diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 291513ecaf6..0c10b13a2aa 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -74,7 +74,18 @@ a test!
 
 4. Make the test pass.
 
-5. Push to your fork and submit a pull request. Please provide us with some
+5. Commit your changes. Please use an appropriate commit prefix.
+If your pull request fixes an issue specify it in the commit message. Some examples:
+
+  ```
+  [DOC beta] Update CONTRIBUTING.md for commit prefixes
+  [FEATURE ds-pushpayload-return] Change `pushPayload` to return a value. #4110
+  [BUGFIX beta] Allow optional spaces when parsing response headers
+  ```
+
+  For more information about commit prefixes see [Commit Tagging](#commit-tagging).
+
+6. Push to your fork and submit a pull request. Please provide us with some
 explanation of why you made the changes you made. For new features make sure to
 explain a standard use case to us.
 
@@ -99,10 +110,48 @@ taken straight from the Ruby on Rails guide:
 
 And in case we didn't emphasize it enough: we love tests!
 
+
 ## Writing Tests
 
 * We do write tests for our warns and assertion messages, using the `assert.expectAssertion()` and `assert.expectWarning()` helpers.
 * Because Travis runs tests in the `production` environment, assertions and warnings are stripped out. To avoid tests on warning/assertion messages failing for your PR, use the `testInDebug` helper to skip them in production. See [this](https://github.com/emberjs/data/blob/b3eb9c098ef8c2cf9ff3378ed079769782c02bb5/tests/integration/adapter/queries-test.js#L32) example.
 
+## Commit Tagging
+
+All commits should be tagged. Tags are denoted by square brackets (`[]`) and come at the start of the commit message.
+
+### Bug Fixes
+
+In general bug fixes are pulled into the beta branch. As such, the prefix is: `[BUGFIX beta]`. If a bug fix is a serious regression that requires a new patch release, `[BUGFIX release]` can be used instead.
+
+For bugs related to canary features, follow the prefixing rules for features.
+
+The vast majority of bug fixes apply to the current stable or beta releases, so submit your PR against `emberjs:master` with one of the above mentioned BUGFIX tags.  (In the unusual case of a bug fix specifically for a past release, tag for that release `[BUGFIX release-1-13]` and submit the PR against the stable branch for that release: `emberjs:stable-1-13`.)
+
+### Cleanup
+
+Cleanup commits are for removing deprecated functionality and should be tagged
+as `[CLEANUP beta]`.
+
+### Features
+
+All additions and fixes for features in canary should be tagged as `[FEATURE name]` where name is the same as the flag for that feature.
+
+### Documentation
+
+Documentation commits are tagged as `[DOC channel]` where channel is `canary`,
+`beta`, or `release`. If no release is provided `canary` is assumed. The channel should be the most stable release that this documentation change applies to.
+
+### Security
+
+Security commits will be tagged as `[SECURITY cve]`. Please do not submit security related PRs without coordinating with the security team. See the [Security Policy](http://emberjs.com/security/) for more information.
+
+### Other
+
+In general almost all commits should fall into one of these categories. In the cases where they don't please submit your PR untagged. An Ember contributor will let you know if tagging is required.
+
+
+NOTE:
+* Partially copied from https://raw.github.com/thoughtbot/factory_girl_rails/master/CONTRIBUTING.md
+* Commit tagging section taken from [ember.js](https://github.com/emberjs/ember.js/blob/5641c3089180bdd1d4fa54e9dd2d3ac285f088e4/CONTRIBUTING.md#commit-tagging)
 
-NOTE: Partially copied from https://raw.github.com/thoughtbot/factory_girl_rails/master/CONTRIBUTING.md