In the fictional Star Trek universe, the Rules of Acquisition are a collection of sacred business proverbs of the ultra-capitalist race known as the Ferengi.

The first mention of rules in the Star Trek universe was in "The Nagus", an episode of the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Season 1, Episode 10). In a later Deep Space Nine episode, "The Maquis: Part 1", Sakonna (a Vulcan) asks Quark (a Ferengi) to explain what a Rule of Acquisition is. He states, "Every Ferengi business transaction is governed by 285 Rules of Acquisition to ensure a fair and honest deal for all parties concerned... well most of them anyway."^[1]

Background

The first Rule was made by Gint, the first Grand Nagus of the Ferengi Alliance, a role with political, economic, and even quasi-religious duties. The Rules were said to be divinely inspired and sacred (thus furthering the original marketing ploy).^[2]

Although it has been stated within Star Trek that there are 285 Rules,^[1][3] not all of them have been stated in canon. Most of the Rules were written by Ira Steven Behr, a writer for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, in a book The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition (ISBN 0-671-52936-6). The book's cover credits authorship as being "By Quark as told to Ira Steven Behr." Additional rules were published in Legends of the Ferengi (ISBN 0-671-00728-9) by Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe, another writer for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine when Behr was the executive producer of the series.^[4]

The Star Trek: Voyager episode "False Profits" mentions a book containing all of the Rules:

Unabridged and fully annotated with all 47 commentaries, all 900 major and minor judgments, all 10,000 considered opinions. There's a rule for every conceivable situation." There is also a note about The Unwritten Rule: "When no appropriate rule applies... make one up."^[5]