---
title: "Use Case Guide: Custom Metadata and Tags"
url: "https://atlan.com/resources/custom-metadata-tags/"
description: "A use case guide with examples of when and how to use custom metadata and tags in Atlan for governance, access control, lineage propagation, and discovery."
---

> Atlan is hosting Context Conference, bringing together the leaders and builders at the frontier of giving AI the context it needs to understand their business. It runs online on October 28, 2026, from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM ET. Atlan co-founder Prukalpa Sankar opens and closes the day. Leaders from AstraZeneca, BNY and Verizon share why they invest in context and what they get from it. Registrants get early access to The AI Context Gap, a new study from MIT Technology Review Insights. Register: https://atlan.com/context-conference/

**Use Case Guide: Custom Metadata and Tags.** An Atlan resource page; its description follows under the page's own heading.

## About this demo

Best practices and examples for implementing custom metadata and tags in Atlan, to enrich data assets with business-specific context and improve governance, security, discovery, and alignment with real-world workflows.

### Custom metadata

When to use it and its advantages: grouping related metadata, creating badges, restricting visibility to relevant domains, and more advanced customization. Examples:

- Completeness scoring systems (page 3)
- Ownership roles (page 4)
- Embedded access request links (page 5)
- Service-level agreements (page 6)
- Business-specific filters (page 7)
- Refresh cadence indicators (page 8)
- Metric math documentation (page 9)

### Tags

Most effective for access control, lineage propagation, and syncing with external platforms like Snowflake and Databricks (page 14). Examples:

- Sensitivity levels (page 15)
- Staging stages (page 16)
- Synced warehouse tags (page 17)
- Enrichment initiatives (page 18)
- Internal vs. external use delineation (page 19)
- Access control policies (page 20)

Together, custom metadata and tags form a framework for governance and discovery, tailored to needs such as compliance requirements, business context, or secure access.

Related: [Join live demos](https://atlan.com/live-demo-series/) / [Talk to us](https://atlan.com/forms/talk-to-sales-contact/)

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