diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/conversion-gen/args/args.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/conversion-gen/args/args.go
index cc61c48d49f..02663bfce1a 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/conversion-gen/args/args.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/conversion-gen/args/args.go
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/pflag"
+
+	"k8s.io/gengo/v2"
 )
 
 // DefaultBasePeerDirs are the peer-dirs nearly everybody will use, i.e. those coming from
@@ -57,13 +59,20 @@ type Args struct {
 	// GoHeaderFile is the path to a boilerplate header file for generated
 	// code.
 	GoHeaderFile string
+
+	// GeneratedBuildTag is the tag used to identify code generated by execution
+	// of this type. Each generator should use a different tag, and different
+	// groups of generators (external API that depends on Kube generations) should
+	// keep tags distinct as well.
+	GeneratedBuildTag string
 }
 
 // New returns default arguments for the generator.
 func New() *Args {
 	return &Args{
-		BasePeerDirs: DefaultBasePeerDirs,
-		SkipUnsafe:   false,
+		BasePeerDirs:      DefaultBasePeerDirs,
+		SkipUnsafe:        false,
+		GeneratedBuildTag: gengo.StdBuildTag,
 	}
 }
 
@@ -81,6 +90,7 @@ func (args *Args) AddFlags(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
 		"If true, will not generate code using unsafe pointer conversions; resulting code may be slower.")
 	fs.StringVar(&args.GoHeaderFile, "go-header-file", "",
 		"the path to a file containing boilerplate header text; the string \"YEAR\" will be replaced with the current 4-digit year")
+	fs.StringVar(&args.GeneratedBuildTag, "build-tag", args.GeneratedBuildTag, "A Go build tag to use to identify files generated by this command. Should be unique.")
 }
 
 // Validate checks the given arguments.
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/conversion-gen/generators/conversion.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/conversion-gen/generators/conversion.go
index b1ac8209a56..a5f1b0cfb43 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/conversion-gen/generators/conversion.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/conversion-gen/generators/conversion.go
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@ func getManualConversionFunctions(context *generator.Context, pkg *types.Package
 }
 
 func GetTargets(context *generator.Context, args *args.Args) []generator.Target {
-	boilerplate, err := gengo.GoBoilerplate(args.GoHeaderFile, gengo.StdBuildTag, gengo.StdGeneratedBy)
+	boilerplate, err := gengo.GoBoilerplate(args.GoHeaderFile, args.GeneratedBuildTag, gengo.StdGeneratedBy)
 	if err != nil {
 		klog.Fatalf("Failed loading boilerplate: %v", err)
 	}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/conversion-gen/main.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/conversion-gen/main.go
index cd52a9b9643..5aec5025d58 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/conversion-gen/main.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/conversion-gen/main.go
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ func main() {
 		generators.NameSystems(),
 		generators.DefaultNameSystem(),
 		myTargets,
-		gengo.StdBuildTag,
+		args.GeneratedBuildTag,
 		pflag.Args(),
 	); err != nil {
 		klog.Fatalf("Error: %v", err)
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/defaulter-gen/args/args.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/defaulter-gen/args/args.go
index 52a9d1c67d0..8d8dfe97f42 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/defaulter-gen/args/args.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/defaulter-gen/args/args.go
@@ -20,17 +20,27 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/pflag"
+
+	"k8s.io/gengo/v2"
 )
 
 type Args struct {
 	OutputFile    string
 	ExtraPeerDirs []string // Always consider these as last-ditch possibilities for conversions.
 	GoHeaderFile  string
+
+	// GeneratedBuildTag is the tag used to identify code generated by execution
+	// of this type. Each generator should use a different tag, and different
+	// groups of generators (external API that depends on Kube generations) should
+	// keep tags distinct as well.
+	GeneratedBuildTag string
 }
 
 // New returns default arguments for the generator.
 func New() *Args {
-	return &Args{}
+	return &Args{
+		GeneratedBuildTag: gengo.StdBuildTag,
+	}
 }
 
 // AddFlags add the generator flags to the flag set.
@@ -41,6 +51,7 @@ func (args *Args) AddFlags(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
 		"Comma-separated list of import paths which are considered, after tag-specified peers, for conversions.")
 	fs.StringVar(&args.GoHeaderFile, "go-header-file", "",
 		"the path to a file containing boilerplate header text; the string \"YEAR\" will be replaced with the current 4-digit year")
+	fs.StringVar(&args.GeneratedBuildTag, "build-tag", args.GeneratedBuildTag, "A Go build tag to use to identify files generated by this command. Should be unique.")
 }
 
 // Validate checks the given arguments.
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/defaulter-gen/generators/defaulter.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/defaulter-gen/generators/defaulter.go
index f7a6864c745..82e1cdd2070 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/defaulter-gen/generators/defaulter.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/defaulter-gen/generators/defaulter.go
@@ -222,7 +222,7 @@ func getManualDefaultingFunctions(context *generator.Context, pkg *types.Package
 }
 
 func GetTargets(context *generator.Context, args *args.Args) []generator.Target {
-	boilerplate, err := gengo.GoBoilerplate(args.GoHeaderFile, gengo.StdBuildTag, gengo.StdGeneratedBy)
+	boilerplate, err := gengo.GoBoilerplate(args.GoHeaderFile, args.GeneratedBuildTag, gengo.StdGeneratedBy)
 	if err != nil {
 		klog.Fatalf("Failed loading boilerplate: %v", err)
 	}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/defaulter-gen/main.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/defaulter-gen/main.go
index d57ca0666cd..0250c1328fd 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/defaulter-gen/main.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/defaulter-gen/main.go
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ func main() {
 		generators.NameSystems(),
 		generators.DefaultNameSystem(),
 		myTargets,
-		gengo.StdBuildTag,
+		args.GeneratedBuildTag,
 		pflag.Args(),
 	); err != nil {
 		klog.Fatalf("Error: %v", err)