diff --git a/whisperx/asr.py b/whisperx/asr.py
index dba8271..ac816ff 100644
--- a/whisperx/asr.py
+++ b/whisperx/asr.py
@@ -262,6 +262,7 @@ def load_model(whisper_arch,
                compute_type="float16",
                asr_options=None,
                language : Optional[str] = None,
+               vad_model=None,
                vad_options=None,
                model : Optional[WhisperModel] = None,
                task="transcribe",
@@ -337,7 +338,10 @@ def load_model(whisper_arch,
     if vad_options is not None:
         default_vad_options.update(vad_options)
 
-    vad_model = load_vad_model(torch.device(device), use_auth_token=None, **default_vad_options)
+    if vad_model is not None:
+        vad_model = vad_model
+    else:
+        vad_model = load_vad_model(torch.device(device), use_auth_token=None, **default_vad_options)
 
     return FasterWhisperPipeline(
         model=model,