diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-80_publish-crates.yml b/.github/workflows/release-80_publish-crates.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..661d838d3b6ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-80_publish-crates.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,229 @@
+name: Release - Publish Crates
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      release_name:
+        description: 'Release name (e.g., stable2509-3). Base branch is derived by removing the last -N suffix.'
+        required: true
+        type: string
+      registry:
+        description: 'Registry to publish crates to'
+        required: true
+        type: choice
+        options:
+          - staging.crates.io
+          - crates.io
+        default: staging.crates.io
+      dry_run:
+        description: 'Dry run - do not actually publish crates'
+        required: true
+        type: boolean
+        default: true
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+
+jobs:
+  set-image:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    outputs:
+      IMAGE: ${{ steps.set_image.outputs.IMAGE }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@8e8c483db84b4bee98b60c0593521ed34d9990e8 # v6.0.1
+
+      - id: set_image
+        run: cat .github/env >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+  publish-crates:
+    needs: set-image
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    environment: release
+    env:
+      PGP_KMS_KEY: ${{ secrets.PGP_KMS_SIGN_COMMITS_KEY }}
+      PGP_KMS_HASH: ${{ secrets.PGP_KMS_HASH }}
+      AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
+      AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${{ secrets.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
+      AWS_DEFAULT_REGION: ${{ secrets.AWS_DEFAULT_REGION }}
+    container:
+      image: ${{ needs.set-image.outputs.IMAGE }}
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Install pgpkms
+        run: |
+          # Install pgpkms that is used to sign commits
+          pip install git+https://github.com/paritytech-release/pgpkms.git@6cb1cecce1268412189b77e4b130f4fa248c4151
+
+      - name: Derive stable branch from release name
+        id: derive_branch
+        run: |
+          RELEASE_NAME="${{ inputs.release_name }}"
+          echo "Release name: $RELEASE_NAME"
+
+          # Extract stable branch by removing the last -N suffix
+          # e.g., stable2509-3 -> stable2509
+          if [[ "$RELEASE_NAME" =~ ^(.+)-[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+            STABLE_BRANCH="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+          else
+            # If no suffix, use the release name as-is (first release)
+            STABLE_BRANCH="$RELEASE_NAME"
+          fi
+
+          echo "Stable branch: $STABLE_BRANCH"
+          echo "STABLE_BRANCH=$STABLE_BRANCH" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+          # I am calling it like this because we will call post crates workflow after on this one
+          echo "RELEASE_BRANCH=post-crates-release-$RELEASE_NAME" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+      - name: Checkout stable branch
+        uses: actions/checkout@8e8c483db84b4bee98b60c0593521ed34d9990e8 # v6.0.1
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ steps.derive_branch.outputs.STABLE_BRANCH }}
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      - name: Import GPG keys
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          . ./.github/scripts/common/lib.sh
+          import_gpg_keys
+
+      - name: Configure git
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          git config --global --add safe.directory "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}"
+          git config --global commit.gpgsign true
+          PGPKMS_PATH=$(which pgpkms-git)
+          echo "Using pgpkms-git at: $PGPKMS_PATH"
+          git config --global gpg.program "$PGPKMS_PATH"
+          git config --global user.name "ParityReleases"
+          git config --global user.email "release-team@parity.io"
+          git config --global user.signingKey "D8018FBB3F534D866A45998293C5FB5F6A367B51"
+
+      - name: Create release branch
+        run: |
+          RELEASE_BRANCH="${{ steps.derive_branch.outputs.RELEASE_BRANCH }}"
+          echo "Creating branch: $RELEASE_BRANCH"
+
+          git checkout -b "$RELEASE_BRANCH"
+          echo "Successfully created branch $RELEASE_BRANCH"
+
+      - name: Rust Cache
+        uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@779680da715d629ac1d338a641029a2f4372abb5 # v2.8.2
+        with:
+          cache-on-failure: true
+
+      - name: Install parity-publish
+        run: cargo install parity-publish --locked -q
+
+      - name: Run parity-publish plan
+        run: |
+          echo "Running parity-publish plan..."
