diff --git a/eng/pipelines/common/templates/jobs/approval-job.yml b/eng/pipelines/common/templates/jobs/approval-job.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..051a3875ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/eng/pipelines/common/templates/jobs/approval-job.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+#################################################################################
+# Licensed to the .NET Foundation under one or more agreements.                 #
+# The .NET Foundation licenses this file to you under the MIT license.          #
+# See the LICENSE file in the project root for more information.                #
+#################################################################################
+parameters:
+  - name: approvalAliases
+    type: string
+    default: '[ADO.Net]\\SqlClient Admins'
+
+  - name: publishDestination
+    type: string
+
+  - name: dryRun
+    type: boolean
+
+  - name: isPreview
+    type: boolean
+
+  - name: publishSymbols
+    type: boolean
+
+  - name: nugetPackageVersion
+    type: string
+
+  - name: product
+    type: string
+
+jobs:
+- job: AwaitApproval
+  displayName: 'Await Release Approval'
+  pool: server
+  steps:
+  - task: ManualValidation@0
+    displayName: 'Manual Approval'
+    timeoutInMinutes: 4320 # 3 days
+    inputs:
+      notifyUsers: ${{ parameters.approvalAliases }}
+      instructions: |
+        Release Checklist:
+         * Destination: ${{ parameters.publishDestination }}
+         * Preview build: ${{ parameters.isPreview }}
+         * Dry run: ${{ parameters.dryRun }}
+         * Symbols: ${{ parameters.publishSymbols }}
+         * NuGet package version: ${{ parameters.nugetPackageVersion }}
+         * Product: ${{ parameters.product }}
+        Approve to continue or Reject to abort.
diff --git a/eng/pipelines/common/templates/jobs/publish-packages-job.yml b/eng/pipelines/common/templates/jobs/publish-packages-job.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d36932a6d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/eng/pipelines/common/templates/jobs/publish-packages-job.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+#################################################################################
+# Licensed to the .NET Foundation under one or more agreements.                 #
+# The .NET Foundation licenses this file to you under the MIT license.          #
+# See the LICENSE file in the project root for more information.                #
+#################################################################################
+parameters:
+  - name: publishDestination
+    type: string
+
+  - name: dryRun
+    type: boolean
+
+  - name: internalFeedSource
+    type: string
+
+  - name: publicNuGetSource
+    type: string
+
+  - name: publishSymbols
+    type: boolean
+
+  - name: packageFolderName
+    type: string
+
+  - name: nugetPackageVersion
+    type: string
+
+  - name: product
+    type: string
+
+jobs:
+- job: PublishPackages
+  displayName: 'Publish Packages'
+  dependsOn: AwaitApproval
+  condition: succeeded()
+  pool:
+    vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'
+  steps:
+  - task: DownloadPipelineArtifact@2
+    displayName: 'Download Signed Packages'
+    inputs:
+      buildType: current
+      artifactName: ${{ parameters.packageFolderName }}
+      targetPath: $(Pipeline.Workspace)/release/packages
+  - script: |
+      echo "NuGet Package Version: ${{ parameters.nugetPackageVersion }}"
+    displayName: 'Echo NuGet Package Version'
+  - ${{ if ne(parameters.publishDestination, 'Public') }}:
+    - template: ../steps/publish-internal-feed-step.yml
+      parameters:
+        dryRun: ${{ parameters.dryRun }}
+        internalFeedSource: ${{ parameters.internalFeedSource }}
+        packagesGlob: $(System.DefaultWorkingDirectory)/_dotnet-sqlclient-Official/drop_buildMDS_build_signed_package/*.nupkg
+  - ${{ if eq(parameters.publishDestination, 'Public') }}:
+    - template: ../steps/publish-public-nuget-step.yml
+      parameters:
+        dryRun: ${{ parameters.dryRun }}
+        publicNuGetSource: ${{ parameters.publicNuGetSource }}
