file':
-        options.output_file = output_file
-    if options.sidecar == 'stream://sidecar':
-        options.sidecar = kwargs['sidecar']
+    if namespace_options.input_file == 'stream://input_file':
+        namespace_options.input_file = input_file
+    if namespace_options.output_file == 'stream://output_file':
+        namespace_options.output_file = output_file
+    if namespace_options.sidecar == 'stream://sidecar':
+        namespace_options.sidecar = kwargs['sidecar']
 
+    # Convert to OCROptions
+    options = OCROptions.from_namespace(namespace_options)
     return options