diff --git a/include/sta/VectorMap.hh b/include/sta/VectorMap.hh
index 5fa6990c..e035469a 100644
--- a/include/sta/VectorMap.hh
+++ b/include/sta/VectorMap.hh
@@ -394,6 +394,35 @@ public:
     data_.clear();
   }
 
+  // OpenROAD-fork: tag-match
+  // Reserve backing storage to avoid reallocations during repeated inserts.
+  void reserve(size_type n) {
+    data_.reserve(n);
+  }
+
+  // OpenROAD-fork: tag-match
+  // Lookup that also reports the sorted insertion position (lower_bound index)
+  // when the key is absent, so a subsequent insertAtPos() can skip the second
+  // binary search. The returned iterator behaves exactly like find(); pos is the
+  // index where the key would be inserted to keep data_ sorted.
+  iterator findInsertHint(const Key& key, size_type &pos) {
+    auto it = findInsertPos(key);
+    pos = static_cast<size_type>(it - data_.begin());
+    if (it != data_.end() && !comp_(key, it->first))
+      return iterator(it);
+    return end();
+  }
+
+  // OpenROAD-fork: tag-match
+  // Insert key/value at a position previously returned by findInsertHint().
+  // The caller guarantees the key is absent and pos is its lower_bound index,
+  // so the sorted order is preserved identically to operator[]/insert().
+  void insertAtPos(size_type pos,
+                   const Key& key,
+                   const Value& value) {
+    data_.insert(data_.begin() + pos, std::make_pair(key, value));
+  }
+
   // Capacity
   bool empty() const {
     return data_.empty();
diff --git a/search/TagGroup.cc b/search/TagGroup.cc
index 6fbe4d93..25f8d930 100644
--- a/search/TagGroup.cc
+++ b/search/TagGroup.cc
@@ -168,6 +168,8 @@ TagGroupBldr::init(Vertex *vertex)
   vertex_ = vertex;
   path_index_map_.clear();
   paths_.clear();
+  insert_pos_ = no_insert_pos_;  // OpenROAD-fork: tag-match
+  insert_tag_ = nullptr;
   has_clk_tag_ = false;
   has_genclk_src_tag_ = false;
   has_filter_tag_ = false;
@@ -198,13 +200,22 @@ TagGroupBldr::tagMatchPath(Tag *tag,
   // Find matching group tag.
   // Match is not necessarily equal to original tag because it
   // must only satisfy tagMatch.
-  bool exists;
-  findKeyValue(path_index_map_, tag, path_index, exists);
-  if (exists)
+  // OpenROAD-fork: tag-match
+  // findInsertHint() records the sorted insertion position so a following
+  // insertPath() (when match == nullptr) can skip a second binary search.
+  size_t pos;
+  auto it = path_index_map_.findInsertHint(tag, pos);
+  if (it != path_index_map_.end()) {
+    path_index = it->second;
     match = &paths_[path_index];
+    insert_pos_ = no_insert_pos_;
+    insert_tag_ = nullptr;
+  }
   else {
     match = nullptr;
     path_index = 0;
+    insert_pos_ = pos;
+    insert_tag_ = tag;
   }
 }
 
@@ -258,7 +269,19 @@ TagGroupBldr::insertPath(Tag *tag,
 
 {
   size_t path_index = paths_.size();
-  path_index_map_[tag] = path_index;
+  // OpenROAD-fork: tag-match
+  // Reuse the insertion position recorded by the immediately preceding
+  // tagMatchPath() (which found no match) to avoid a redundant binary search.
+  // The hint is only valid when no map mutation happened in between, which is
+  // the case for all setArrival()/setMatchPath() call sites. Fall back to a
+  // full sorted insert otherwise.
+  if (insert_pos_ != no_insert_pos_ && insert_tag_ == tag) {
+    path_index_map_.insertAtPos(insert_pos_, tag, path_index);
+    insert_pos_ = no_insert_pos_;
+    insert_tag_ = nullptr;
+  }
+  else
+    path_index_map_[tag] = path_index;
   paths_.emplace_back(vertex_, tag, arrival, prev_path, prev_edge, prev_arc, sta_);
 
   if (tag->isClock())
@@ -276,6 +299,11 @@ TagGroupBldr::insertPath(Tag *tag,
 void
 TagGroupBldr::insertPath(const Path &path)
 {
+  // OpenROAD-fork: tag-match
+  // This overload has no preceding tagMatchPath(), so clear any stale hint to
+  // force a full sorted insert.
+  insert_pos_ = no_insert_pos_;
+  insert_tag_ = nullptr;
   insertPath(path.tag(sta_), path.arrival(), path.prevPath(), path.prevEdge(sta_),
              path.prevArc(sta_));
 }
diff --git a/search/TagGroup.hh b/search/TagGroup.hh
index 2865186a..4100ff42 100644
--- a/search/TagGroup.hh
+++ b/search/TagGroup.hh
@@ -153,6 +153,15 @@ protected:
   int default_path_count_;
   PathIndexMap path_index_map_;
   std::vector<Path>  paths_;
+  // OpenROAD-fork: tag-match
+  // Insertion position recorded by tagMatchPath() when a tag is absent, so the
+  // following insertPath() can skip a redundant binary search. no_insert_pos_
+  // means "no valid hint" (callers that insert without a preceding lookup).
+  static constexpr size_t no_insert_pos_ = ~static_cast<size_t>(0);
+  size_t insert_pos_{no_insert_pos_};
+  // Tag the hint was recorded for; the hint is only reused when the following
+  // insertPath() is for this same tag (guards against a stale hint).
+  Tag *insert_tag_{nullptr};
   bool has_clk_tag_{false};
   bool has_genclk_src_tag_{false};
   bool has_filter_tag_{false};
diff --git a/search/test/cpp/CMakeLists.txt b/search/test/cpp/CMakeLists.txt
index 1f0b7a52..62a12045 100644
--- a/search/test/cpp/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/search/test/cpp/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ sta_cpp_test(TestSearchStaInitB)
 sta_cpp_test(TestSearchStaDesign)
 sta_cpp_test(TestSearchStaDesignB)
 sta_cpp_test(TestSearchIncremental)
+sta_cpp_test(TestVectorMapHint)  # OpenROAD-fork: tag-match
 