+        packagesGlob: $(System.DefaultWorkingDirectory)/_dotnet-sqlclient-Official/drop_buildMDS_build_signed_package/*.nupkg
+  - ${{ if and(parameters.publishSymbols, ne(parameters.dryRun, true)) }}:
+    - template: ../steps/publish-symbols-step.yml
+      parameters:
+        publishSymbols: ${{ parameters.publishSymbols }}
+        symbolsArtifactName: ${{ parameters.product }}_symbols_$(System.TeamProject)_$(Build.Repository.Name)_$(Build.SourceBranchName)_${{ parameters.nugetPackageVersion }}_$(System.TimelineId)
+        product: ${{ parameters.product }}
diff --git a/eng/pipelines/common/templates/stages/release-stage.yml b/eng/pipelines/common/templates/stages/release-stage.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2fa4d891a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/eng/pipelines/common/templates/stages/release-stage.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+#################################################################################
+# Licensed to the .NET Foundation under one or more agreements.                 #
+# The .NET Foundation licenses this file to you under the MIT license.          #
+# See the LICENSE file in the project root for more information.                #
+#################################################################################
+parameters:
+  - name: runRelease
+    type: boolean
+    default: false
+
+  - name: publishDestination
+    type: string
+
+  - name: dryRun
+    type: boolean
+    default: false
+
+  - name: approvalAliases
+    type: string
+
+  - name: internalFeedSource
+    type: string
+
+  - name: publicNuGetSource
+    type: string
+
+  - name: publishSymbols
+    type: boolean
+    default: false
+    
+  - name: isPreview
+    type: boolean
+
+  - name: product
+    type: string
+
+  - name: nugetPackageVersion
+    type: string
+    
+  - name: packageFolderName
+    type: string
+
+stages:
+- stage: releaseMDS
+  displayName: 'Release (Manual)'
+  condition: and(succeeded(), eq(variables['Build.Reason'],'Manual'), eq(${{ parameters.runRelease }}, true))
+  jobs:
+  - template: ../jobs/approval-job.yml
+    parameters:
+      approvalAliases: ${{ parameters.approvalAliases }}
+      publishDestination: ${{ parameters.publishDestination }}
+      dryRun: ${{ parameters.dryRun }}
+      isPreview: ${{ parameters.isPreview }}
+      publishSymbols: ${{ parameters.publishSymbols }}
+      nugetPackageVersion: ${{ parameters.nugetPackageVersion }}
+      product: ${{ parameters.product }}
+  - template: ../jobs/publish-packages-job.yml
+    parameters:
+      publishDestination: ${{ parameters.publishDestination }}
+      dryRun: ${{ parameters.dryRun }}
+      internalFeedSource: ${{ parameters.internalFeedSource }}
+      publicNuGetSource: ${{ parameters.publicNuGetSource }}
+      publishSymbols: ${{ parameters.publishSymbols }}
+      packageFolderName: ${{ parameters.packageFolderName }}
+      nugetPackageVersion: ${{ parameters.nugetPackageVersion }}
+      product: ${{ parameters.product }}
diff --git a/eng/pipelines/common/templates/steps/publish-internal-feed-step.yml b/eng/pipelines/common/templates/steps/publish-internal-feed-step.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8ebfe9f74a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/eng/pipelines/common/templates/steps/publish-internal-feed-step.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+#################################################################################
+# Licensed to the .NET Foundation under one or more agreements.                 #
+# The .NET Foundation licenses this file to you under the MIT license.          #
+# See the LICENSE file in the project root for more information.                #
+#################################################################################
+parameters:
+  - name: dryRun
+    type: boolean
+
+  - name: internalFeedSource
+    type: string
+    
+  - name: packagesGlob
+    type: string
+    default: '$(System.DefaultWorkingDirectory)/_dotnet-sqlclient-Official/drop_buildMDS_build_signed_package/*.nupkg'
+
+steps:
+- script: |
+    set -e
+    SRC='${{ parameters.internalFeedSource }}'
+    if [ -z "$SRC" ]; then
+      echo "Internal feed source parameter not set."
