diff --git a/backend/categorisation/handler/Dockerfile b/backend/categorisation/handler/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..46c8d477
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/categorisation/handler/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+FROM public.ecr.aws/lambda/python:3.11
+# For local running:
+# FROM python:3.11.10-bullseye
+
+ARG DEV_DB_HOST
+ARG DEV_DB_PORT
+ARG DEV_DB_NAME
+
+
+# Set working directory (Lambda task root)
+WORKDIR /var/task
+
+# Environment
+ENV DB_HOST=${DEV_DB_HOST}
+ENV DB_PORT=${DEV_DB_PORT}
+ENV DB_NAME=${DEV_DB_NAME}
+
+COPY backend/.env.test backend/.env
+
+# -----------------------------
+# Copy requirements FIRST (for Docker layer caching)
+# -----------------------------
+COPY backend/categorisation/handler/requirements.txt .
+
+# Install dependencies into Lambda runtime
+RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
+
+# -----------------------------
+# Copy application code
+# -----------------------------
+COPY utils/ utils/
+COPY backend/categorisation/ backend/categorisation/
+
+COPY backend/app/db/connection.py backend/app/db/connection.py
+COPY backend/app/config.py backend/app/config.py
+
+COPY backend/__init__.py backend/__init__.py
+COPY backend/app/__init__.py backend/app/__init__.py
+COPY backend/app/db/__init__.py backend/app/db/__init__.py
+
+
+# -----------------------------
+# Lambda handler
+# -----------------------------
+CMD ["backend/categorisation/handler/handler.handler"]
+# For local running
+# CMD ["python", "-m", "backend.categorisation.handler.handler"]
diff --git a/backend/categorisation/handler/handler.py b/backend/categorisation/handler/handler.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e74bfeb5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/categorisation/handler/handler.py
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+from typing import Any, Mapping
+from utils.logger import setup_logger
+
+
+logger = setup_logger()
+
+
+def handler(event: Mapping[str, Any], context: Any) -> None:
+
+    pass
diff --git a/backend/categorisation/handler/requirements.txt b/backend/categorisation/handler/requirements.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..48e5b561
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/categorisation/handler/requirements.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+sqlmodel
+pydantic-settings
+psycopg2-binary==2.9.10
\ No newline at end of file