diff --git a/.env.test b/.env.test
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c92fc898
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env.test
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+NODE_ENV=test
+MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/tractatus_test
+MONGODB_DB=tractatus_test
+JWT_SECRET=test_secret_for_testing_only
+JWT_EXPIRY=7d
+ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@tractatus.test
+PORT=9001
+LOG_LEVEL=error
+CLAUDE_API_KEY=test_placeholder_key
+ENABLE_AI_CURATION=false
+ENABLE_MEDIA_TRIAGE=false
+ENABLE_CASE_SUBMISSIONS=false
diff --git a/jest.config.js b/jest.config.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f8c03092
--- /dev/null
+++ b/jest.config.js
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+/**
+ * Jest Configuration
+ */
+
+module.exports = {
+  // Test environment
+  testEnvironment: 'node',
+
+  // Setup files to run before tests
+  setupFiles: ['<rootDir>/tests/setup.js'],
+
+  // Coverage configuration
+  collectCoverageFrom: [
+    'src/**/*.js',
+    '!src/server.js',
+    '!**/node_modules/**',
+    '!**/tests/**'
+  ],
+
+  // Coverage thresholds (aspirational)
+  coverageThresholds: {
+    global: {
+      branches: 40,
+      functions: 35,
+      lines: 45,
+      statements: 45
+    }
+  },
+
+  // Test match patterns
+  testMatch: [
+    '**/tests/**/*.test.js'
+  ],
+
+  // Verbose output
+  verbose: true,
+
+  // Test timeout (increased for integration tests)
+  testTimeout: 10000
+};
diff --git a/scripts/clean-test-db.js b/scripts/clean-test-db.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..98a25408
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/clean-test-db.js
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+/**
+ * Clean Test Database
+ * Removes all data from the test database before running tests
+ *
+ * Usage:
+ *   node scripts/clean-test-db.js
+ *   npm run test:clean  (if script added to package.json)
+ */
+
+const path = require('path');
+require('dotenv').config({ path: path.resolve(__dirname, '../.env.test') });
+
+const { MongoClient } = require('mongodb');
+const config = require('../src/config/app.config');
+
+async function cleanTestDatabase() {
+  console.log('🧹 Cleaning test database...\n');
+
+  // Safety check
+  if (config.env !== 'test') {
+    console.error('❌ ERROR: NODE_ENV must be "test"');
+    console.error(`   Current: ${config.env}`);
+    process.exit(1);
+  }
+
+  if (!config.mongodb.db.includes('test')) {
+    console.error('❌ ERROR: Database name must contain "test"');
+    console.error(`   Current: ${config.mongodb.db}`);
+    process.exit(1);
+  }
+
+  const connection = await MongoClient.connect(config.mongodb.uri);
+  const db = connection.db(config.mongodb.db);
+
+  try {
+    console.log(`📊 Database: ${config.mongodb.db}`);
+    console.log(`🔗 URI: ${config.mongodb.uri}\n`);
+
+    // Get all collections
+    const collections = await db.listCollections().toArray();
+    console.log(`Found ${collections.length} collections\n`);
+
+    if (collections.length === 0) {
+      console.log('✨ Database is already empty\n');
+      await connection.close();
+      return;
+    }
+
+    // Clean each collection
+    for (const collection of collections) {
+      const count = await db.collection(collection.name).countDocuments();
+      if (count > 0) {
+        await db.collection(collection.name).deleteMany({});
+        console.log(`  ✓ Cleaned ${collection.name} (${count} documents)`);
+      } else {
+        console.log(`  · Skipped ${collection.name} (empty)`);
+      }
+    }
+
+    console.log(`\n✅ Test database cleaned successfully\n`);
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error('\n❌ ERROR:', error.message);
+    process.exit(1);
+  } finally {
+    await connection.close();
+  }
+}
+
+// Run if called directly
+if (require.main === module) {
+  cleanTestDatabase().catch(error => {
+    console.error('Fatal error:', error);
+    process.exit(1);
+  });
+}
+
+module.exports = { cleanTestDatabase };
diff --git a/tests/helpers/cleanup.js b/tests/helpers/cleanup.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..26eb82f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/helpers/cleanup.js