 # Compatibility aggregate target for legacy scripts that still build TestSearch.
 add_custom_target(TestSearch
diff --git a/search/test/cpp/TestVectorMapHint.cc b/search/test/cpp/TestVectorMapHint.cc
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3b6144bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/search/test/cpp/TestVectorMapHint.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+// OpenSTA, Static Timing Analyzer
+// Copyright (c) 2026, Parallax Software, Inc.
+//
+// This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+// (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// 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, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+// OpenROAD-fork: tag-match
+// Unit test for the VectorMap insert-position hint API
+// (findInsertHint / insertAtPos) added to skip the redundant binary search
+// on the TagGroupBldr tag-insert hot path. Verifies that building a map with
+// the hint API yields exactly the same contents and order as operator[].
+
+#include "VectorMap.hh"
+
+#include <random>
+#include <vector>
+
+#include "gtest/gtest.h"
+
+namespace {
+
+using sta::VectorMap;
+
+using IntMap = VectorMap<int, int, std::less<int>>;
+
+// Build a reference map with operator[] and a candidate map with the
+// findInsertHint()/insertAtPos() fast path, then assert identical contents.
+static void
+checkHintMatchesOperatorBracket(const std::vector<int> &keys)
+{
+  IntMap ref{std::less<int>()};
+  IntMap hint{std::less<int>()};
+
+  for (int k : keys) {
+    int value = k * 10 + 1;
+    // Reference: plain operator[] insert (does its own binary search).
+    ref[k] = value;
+
+    // Candidate: mimic TagGroupBldr's tagMatchPath()+insertPath() pattern.
+    size_t pos = 0;
+    auto it = hint.findInsertHint(k, pos);
+    if (it != hint.end())
+      // Already present: overwrite, same as operator[].
+      (*it).second() = value;
+    else
+      hint.insertAtPos(pos, k, value);
+  }
+
+  ASSERT_EQ(ref.size(), hint.size());
+  // VectorMap iterates in sorted key order; compare element by element.
+  auto ri = ref.begin();
+  auto hi = hint.begin();
+  for (; ri != ref.end() && hi != hint.end(); ++ri, ++hi) {
+    EXPECT_EQ((*ri).first(), (*hi).first());
+    EXPECT_EQ((*ri).second(), (*hi).second());
+  }
+  EXPECT_EQ(ri, ref.end());
+  EXPECT_EQ(hi, hint.end());
+}
+
+TEST(VectorMapHint, InsertAscending)
+{
+  checkHintMatchesOperatorBracket({0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7});
+}
+
+TEST(VectorMapHint, InsertDescending)
+{
+  checkHintMatchesOperatorBracket({7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0});
+}
+
+TEST(VectorMapHint, InsertWithDuplicates)
+{
+  // Duplicate keys must take the "found" branch and overwrite, not reinsert.
+  checkHintMatchesOperatorBracket({3, 1, 3, 2, 1, 0, 2, 3, 5, 5});
+}
+
+TEST(VectorMapHint, InsertRandomOrders)
+{
+  std::mt19937 rng(12345);
+  for (int trial = 0; trial < 200; trial++) {
+    std::vector<int> keys;
+    int n = rng() % 30;
+    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
+      keys.push_back(static_cast<int>(rng() % 20));
+    checkHintMatchesOperatorBracket(keys);
+  }
+}
+
+TEST(VectorMapHint, HintFindAgreesWithFind)
+{
+  IntMap m{std::less<int>()};
+  for (int k : {10, 20, 30, 40}) {
+    size_t pos;
+    auto it = m.findInsertHint(k, pos);
+    EXPECT_EQ(it, m.end());
+    m.insertAtPos(pos, k, k);
+  }
+  // Present keys: findInsertHint must agree with find().
+  for (int k : {10, 20, 30, 40}) {
+    size_t pos;
+    auto hint_it = m.findInsertHint(k, pos);
+    auto find_it = m.find(k);
+    ASSERT_NE(hint_it, m.end());
+    EXPECT_EQ((*hint_it).second(), (*find_it).second());
+  }
+  // Absent keys: end() and a valid insertion position keeping order sorted.
+  for (int k : {5, 15, 25, 35, 45}) {
+    size_t pos;
+    auto hint_it = m.findInsertHint(k, pos);
+    EXPECT_EQ(hint_it, m.end());
+    EXPECT_LE(pos, m.size());
+  }
+}
+
+}  // namespace