+          parity-publish plan --prdoc prdoc
+
+      - name: Save Plan.toml diff
+        run: |
+          RELEASE_NAME="${{ inputs.release_name }}"
+          mkdir -p release-artifacts
+
+          echo "Saving Plan.toml diff..."
+          git diff Plan.toml > "release-artifacts/changed_crates_${RELEASE_NAME}.txt"
+
+          echo "Plan.toml changes:"
+          cat "release-artifacts/changed_crates_${RELEASE_NAME}.txt"
+
+      - name: Parse crate names for release notes
+        run: |
+          RELEASE_NAME="${{ inputs.release_name }}"
+
+          echo "Parsing crate names..."
+          python3 scripts/release/parse-crates-names.py \
+            "release-artifacts/changed_crates_${RELEASE_NAME}.txt" \
+            scripts/release/templates/crates_list.md.tera
+
+          echo "Crates list:"
+          cat scripts/release/templates/crates_list.md.tera
+
+      - name: Commit Plan.toml and crates list
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          . ./.github/scripts/release/release_lib.sh
+
+          git add Plan.toml scripts/release/templates/crates_list.md.tera
+
+          if [[ -n $(git status --porcelain) ]]; then
+            commit_with_message "chore: update Plan.toml and crates list for ${{ inputs.release_name }}"
+            echo "Committed Plan.toml and crates list"
+          else
+            echo "No changes to commit"
+          fi
+
+      - name: Run parity-publish apply
+        run: |
+          echo "Running parity-publish apply..."
+          parity-publish apply
+
+      - name: Update Cargo.lock
+        run: |
+          echo "Updating Cargo.lock..."
+          cargo update --workspace --offline || cargo update --workspace
+          echo "Cargo.lock updated"
+
+      - name: Commit version bumps
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          . ./.github/scripts/release/release_lib.sh
+
+          git add -A
+
+          if [[ -n $(git status --porcelain) ]]; then
+            commit_with_message "chore: apply version bumps for ${{ inputs.release_name }}"
+            echo "Committed version bumps"
+          else
+            echo "No changes to commit"
+          fi
+
+      - name: Push release branch
+        run: |
+          RELEASE_BRANCH="${{ steps.derive_branch.outputs.RELEASE_BRANCH }}"
+          echo "Pushing branch $RELEASE_BRANCH..."
+          git push origin "$RELEASE_BRANCH"
+          echo "Successfully pushed $RELEASE_BRANCH"
+
+      - name: Configure cargo registry
+        run: |
+          REGISTRY="${{ inputs.registry }}"
+          echo "Configuring cargo for $REGISTRY..."
+          mkdir -p ~/.cargo
+
+          if [ "$REGISTRY" = "staging.crates.io" ]; then
+            cat >> ~/.cargo/config.toml << 'EOF'
+          [registries.crates-io]
+          index = "sparse+https://index.staging.crates.io/"
+          EOF
+          else
+            echo "Using default crates.io registry"
+          fi
+
+          echo "Cargo config:"
+          cat ~/.cargo/config.toml || echo "(using defaults)"
+
+      - name: Publish crates
+        env:
+          PARITY_PUBLISH_CRATESIO_TOKEN: ${{ inputs.registry == 'staging.crates.io' && secrets.STAGING_CRATESIO_PUBLISH_TOKEN || secrets.CRATESIO_PUBLISH_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          DRY_RUN="${{ inputs.dry_run }}"
+          REGISTRY="${{ inputs.registry }}"
+
+          if [ "$DRY_RUN" = "true" ]; then
+            echo "DRY RUN - Not actually publishing crates"
+            echo "Target registry: $REGISTRY"
+            echo "Would run: parity-publish apply -p --batch-delay 15 --max-concurrent 1 --batch-size 1"
+            echo ""
+            echo "Crates that would be published:"
+            parity-publish apply --print || true
+          else
+            echo "Publishing crates to $REGISTRY..."
