diff --git a/src/lib/server/order-quote-match.test.ts b/src/lib/server/order-quote-match.test.ts
index 84b6862..97dde7f 100644
--- a/src/lib/server/order-quote-match.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/server/order-quote-match.test.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@ import {
   scoreOrderVsQuote,
   RULE_POINTS,
   MATCH_CONFIDENCE_THRESHOLD,
+  pairQuoteLines,
+  LINE_PAIR_CONFIDENT,
+  LINE_PAIR_POSSIBLE,
 } from "@/lib/server/order-quote-match";
 
 /**
@@ -424,3 +427,48 @@ describe("scoreOrderVsQuote — normalization & thresholding", () => {
     expect(r.lines[0].points).toBeGreaterThan(0);
   });
 });
+
+describe("pairQuoteLines", () => {
+  it("tiers a near-identical line as confident", () => {
+    const pairs = pairQuoteLines(
+      [{ description: "M20 HEX BOLT GR8.8 ZINC" }],
+      [{ description: "Hex Bolt M20 Gr8.8 Zinc" }],
+    );
+    expect(pairs).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(pairs[0].orderLineIdx).toBe(0);
+    expect(pairs[0].quoteLineIdx).toBe(0);
+    expect(pairs[0].tier).toBe("confident");
+  });
+
+  it("tiers a partial-overlap line as possible", () => {
+    const pairs = pairQuoteLines(
+      [{ description: "cable gland brass M20" }],
+      [{ description: "cable gland stainless M25" }],
+    );
+    expect(pairs).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(pairs[0].tier).toBe("possible");
+    expect(pairs[0].jaccard).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(LINE_PAIR_POSSIBLE);
+    expect(pairs[0].jaccard).toBeLessThan(LINE_PAIR_CONFIDENT);
+  });
+
+  it("returns no pair when descriptions do not overlap", () => {
+    const pairs = pairQuoteLines(
+      [{ description: "galvanised threaded rod 3 metre" }],
+      [{ description: "silicone sealant clear cartridge" }],
+    );
+    expect(pairs).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it("never pairs one quote line to two order lines", () => {
+    const pairs = pairQuoteLines(
+      [
+        { description: "hex bolt m20 gr8.8 zinc" },
+        { description: "hex bolt m20 gr8.8 zinc" },
+      ],
+      [{ description: "hex bolt m20 gr8.8 zinc" }],
+    );
+    expect(pairs).toHaveLength(1);
+    const quoteIdxs = pairs.map((p) => p.quoteLineIdx);
+    expect(new Set(quoteIdxs).size).toBe(quoteIdxs.length);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/lib/server/order-quote-match.ts b/src/lib/server/order-quote-match.ts
index ab8751b..b697acb 100644
--- a/src/lib/server/order-quote-match.ts
+++ b/src/lib/server/order-quote-match.ts
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ export interface ScoreBreakdown {
  *  from the pool, repeat. Lines that don't have any meaningful match
  *  fall through with `descMatched=false` so the matcher can still
  *  see the line-by-line picture. */
-function pairLinesByDescription(
+export function pairLinesByDescription(
   orderItems: ReadonlyArray<{ description: string }>,
   quoteItems: ReadonlyArray<{ description: string }>
 ): Array<{ oi: number; qi: number; jaccard: number }> {
@@ -384,3 +384,46 @@ export function scoreCandidate(
     { items: quoteItems }
   ).confidence;
 }
+
+/* ============================================================================
+ * Line-pairing tiers
+ *
+ * `pairLinesByDescription` already greedily pairs order lines to quote
+ * lines and drops anything below 0.3 Jaccard. These constants split
+ * what survives into two tiers:
+ *
+ *   >= 0.5  confident — safe to persist onto `order_items.quote_item`
+ *   0.3–0.5 possible  — shown to the operator with a confirm button,
+ *                       never written without their say-so
+ *
+ * Both numbers already existed in this file (0.5 is the
+ * `descriptionFull` award boundary, 0.3 is the candidate floor) — they
+ * are named here rather than reintroduced.
+ * ========================================================================== */
+
+export const LINE_PAIR_CONFIDENT = 0.5;
+export const LINE_PAIR_POSSIBLE = 0.3;
+
+export type LinePairTier = "confident" | "possible";
+
+export interface QuoteLinePair {
+  orderLineIdx: number;
+  quoteLineIdx: number;
+  jaccard: number;
+  tier: LinePairTier;
+}
+
+/** Pair order lines to quote lines by description overlap, tiered by
+ *  confidence. Delegates to `pairLinesByDescription` so there is
+ *  exactly one pairing algorithm in the codebase. */
+export function pairQuoteLines(
+  orderItems: ReadonlyArray<{ description: string }>,
+  quoteItems: ReadonlyArray<{ description: string }>,
+): QuoteLinePair[] {
+  return pairLinesByDescription(orderItems, quoteItems).map((p) => ({
+    orderLineIdx: p.oi,
+    quoteLineIdx: p.qi,
+    jaccard: p.jaccard,
+    tier: p.jaccard >= LINE_PAIR_CONFIDENT ? "confident" : "possible",
+  }));
+}