diff --git a/docs/guides/linter.md b/docs/guides/linter.md
index 6cdac167ec..c9fc3407fe 100644
--- a/docs/guides/linter.md
+++ b/docs/guides/linter.md
@@ -126,6 +126,14 @@ Error: Linter detected errors in the code. Please fix them before proceeding.
 
 Use `sqlmesh lint --help` for more information.
 
+You can pass `--local` to run lint without loading state from the configured state connection:
+
+``` bash
+$ sqlmesh lint --local
+```
+
+This can make linting faster in repositories where all referenced models are loaded from local files. In multi-repository setups, or when linting only a subset of projects, `--local` may cause additional linting errors because SQLMesh will not resolve references or schemas from models that exist only in remote state.
+
 
 ## Applying linting rules
 
@@ -258,4 +266,4 @@ You may specify that a rule's violation should not error and only log a warning
     )
     ```
 
-SQLMesh will raise an error if the same rule is included in more than one of the `rules`, `warn_rules`, and `ignored_rules` keys since they should be mutually exclusive.
\ No newline at end of file
+SQLMesh will raise an error if the same rule is included in more than one of the `rules`, `warn_rules`, and `ignored_rules` keys since they should be mutually exclusive.
diff --git a/docs/reference/cli.md b/docs/reference/cli.md
index b65f8256ac..9b6e28fe14 100644
--- a/docs/reference/cli.md
+++ b/docs/reference/cli.md
@@ -650,6 +650,9 @@ Usage: sqlmesh lint [OPTIONS]
 
 Options:
   --model TEXT           A model to lint. Multiple models can be linted.  If no models are specified, every model will be linted.
+  --local                Lint using only locally loaded project files without loading state. In multi-repository setups, or when
+                         linting only a subset of projects, this may cause additional linting errors because SQLMesh will not resolve
+                         references or schemas from models that exist only in remote state.
   --help                 Show this message and exit.
 
-```
+```
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/sqlmesh/cli/main.py b/sqlmesh/cli/main.py
index b3c7a7027b..3c4a1ce359 100644
--- a/sqlmesh/cli/main.py
+++ b/sqlmesh/cli/main.py
@@ -118,6 +118,8 @@ def cli(
     load = True
     # Local-only gating must hold for any number of --paths, so it stays outside the block below.
     load_state = ctx.invoked_subcommand not in LOCAL_ONLY_COMMANDS
+    if ctx.invoked_subcommand == "lint" and "--local" in sys.argv:
+        load_state = False
 
     if len(paths) == 1:
         path = os.path.abspath(paths[0])
@@ -1194,6 +1196,12 @@ def environments(obj: Context) -> None:
     multiple=True,
     help="A model to lint. Multiple models can be linted. If no models are specified, every model will be linted.",
 )
+@click.option(
+    "--local",
+    is_flag=True,
+    expose_value=False,
+    help="Lint using only locally loaded project files without loading state.",
+)
 @click.pass_obj
 @error_handler
 @cli_analytics
diff --git a/tests/cli/test_cli.py b/tests/cli/test_cli.py
index 7138cf4cc2..c29617ceaf 100644
--- a/tests/cli/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/cli/test_cli.py
@@ -2305,6 +2305,25 @@ def test_lint_still_loads_state(runner: CliRunner, tmp_path: Path, mocker):
     assert mock.called, "state-sync was never accessed during `lint`"
 
 
+def test_lint_local_runs_without_state(runner: CliRunner, tmp_path: Path, mocker, monkeypatch):
+    mock = _setup_local_only_project(tmp_path, mocker)
+    init_spy = mocker.spy(Context, "__init__")
+    monkeypatch.setattr("sys.argv", ["sqlmesh", "--paths", str(tmp_path), "lint", "--local"])
+
+    result = runner.invoke(cli, ["--paths", str(tmp_path), "lint", "--local"])
+
+    assert result.exit_code == 0, f"Lint failed: {result.output}\nException: {result.exception}"
+    assert init_spy.called, "Context was never constructed"
+    for call in init_spy.call_args_list:
+        assert "load_state" in call.kwargs, (
+            "CLI didn't pass load_state= explicitly; missing kwarg defaults to True silently"
+        )
+        assert call.kwargs["load_state"] is False, (
+            f"Context was constructed with load_state={call.kwargs['load_state']} for `lint --local`"
+        )
+    mock.assert_not_called()
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("command", ["format"])
 def test_local_only_commands_skip_state_multiple_paths(
     runner: CliRunner, tmp_path: Path, mocker, command: str