+            parity-publish apply -p --batch-delay 15 --max-concurrent 1 --batch-size 1
+            echo "Crates published successfully to $REGISTRY!"
+          fi
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index c8658f9c4e892..2be92d8a096ca 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -14457,6 +14457,25 @@ dependencies = [
  "syn 2.0.98",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "parity-staging-test-a"
+version = "0.2.0"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "parity-staging-test-b"
+version = "0.1.0"
+dependencies = [
+ "parity-staging-test-a",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "parity-staging-test-c"
+version = "0.1.0"
+dependencies = [
+ "parity-staging-test-a",
+ "parity-staging-test-b",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "parity-wasm"
 version = "0.45.0"
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index a873db170b9f2..d723c047d8ef7 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -578,6 +578,11 @@ members = [
 	"templates/solochain/runtime",
 	"templates/zombienet",
 	"umbrella",
+
+	# Test crates for staging.crates.io validation (temporary)
+	"test-crates/parity-staging-test-a",
+	"test-crates/parity-staging-test-b",
+	"test-crates/parity-staging-test-c",
 ]
 
 default-members = [
diff --git a/scripts/release/test-staging-publish.sh b/scripts/release/test-staging-publish.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000000..e186d12b578bf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/release/test-staging-publish.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,214 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# Test script for publishing crates to staging.crates.io
+#
+# This script allows you to test the crate publishing flow without affecting
+# production crates.io. It uses environment variables to redirect cargo to
+# staging.crates.io instead of modifying your local cargo config.
+#
+# Usage:
+#   ./scripts/release/test-staging-publish.sh [options]
+#
+# Options:
+#   --dry-run       Don't actually publish, just show what would be published
+#   --token TOKEN   crates.io API token (or set STAGING_CRATESIO_TOKEN env var)
+#   --crates LIST   Comma-separated list of crates to publish (default: test crates)
+#   --help          Show this help message
+#
+# Examples:
+#   # Dry run with test crates
+#   ./scripts/release/test-staging-publish.sh --dry-run
+#
+#   # Publish test crates to staging
+#   ./scripts/release/test-staging-publish.sh --token YOUR_TOKEN
+#
+#   # Publish specific crates
+#   ./scripts/release/test-staging-publish.sh --crates "parity-staging-test-a,parity-staging-test-b"
+#
+
+set -e
+
+# Default values
+DRY_RUN=false
+TOKEN="${STAGING_CRATESIO_TOKEN:-}"
+CRATES="parity-staging-test-a,parity-staging-test-b,parity-staging-test-c"
+PARITY_PUBLISH_PATH="${PARITY_PUBLISH_PATH:-../parity-publish/target/release/parity-publish}"
+
+# Colors for output
+RED='\033[0;31m'
+GREEN='\033[0;32m'
+YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
+NC='\033[0m' # No Color
+
+print_help() {
+    sed -n '2,/^$/p' "$0" | sed 's/^# //' | sed 's/^#//'
+}
+
+log_info() {
+    echo -e "${GREEN}[INFO]${NC} $1"
+}
+
+log_warn() {
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}[WARN]${NC} $1"
+}
+
+log_error() {
+    echo -e "${RED}[ERROR]${NC} $1"
+}
+
+# Parse arguments
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+    case $1 in
+        --dry-run)
+            DRY_RUN=true
+            shift
+            ;;
+        --token)
+            TOKEN="$2"
+            shift 2
+            ;;
+        --crates)
+            CRATES="$2"
+            shift 2
+            ;;
+        --parity-publish)
+            PARITY_PUBLISH_PATH="$2"
+            shift 2
+            ;;
+        --help|-h)
+            print_help
+            exit 0
+            ;;
+        *)
+            log_error "Unknown option: $1"
+            print_help
+            exit 1
+            ;;
+    esac
+done
+
+# Check parity-publish exists
+if [[ ! -x "$PARITY_PUBLISH_PATH" ]]; then
+    log_error "parity-publish not found at: $PARITY_PUBLISH_PATH"
+    log_info "Set PARITY_PUBLISH_PATH environment variable or use --parity-publish flag"
+    log_info "Example: export PARITY_PUBLISH_PATH=/path/to/parity-publish"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+log_info "Using parity-publish at: $PARITY_PUBLISH_PATH"
+
+# Check token
+if [[ -z "$TOKEN" ]] && [[ "$DRY_RUN" == "false" ]]; then
+    log_error "No token provided. Use --token or set STAGING_CRATESIO_TOKEN env var"
+    log_info "For dry run, use --dry-run flag"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Create a temporary mini-workspace with only the test crates.
