Bates Numbering for PDFs
Runs in your browser — your files are never uploaded.
Stamp a continuous, uniquely identifying number onto every page of a PDF — the convention discovery and document production run on, so that a deposition can cite SMITH-000412 and everyone is looking at the same page. Set a prefix, a starting number and the padding width, and carry the last number forward into the next document to keep a production continuous. The file is stamped on your own machine, which for privileged material is the only sensible arrangement.
OptionsPrefix: · Start at: 1 · Digits: 6 · Position: Bottom right
How to use Bates Numbering
- 1
Drop in the PDF you are producing.
- 2
Set the prefix, the number to start at, and how many digits to pad to — six is the usual choice.
- 3
Download the stamped file. The result tells you the last number used, which is where the next document starts.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Bates numbering?+
A sequential identifier stamped on every page of every document in a production, so each page can be referred to unambiguously. It takes its name from the Bates Manufacturing Company, whose self-incrementing hand stamp did the job mechanically before documents were digital. Uniqueness across the whole production is the entire point — two pages sharing a number defeats it.
Why are the numbers zero-padded?+
Because litigation databases sort these labels as text, not as numbers, and text sorting puts "SMITH-1002" before "SMITH-412" unless every number is the same width. Padding to a fixed six digits keeps the sort order correct. If a number outgrows its padding this tool widens the label rather than dropping a digit — a truncated number would collide with another page.
How do I keep numbering continuous across several files?+
Stamp the first document, then read the last number from the result and enter it plus one as the starting number for the next. The summary after each run reports exactly where it finished for this reason.
How is this different from adding page numbers?+
A page number restarts at 1 in every document and exists for the reader's convenience. A Bates number never repeats across an entire production and exists to identify a specific page in a specific document among thousands. That is why this tool has a prefix and fixed-width padding, and the page-number tool does not.
Is my document uploaded?+
No. The stamping happens in your browser through the same PDF library the rest of the site uses, and nothing about the file leaves your machine — which matters when the documents are privileged or under a protective order.