---
title: "Propagate PII tags to parent assets - Atlan MCP Cookbook"
url: "https://atlan.com/mcp-cookbook/propagate-pii-tags-to-parent-assets/"
description: "Roll column-level PII classification up to parent tables and schemas so policies fire."
---

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Recipe 20 in [The Atlan MCP Cookbook](https://atlan.com/mcp-cookbook/). Roll column-level PII classification up to parent tables and schemas so policies fire.

Use case: Govern & keep trusted / Action: Make changes / Persona: Data Engineer, Data Governance Lead / Effort: Moderate / Runs in: any AI tool

Requires Atlan MCP connected to your AI tool: [set up Atlan MCP](https://docs.atlan.com/product/capabilities/atlan-ai/how-tos/remote-mcp-overview).

## 1. The task

**Scenario.** In the customers database, individual columns are tagged PII, but the tables and schemas above them are not. So table-level and schema-level policies never fire, and a control you think is on is quietly off. You want the classification rolled up to every level.

The ask:
- Every column tagged PII in customers
- Their parent tables and schemas
- The PII tag applied to any parent that is not already tagged

Hero prompt:

> Find all columns tagged as PII in the customers database. For each one, apply the PII tag to its parent table and schema if those aren't already tagged.

Step by step:

1. Find columns tagged PII. Prompt: "Find all columns tagged [PII] in the [customers] database."
2. Walk up to their parent table and schema. Prompt: "For each, find its parent table and schema."
3. Apply the same classification to parents where it's missing. Prompt: "Apply the [PII] tag to any parent that isn't already tagged."

## 2. What you'll give it

Required context:
- The database or scope to check (customers)
- The classification to roll up (PII, and any aliases like Confidential or Sensitive)
- Permission to apply tags

Optional context:
- Whether to stop at the table or continue to the schema and database
- Any parent to exclude, such as a reference table that should not inherit the tag

## 3. What Atlan creates

Outputs:
- Every PII-tagged column in customers, with its parent table and schema
- The PII tag applied to each parent that was missing it
- A consistent classification from column up to schema

**Summary.** The classification now holds at every level, so table-level and schema-level policies actually fire. A column tag alone never triggered them; now the controls apply where you expected.

**Writes to Atlan.** Changed: PII tags added to parent tables and schemas that lacked them. Left untouched: the column tags, the data, and any parent already correctly tagged.

## 4. Follow-up prompts

- **Prove the coverage:** "List any table with a PII column whose schema is still untagged, so I can confirm the roll-up is complete."
- **Extend the classes:** "Do the same for Confidential and Sensitive tags, not just PII."
- **Extend the roll-up:** "Continue up to the database level: if any schema under customers now carries PII, tag the database too."

## 5. Tips & troubleshooting

**Cook's note.** Do this before you rely on table-level policies. A column tag alone won't trigger them.

- Match the tool to the work. Classification changes are high-stakes; run it where you can review the parents to be tagged before it writes.
- Automate or chain it. Schedule it so newly tagged PII columns get their parents classified within a day, before a policy gap can open.
- Ask what it changed. Add "list every parent asset you tagged." For a compliance control, that record matters.

## Related recipes

- [Propagate context through lineage](https://atlan.com/mcp-cookbook/propagate-context-through-lineage/): Push descriptions and tags from a source table to every downstream asset in one pass.
- [Score assets for AI readiness](https://atlan.com/mcp-cookbook/score-assets-for-ai-readiness/): Rate assets on documentation, ownership, and quality before they enter AI pipelines.
- [Keep asset metadata fresh](https://atlan.com/mcp-cookbook/keep-asset-metadata-fresh/): Catch stale certifications, missing owners, and outdated descriptions early.

[Browse all recipes](https://atlan.com/mcp-cookbook/) / [Set up Atlan MCP](https://docs.atlan.com/product/capabilities/atlan-ai/how-tos/remote-mcp-overview)