+      exit 1
+    fi
+    if [ "${{ parameters.dryRun }}" = "true" ]; then
+      echo "[DRY RUN] Listing packages targeted for push to: ${{ parameters.publicNuGetSource }}"
+      echo "Using glob pattern: ${{ parameters.packagesGlob }}"
+      # Derive directory and filename pattern from the glob for a precise find (handles nested patterns minimally)
+      glob='${{ parameters.packagesGlob }}'
+      dir="${glob%/*}"
+      name="${glob##*/}"
+      echo "Resolved directory: $dir"
+      echo "Filename pattern: $name"
+      if [ -d "$dir" ]; then
+        echo "Matched files:" || true
+        # Print all matched files to identify what would be pushed
+        find "$dir" -type f -name "$name" -print || true
+      else
+        echo "Directory does not exist yet: $dir"
+      fi
+    fi
+    for f in $(find "${{ parameters.packagesGlob }}" -name "*.nupkg"); do
+      echo "Push $f"
+      dotnet nuget push --source "$SRC" --api-key az "$f"
+    done
+  displayName: 'Publish to Internal Feed'
diff --git a/eng/pipelines/common/templates/steps/publish-public-nuget-step.yml b/eng/pipelines/common/templates/steps/publish-public-nuget-step.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8c827ec93f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/eng/pipelines/common/templates/steps/publish-public-nuget-step.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+#################################################################################
+# Licensed to the .NET Foundation under one or more agreements.                 #
+# The .NET Foundation licenses this file to you under the MIT license.          #
+# See the LICENSE file in the project root for more information.                #
+#################################################################################
+parameters:
+  - name: dryRun
+    type: boolean
+
+  - name: publicNuGetSource
+    type: string
+    
+  - name: nugetServiceConnection
+    type: string
+    default: 'ADO Nuget Org Connection'
+    
+  - name: packagesGlob
+    type: string
+    default: '$(System.DefaultWorkingDirectory)/_dotnet-sqlclient-Official/drop_buildMDS_build_signed_package/*.nupkg'
+
+steps:
+- task: NuGetToolInstaller@1
+  displayName: 'Install Latest Nuget'
+  inputs:
+    checkLatest: true
+- script: |
+    echo "[DRY RUN] Listing packages targeted for push to: ${{ parameters.publicNuGetSource }}"
+    echo "Using glob pattern: ${{ parameters.packagesGlob }}"
+    # Derive directory and filename pattern from the glob for a precise find (handles nested patterns minimally)
+    glob='${{ parameters.packagesGlob }}'
+    dir="${glob%/*}"
+    name="${glob##*/}"
+    echo "Resolved directory: $dir"
+    echo "Filename pattern: $name"
+    if [ -d "$dir" ]; then
+      echo "Matched files:" || true
+      # Print all matched files to identify what would be pushed
+      find "$dir" -type f -name "$name" -print || true
+    else
+      echo "Directory does not exist yet: $dir"
+    fi
+  displayName: 'Dry Run - List Packages'
+  condition: and(succeeded(), eq(${{ parameters.dryRun }}, true))
+
+- task: NuGetCommand@2
+  displayName: 'Push to Nuget.org'
+  condition: and(succeeded(), eq(${{ parameters.dryRun }}, false))
+  inputs:
+    command: push
+    packagesToPush: '${{ parameters.packagesGlob }}'
+    nuGetFeedType: external
+    publishFeedCredentials: '${{ parameters.nugetServiceConnection }}'
diff --git a/eng/pipelines/common/templates/steps/publish-symbols-step.yml b/eng/pipelines/common/templates/steps/publish-symbols-step.yml
index 5f8d2e6a7d..d8eae8837a 100644
--- a/eng/pipelines/common/templates/steps/publish-symbols-step.yml
+++ b/eng/pipelines/common/templates/steps/publish-symbols-step.yml
@@ -11,26 +11,27 @@ parameters:
     default: 'SqlClientDrivers'
 
   - name: publishSymbols
-    type: string
+    type: boolean
+    default: false
 
   - name: symbolsVersion
     type: string
-    default: '$(NuGetPackageVersion)'
+    default: '$(NugetPackageVersion)'
 
   - name: symbolServer
     type: string
     default: '$(SymbolServer)'
-  
+
   - name: symbolTokenUri
     type: string
     default: '$(SymbolTokenUri)'
-  
+
   - name: symbolsArtifactName
     type: string
-  
+
   - name: publishToServers
     type: object
-    default: 
+    default:
       internal: true
       public: true
 
@@ -45,15 +46,20 @@ parameters:
     values:
     - MDS
     - MSS
+    - AKV
+    
+  - name: azureSubscription
+    type: string
+    default: 'Symbols publishing Workload Identity federation service-ADO.Net'
 
 steps:
 - powershell: 'Write-Host "##vso[task.setvariable variable=ArtifactServices.Symbol.AccountName;]${{parameters.SymAccount}}"'
   displayName: 'Update Symbol.AccountName with ${{parameters.SymAccount}}'
-  condition: and(succeeded(), ${{ eq(parameters.publishSymbols, 'true') }})
+  condition: and(succeeded(), eq(parameters.publishSymbols, true))
 
-- ${{ if eq(parameters.product, 'MDS') }}:
+- ${{ if and(eq(parameters.publishSymbols, true), eq(parameters.product, 'MDS')) }}:
   - task: PublishSymbols@2
-    displayName: 'Upload symbols to ${{parameters.SymAccount }} org'
