Bates Numbering
Add sequential Bates numbers (prefix + number) to every page — for legal documents.
- Free, no sign-up
- No watermark
- Files deleted automatically
or drop a file here · paste with Ctrl+V
Up to 1 GB
Suggested tools
About Bates Numbering
Bates Numbering adds a unique, sequential identifier to the bottom-right corner of every page of a PDF — for example ABC000001, ABC000002 and so on. Law firms, courts, auditors and compliance teams use Bates numbers so that every page in a large set of documents can be referenced exactly.
Enter an optional prefix (such as a case or client code) and the starting number. Numbers are always padded to six digits, which keeps them sortable and consistent across a whole production set.
How to use Bates Numbering
- Upload the PDF to be numbered.
- Enter a prefix (optional, e.g. ABC or CASE-12-) and the number to start from.
- Press the button and download the numbered PDF. To continue numbering in the next file, start from the next number.
Key features
- Six-digit zero-padded numbers, e.g. ABC000001
- Custom prefix and starting number
- Stamped in the bottom-right corner of every page
- Prefixes in Gujarati or Hindi are supported
When to use Bates Numbering
- Numbering every page of documents produced in a court case or legal discovery.
- Labelling audit evidence or compliance submissions so each page can be cited exactly.
- Giving a large set of scanned records a permanent page reference before sharing them.
Tips and common problems
- Agree on a prefix format with the other party before you start — changing it later means renumbering everything.
- Merge all documents of one production set first, then number them in one pass so the sequence has no gaps.
- Keep a simple log of which file ended at which number if you number files separately.
- Numbers sit 24 points from the right and 16 points from the bottom; crop or resize pages with content in that corner first.
Frequently asked questions
It is a method of giving each page in a set of documents a unique number so it can be cited precisely ("see ABC000417"). It is standard in legal discovery and regulatory submissions.
Number the first file starting at 1, note the last number used, then number the next file starting from the following number. Or merge the PDFs first with Merge PDF and number them in one go.
In the bottom-right corner of every page, in small dark grey text, 24 points from the right edge.
No — the number is what makes each page unique. The prefix is optional; the number is always added.
Guides
- How to Add Gujarati or Hindi Text to a PDF — Why Gujarati and Hindi text turns into boxes or broken letters in PDFs, how fonts and text shaping fix it, and how to add a header, watermark or note.