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+/**
+ * Test Cleanup Helper
+ * Provides utilities for cleaning up test data between runs
+ */
+
+const { MongoClient } = require('mongodb');
+const config = require('../../src/config/app.config');
+
+/**
+ * Clean all collections in the test database
+ * @returns {Promise<void>}
+ */
+async function cleanTestDatabase() {
+  const connection = await MongoClient.connect(config.mongodb.uri);
+  const db = connection.db(config.mongodb.db);
+
+  try {
+    // Only clean if we're in test environment
+    if (config.env !== 'test' || !config.mongodb.db.includes('test')) {
+      throw new Error('cleanTestDatabase() can only be used with test databases');
+    }
+
+    // Get all collections
+    const collections = await db.listCollections().toArray();
+
+    // Drop each collection
+    for (const collection of collections) {
+      await db.collection(collection.name).deleteMany({});
+    }
+
+    console.log(`✓ Cleaned ${collections.length} collections in ${config.mongodb.db}`);
+  } finally {
+    await connection.close();
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Clean specific test documents by slug pattern
+ * @param {string} slugPattern - Pattern to match (e.g., 'test-document-integration')
+ * @returns {Promise<number>} - Number of documents deleted
+ */
+async function cleanTestDocuments(slugPattern) {
+  const connection = await MongoClient.connect(config.mongodb.uri);
+  const db = connection.db(config.mongodb.db);
+
+  try {
+    const result = await db.collection('documents').deleteMany({
+      slug: { $regex: slugPattern }
+    });
+    return result.deletedCount;
+  } finally {
+    await connection.close();
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Clean specific test users by email pattern
+ * @param {string} emailPattern - Pattern to match (e.g., 'test@')
+ * @returns {Promise<number>} - Number of users deleted
+ */
+async function cleanTestUsers(emailPattern) {
+  const connection = await MongoClient.connect(config.mongodb.uri);
+  const db = connection.db(config.mongodb.db);
+
+  try {
+    const result = await db.collection('users').deleteMany({
+      email: { $regex: emailPattern }
+    });
+    return result.deletedCount;
+  } finally {
+    await connection.close();
+  }
+}
+
+module.exports = {
+  cleanTestDatabase,
+  cleanTestDocuments,
+  cleanTestUsers
+};
diff --git a/tests/integration/api.admin.test.js b/tests/integration/api.admin.test.js
index 650fa886..001336e9 100644
--- a/tests/integration/api.admin.test.js
+++ b/tests/integration/api.admin.test.js
@@ -304,8 +304,9 @@ describe('Admin API Integration Tests', () => {
       expect(response.body).toHaveProperty('success', true);
 
       // Verify deletion
+      const { ObjectId } = require('mongodb');
       const user = await db.collection('users').findOne({
-        _id: require('mongodb').ObjectId(testUserId)
+        _id: new ObjectId(testUserId)
       });
       expect(user).toBeNull();
     });
@@ -317,8 +318,9 @@ describe('Admin API Integration Tests', () => {
         .expect(403);
 
       // Clean up
+      const { ObjectId } = require('mongodb');
       await db.collection('users').deleteOne({
-        _id: require('mongodb').ObjectId(testUserId)
+        _id: new ObjectId(testUserId)
       });
     });
 
diff --git a/tests/setup.js b/tests/setup.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..18680c2e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/setup.js
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+/**
+ * Jest Test Setup
+ * Loads .env.test before running tests and cleans test database
+ */
+
+const path = require('path');
+require('dotenv').config({ path: path.resolve(__dirname, '../.env.test') });
+
+// Set NODE_ENV to test
+process.env.NODE_ENV = 'test';
+
+// Note: We don't clean the database here in setup.js because:
+// 1. It runs for every test file in parallel, causing race conditions
+// 2. Each test suite should handle its own cleanup in beforeAll/beforeEach
+// 3. See tests/helpers/cleanup.js for cleanup utilities