The staple right (also translatable as stacking right or storage right, both from the German Stapelrecht) was a medieval right accorded to certain river ports that required merchant barges or ships to unload their goods at the port, and display them for sale for a certain period, often three days. Only after this option had been given to the local customers was the trader allowed to reload his cargo and travel onwards with the remaining unsold freight.^[1][2]

The staple right is sometimes compared to the market right (the right to hold a regular market) as being extremely important for the economic prosperity of the river cities that possessed the right, such as Leipzig, Mainz or Cologne (where a 'Stapelhaus' still stands as a memory of the former right).^[3] At the same time it was a strong barrier against long-distance trade due to the increased costs and the time required to unload and load the ships - especially as a river might have multiple staple right cities in a row. This especially affected the transport of perishable goods like foodstuffs, though traders could often pay a fee to avoid having to display their wares, thus turning the staple right into a form of trade taxation, with similar, but less severe results.

The staple right was probably introduced by Charles the Great in the Early Middle Ages, while the Congress of Vienna decided to abolish the staple right in 1815. This took effect on the river Rhine by means of the Mainzer Akte in 1831 and for the whole of Germany by means of the German Customs Union in 1834.^{[citation needed]}

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