+# This avoids the full polkadot-sdk workspace resolution, which would try to
+# resolve all 500+ crates (scale-info, etc.) against staging and fail.
+REPO_ROOT="$(pwd)"
+TEMP_WORKSPACE=$(mktemp -d)
+
+cleanup_temp() {
+    rm -rf "$TEMP_WORKSPACE"
+    log_info "Cleaned up temporary workspace"
+}
+trap cleanup_temp EXIT
+
+# Copy ALL test crates into the temp workspace (not just the ones being published)
+# so that path dependencies between them resolve correctly.
+IFS=',' read -ra CRATE_ARRAY <<< "$CRATES"
+
+MEMBERS=""
+for crate_dir in "$REPO_ROOT"/test-crates/*/; do
+    crate_name=$(basename "$crate_dir")
+    cp -r "$crate_dir" "$TEMP_WORKSPACE/$crate_name"
+    MEMBERS="$MEMBERS\"$crate_name\","
+done
+
+# Create temp workspace Cargo.toml
+cat > "$TEMP_WORKSPACE/Cargo.toml" << EOF
+[workspace]
+members = [${MEMBERS}]
+resolver = "2"
+EOF
+
+# Create .cargo/config.toml:
+# - [source] replacement so dependency resolution uses staging
+# - [registries] so cargo publish uploads to staging
+mkdir -p "$TEMP_WORKSPACE/.cargo"
+cat > "$TEMP_WORKSPACE/.cargo/config.toml" << EOF
+[source.crates-io]
+replace-with = "staging"
+
+[source.staging]
+registry = "sparse+https://index.staging.crates.io/"
+
+[registries.staging]
+index = "sparse+https://index.staging.crates.io/"
+EOF
+
+log_info "Created temporary workspace at: $TEMP_WORKSPACE"
+log_info "Configured to publish to: staging.crates.io"
+log_info "Crates to publish: $CRATES"
+log_info "Dry run: $DRY_RUN"
+echo ""
+
+if [[ "$DRY_RUN" == "true" ]]; then
+    log_info "=== DRY RUN MODE ==="
+    log_info "Would publish the following crates to staging.crates.io:"
+    echo ""
+    for crate in "${CRATE_ARRAY[@]}"; do
+        echo "  - $crate"
+    done
+    echo ""
+    log_info "To actually publish, run without --dry-run flag"
+else
+    log_info "=== PUBLISHING TO STAGING.CRATES.IO ==="
+    echo ""
+
+    # Fix path dependencies to be relative within the temp workspace
+    for crate in "${CRATE_ARRAY[@]}"; do
+        TOML="$TEMP_WORKSPACE/$crate/Cargo.toml"
+        # Rewrite path deps to point within the temp workspace
+        for dep_crate in "${CRATE_ARRAY[@]}"; do
+            if [[ "$crate" != "$dep_crate" ]]; then
+                sed -i.bak "s|path = \"../[^\"]*$dep_crate\"|path = \"../$dep_crate\"|g" "$TOML"
+                rm -f "${TOML}.bak"
+            fi
+        done
+    done
+
+    # Publish from the temp workspace so cargo picks up its .cargo/config.toml
+    pushd "$TEMP_WORKSPACE" > /dev/null
+
+    # Publish each crate in order (respecting dependencies)
+    for crate in "${CRATE_ARRAY[@]}"; do
+        log_info "Publishing $crate..."
