Stamp a PDF with Bates numbers
Stamp a PDF with sequential Bates numbers — a matter prefix, a fixed-width zero-padded number, an optional suffix — continuing the sequence across as many documents as a production contains. Applied on your device, with no copy uploaded anywhere.
Bates Numbering
prefix · zero-padded · continues across files
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How to Bates Numbering
- Add the document. Drop the PDF in. The preview shows where the stamp will land.
- Set the prefix and width. Enter the matter or party code and how many digits the number should be padded to. Six is the usual choice.
- Set the starting number. For the first document, 1. For every one after it, the number the previous document ended on plus one — which the result tells you.
- Stamp and download. Save the numbered PDF. The result names the first and last number used.
What makes Bates numbering different from page numbers
Three things, and all three exist for the same reason: a Bates number identifies a page across an entire production, not within one file.
It is fixed width, zero-padded. ABC000042 and ABC001337 are the same length, so they align in a column and sort correctly as text — which matters when the index is a spreadsheet and the sort is alphabetical.
It carries a prefix identifying the matter, the producing party, or both. Two parties producing documents into the same case would otherwise both have a page 42.
It continues across documents. The sequence does not restart with each file, which is the whole point: a reference to ABC001337 must identify exactly one page in the entire production, and the person reading the reference has no idea which file it lives in.
Running a numbering across a set of documents
Stamp the first document starting at 1. When it finishes, the result tells you the number the next document should start at — the last number used plus one. Enter that as the starting number for the second document, and so on.
Write those ranges down as you go. The record of which document occupies which range is the production index, and it is what makes the numbering useful rather than decorative. A reference to a Bates number is only resolvable if someone can look up which document contains it.
Number late. Stamping before the set is final means renumbering everything the moment a document is added, removed or re-ordered — and a Bates number that has been quoted in correspondence and then changed is worse than no numbering at all. Merge, remove and reorder first, then stamp once.
Where to put the stamp
Bottom right is the convention, and conventions in this context are worth following — reviewers scan for the number in the place they expect it, and a document numbered somewhere unusual slows down everyone who handles it.
The default margin keeps the stamp clear of the unprintable band around the edge of a sheet, so it survives printing and photocopying rather than being trimmed off.
If the bottom-right corner already carries a footer, move the stamp to bottom left rather than letting it overlap. The preview shows the collision before you commit to it. Overlapping text is not merely untidy here: an illegible Bates number on a produced document can be a genuine problem.
Why doing this locally matters more than usual
Documents being Bates numbered are, almost by definition, privileged or confidential: they are heading into discovery, a tender, or a regulatory filing. They are the last documents anyone should be posting to a third-party server for processing.
The stamping happens in your browser. The file is read with the File API, the text is drawn into the pages in the page, and the result goes straight to your downloads folder. Nothing is transmitted, so there is no retention policy to read, no processor to add to a data map, and nothing held anywhere for anyone to disclose later.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bates numbering?
A sequential page-identification scheme used in legal discovery and document production. Each page gets a unique, fixed-width, usually prefixed number so any page in a whole production can be referred to unambiguously.
Can the numbering continue across several documents?
Yes. Stamp each document in turn, starting each one at the number after the previous document's last — the result tells you what that number is.
Can I add a prefix like a case or party code?
Yes, and a suffix if your convention uses one. The number between them is zero-padded to whatever width you set.
How many digits should I use?
Six is the usual choice and covers a production up to 999,999 pages. Choose enough that the count cannot outgrow the width, since changing it later means renumbering everything.
Where should the stamp go?
Bottom right is the convention. Move it only if that corner already carries a footer — the preview shows any collision before you apply it.
Are my documents uploaded?
No. The stamping runs entirely in your browser, which is the only responsible way to handle documents heading into discovery.
Can I remove or change a Bates number later?
Not with this tool — once stamped, the text is part of the page content. Keep the unstamped original, which is why numbering should be the last step before production.