diff --git a/utils/ndn-fw-hop-count-tag.h b/utils/ndn-fw-hop-count-tag.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0ed62f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/utils/ndn-fw-hop-count-tag.h
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+/* -*- Mode: C++; c-file-style: "gnu"; indent-tabs-mode:nil -*- */
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2013 University of California, Los Angeles
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation;
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ * along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
+ *
+ * Author: Alexander Afanasyev <alexander.afanasyev@ucla.edu>
+ */
+
+#ifndef NDN_FW_HOP_COUNT_TAG_H
+#define NDN_FW_HOP_COUNT_TAG_H
+
+#include "ns3/tag.h"
+
+namespace ns3 {
+namespace ndn {
+
+/**
+ * @brief Packet tag that is used to track hop count for Interest-Data pairs
+ */
+class FwHopCountTag : public Tag
+{
+public:
+  static TypeId
+  GetTypeId (void);
+
+  /**
+   * @brief Default constructor
+   */
+  FwHopCountTag () : m_hopCount (0) { };
+
+  /**
+   * @brief Destructor
+   */
+  ~FwHopCountTag () { }
+
+  /**
+   * @brief Increment hop count
+   */
+  void
+  Increment () { m_hopCount ++; }
+
+  /**
+   * @brief Get value of hop count
+   */
+  uint32_t
+  Get () const { return m_hopCount; }
+
+  ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+  // from ObjectBase
+  ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+  virtual TypeId
+  GetInstanceTypeId () const;
+  
+  ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+  // from Tag
+  ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+  
+  virtual uint32_t
+  GetSerializedSize () const;
+
+  virtual void
+  Serialize (TagBuffer i) const;
+  
+  virtual void
+  Deserialize (TagBuffer i);
+
+  virtual void
+  Print (std::ostream &os) const;
+  
+private:
+  uint32_t m_hopCount;
+};
+
+} // namespace ndn
+} // namespace ns3
+
+#endif // NDN_FW_HOP_COUNT_TAG_H