+
+        cargo publish \
+            -p "$crate" \
+            --registry staging \
+            --token "$TOKEN" \
+            --allow-dirty \
+            --no-verify \
+            2>&1 || {
+                log_error "Failed to publish $crate"
+                popd > /dev/null
+                exit 1
+            }
+
+        log_info "Successfully published $crate"
+
+        # Wait a bit between publishes to avoid rate limiting
+        log_info "Waiting 30 seconds before next publish..."
+        sleep 30
+    done
+
+    popd > /dev/null
+
+    echo ""
+    log_info "=== ALL CRATES PUBLISHED SUCCESSFULLY ==="
+    log_info "Check them at: https://staging.crates.io"
+fi
diff --git a/test-crates/parity-staging-test-a/Cargo.toml b/test-crates/parity-staging-test-a/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..ebf9f62862eb0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-crates/parity-staging-test-a/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+[package]
+name = "parity-staging-test-a"
+version = "0.2.0"
+edition = "2021"
+description = "Test crate A for staging.crates.io publishing validation"
+license = "Apache-2.0"
+repository = "https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot-sdk"
+
+[dependencies]
diff --git a/test-crates/parity-staging-test-a/src/lib.rs b/test-crates/parity-staging-test-a/src/lib.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..a39f98ea0f4de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-crates/parity-staging-test-a/src/lib.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+/// A simple function for testing
+pub fn hello_from_a() -> &'static str {
+    "Hello from crate A!"
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn it_works() {
+        assert_eq!(hello_from_a(), "Hello from crate A!");
+    }
+}
diff --git a/test-crates/parity-staging-test-b/Cargo.toml b/test-crates/parity-staging-test-b/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..93bf9822c2fa5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-crates/parity-staging-test-b/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+[package]
+name = "parity-staging-test-b"
+version = "0.1.0"
+edition = "2021"
+description = "Test crate B for staging.crates.io publishing validation - depends on A"
+license = "Apache-2.0"
+repository = "https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot-sdk"
+
+[dependencies]
+parity-staging-test-a = { path = "../parity-staging-test-a", version = "0.2.0" }
diff --git a/test-crates/parity-staging-test-b/src/lib.rs b/test-crates/parity-staging-test-b/src/lib.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..1c3d6f874e7ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-crates/parity-staging-test-b/src/lib.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+use parity_staging_test_a::hello_from_a;
+
+/// A function that uses crate A
+pub fn hello_from_b() -> String {
+    format!("Hello from crate B! Also, {}", hello_from_a())
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn it_works() {
+        assert!(hello_from_b().contains("crate B"));
+        assert!(hello_from_b().contains("crate A"));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/test-crates/parity-staging-test-c/Cargo.toml b/test-crates/parity-staging-test-c/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..9fbd284ddf7d5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-crates/parity-staging-test-c/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+[package]
+name = "parity-staging-test-c"
+version = "0.1.0"
+edition = "2021"
+description = "Test crate C for staging.crates.io publishing validation - depends on A and B"
+license = "Apache-2.0"
+repository = "https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot-sdk"
+
+[dependencies]
+parity-staging-test-a = { path = "../parity-staging-test-a", version = "0.2.0" }
+parity-staging-test-b = { path = "../parity-staging-test-b", version = "0.1.0" }
diff --git a/test-crates/parity-staging-test-c/src/lib.rs b/test-crates/parity-staging-test-c/src/lib.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..eff5377e67cf4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-crates/parity-staging-test-c/src/lib.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+use parity_staging_test_a::hello_from_a;
+use parity_staging_test_b::hello_from_b;
+
+/// A function that uses both crate A and B
+pub fn hello_from_c() -> String {
+    format!(
+        "Hello from crate C! I can use A directly: '{}' and B: '{}'",
+        hello_from_a(),
+        hello_from_b()
+    )
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn it_works() {
+        let result = hello_from_c();
+        assert!(result.contains("crate C"));
+        assert!(result.contains("crate A"));
+        assert!(result.contains("crate B"));
+    }
+}