A frequency-difference detector (FDD) based on an adaptive notch filter is proposed. Frequency detectors are useful in decreasing acquisition times in phase-locked-loop and Costas-loop-based clock and carrier-recovery systems. To avoid certain drawbacks associated with signal down-conversion to baseband, the input is initially processed in the bandpass domain. In applications where limits on acquisition time demand a wide closed-loop tracking bandwidth, the output of the proposed FDD has less inherent ripple and bias when compared with a quadricorrelator, a commonly used FDD. Two applications of the proposed FDD in the demodulation of BPSK data are presented.