+    displayName: 'Upload MDS symbols to ${{parameters.SymAccount }} org'
     inputs:
       SymbolsFolder: '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)\artifacts\${{parameters.referenceType }}\bin'
       SearchPattern: |
@@ -67,64 +73,46 @@ steps:
       SymbolsVersion: ${{parameters.symbolsVersion }}
       SymbolsArtifactName: ${{parameters.symbolsArtifactName }}
       Pat: $(System.AccessToken)
-    condition: and(succeeded(), ${{ eq(parameters.publishSymbols, 'true') }})
-
-- task: AzureCLI@2
-  displayName: 'Publish symbols'
-  condition: and(succeeded(), ${{ eq(parameters.publishSymbols, 'true') }})
-  inputs:
-    azureSubscription: 'Symbols publishing Workload Identity federation service-ADO.Net'
-    scriptType: ps
-    scriptLocation: inlineScript
-    inlineScript: |
-      $publishToInternalServer = "${{parameters.publishToServers.internal }}".ToLower()
-      $publishToPublicServer = "${{parameters.publishToServers.public }}".ToLower()
-
-      echo "Publishing request name: ${{parameters.symbolsArtifactName }}"
-      echo "Publish to internal server: $publishToInternalServer"
-      echo "Publish to public server: $publishToPublicServer"      
-
-      $symbolServer = "${{parameters.symbolServer }}"
-      $tokenUri = "${{parameters.symbolTokenUri }}"
-      # Registered project name in the symbol publishing pipeline: https://portal.microsofticm.com/imp/v3/incidents/incident/520844254/summary
-      $projectName = "Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.SNI"
-
-      # Get the access token for the symbol publishing service
-      $symbolPublishingToken = az account get-access-token --resource $tokenUri --query accessToken -o tsv
-
-      echo ">  1.Symbol publishing token acquired."
-
-      echo "Registering the request name ..."
-      $requestName = "${{parameters.symbolsArtifactName }}"
-      $requestNameRegistrationBody = "{'requestName': '$requestName'}"
-      Invoke-RestMethod -Method POST -Uri "https://$symbolServer.trafficmanager.net/projects/$projectName/requests" -Headers @{ Authorization = "Bearer $symbolPublishingToken" } -ContentType "application/json" -Body $requestNameRegistrationBody
-
-      echo ">  2.Registration of request name succeeded."
-
-      echo "Publishing the symbols ..."
-      $publishSymbolsBody = "{'publishToInternalServer': $publishToInternalServer, 'publishToPublicServer': $publishToPublicServer}"
-      echo "Publishing symbols request body: $publishSymbolsBody"
-      Invoke-RestMethod -Method POST -Uri "https://$symbolServer.trafficmanager.net/projects/$projectName/requests/$requestName" -Headers @{ Authorization = "Bearer $symbolPublishingToken" } -ContentType "application/json" -Body $publishSymbolsBody
-
-      echo ">  3.Request to publish symbols succeeded."
-
-      # The following REST calls are used to check publishing status.
-      echo ">  4.Checking the status of the request ..."
-
-      Invoke-RestMethod -Method GET -Uri "https://$symbolServer.trafficmanager.net/projects/$projectName/requests/$requestName" -Headers @{ Authorization = "Bearer $symbolPublishingToken" } -ContentType "application/json"
-      
-      echo "Use below tables to interpret the values of xxxServerStatus and xxxServerResult fields from the response."
-      
-      echo "PublishingStatus"
-      echo "-----------------"
-      echo "0	NotRequested; The request has not been requested to publish."
-      echo "1	Submitted; The request is submitted to be published"
-      echo "2	Processing; The request is still being processed"
-      echo "3	Completed; The request has been completed processing. It can be failed or successful. Check PublishingResult to get more details"
-      
-      echo "PublishingResult"
-      echo "-----------------"
-      echo "0	Pending; The request has not completed or has not been requested."
-      echo "1	Succeeded; The request has published successfully"
-      echo "2	Failed; The request has failed to publish"
-      echo "3	Cancelled; The request was cancelled"
+    condition: and(succeeded(), eq(parameters.publishSymbols, true))
+  - task: AzureCLI@2
+    displayName: 'Publish MDS symbols'
+    condition: and(succeeded(), eq(parameters.publishSymbols, true))
+    inputs:
+      azureSubscription: ${{ parameters.azureSubscription }}
+      scriptType: ps
+      scriptLocation: inlineScript
+      inlineScript: |
+        $publishToInternalServer = "${{parameters.publishToServers.internal }}".ToLower()
+        $publishToPublicServer = "${{parameters.publishToServers.public }}".ToLower()
+
+        echo "Publishing request name: ${{parameters.symbolsArtifactName }}"
+        echo "Publish to internal server: $publishToInternalServer"
+        echo "Publish to public server: $publishToPublicServer"      
+
+        $symbolServer = "${{parameters.symbolServer }}"
+        $tokenUri = "${{parameters.symbolTokenUri }}"
+        $projectName = "Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.SNI"
+
+        $symbolPublishingToken = az account get-access-token --resource $tokenUri --query accessToken -o tsv
+
+        echo ">  1.Symbol publishing token acquired."
+
+        echo "Registering the request name ..."
+        $requestName = "${{parameters.symbolsArtifactName }}"
+        $requestNameRegistrationBody = "{'requestName': '$requestName'}"
+        Invoke-RestMethod -Method POST -Uri "https://$symbolServer.trafficmanager.net/projects/$projectName/requests" -Headers @{ Authorization = "Bearer $symbolPublishingToken" } -ContentType "application/json" -Body $requestNameRegistrationBody
+
+        echo ">  2.Registration of request name succeeded."
+
+        echo "Publishing the symbols ..."
+        $publishSymbolsBody = "{'publishToInternalServer': $publishToInternalServer, 'publishToPublicServer': $publishToPublicServer}"
+        echo "Publishing symbols request body: $publishSymbolsBody"
+        Invoke-RestMethod -Method POST -Uri "https://$symbolServer.trafficmanager.net/projects/$projectName/requests/$requestName" -Headers @{ Authorization = "Bearer $symbolPublishingToken" } -ContentType "application/json" -Body $publishSymbolsBody
+
+        echo ">  3.Request to publish symbols succeeded."
+
+        echo ">  4.Checking the status of the request ..."
+        Invoke-RestMethod -Method GET -Uri "https://$symbolServer.trafficmanager.net/projects/$projectName/requests/$requestName" -Headers @{ Authorization = "Bearer $symbolPublishingToken" } -ContentType "application/json"
+
+        echo "PublishingStatus"; echo "-----------------"; echo "0 NotRequested"; echo "1 Submitted"; echo "2 Processing"; echo "3 Completed"
+        echo "PublishingResult"; echo "-----------------"; echo "0 Pending"; echo "1 Succeeded"; echo "2 Failed"; echo "3 Cancelled"
diff --git a/eng/pipelines/dotnet-sqlclient-signing-pipeline.yml b/eng/pipelines/dotnet-sqlclient-signing-pipeline.yml
index e104b99193..ba33cdf50d 100644
--- a/eng/pipelines/dotnet-sqlclient-signing-pipeline.yml
+++ b/eng/pipelines/dotnet-sqlclient-signing-pipeline.yml
@@ -68,6 +68,45 @@ parameters: # parameters are shown up in ADO UI in a build queue time
   type: string
   default: 90
 
+# Manual Release Parameters
+# Release stage runs ONLY when build is manually queued AND runRelease = true.
+- name: runRelease
+  displayName: 'Run manual release stage'
+  type: boolean
+  default: false
+
+- name: publishDestination
+  displayName: 'Publish destination'
+  type: string
+  default: Internal
+  values:
+  - Internal
+  - Public
+
+- name: dryRun
+  displayName: 'Dry run (no publish)'
+  type: boolean
+  default: false
+
+- name: internalFeedSource
+  displayName: 'Internal feed source URL'
+  type: string
+  default: ''
+
+- name: publicNuGetSource
+  displayName: 'Public NuGet source URL'
+  type: string
+  default: 'https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json'
+
+- name: product
+  displayName: 'Product code (MDS|MSS|AKV)'
+  type: string
+  default: 'MDS'
+  values:
+  - MDS
+  - MSS
+  - AKV
+
 variables:
   - template: /eng/pipelines/libraries/variables.yml@self
   - name: packageFolderName
@@ -174,3 +213,18 @@ extends:
 #            artifact: $(packageFolderName)
 #            patterns: '**/*.nupkg'
 #            displayName: 'Download NuGet Package'
+
+    # Manual Release Stage (templated)
+    - template: eng/pipelines/common/templates/stages/release-stage.yml@self
+      parameters:
+        runRelease: ${{ parameters.runRelease }}
+        publishDestination: ${{ parameters.publishDestination }}
+        dryRun: ${{ parameters.dryRun }}
+        approvalAliases: '[ADO.Net]\\SqlClient Admins'
+        internalFeedSource: ${{ parameters.internalFeedSource }}
+        publicNuGetSource: ${{ parameters.publicNuGetSource }}
+        publishSymbols: ${{ parameters.publishSymbols }}
+        isPreview: ${{ parameters.isPreview }}
+        packageFolderName: $(packageFolderName)
+        nugetPackageVersion: $(NugetPackageVersion)
+        product: ${{ parameters.product }}