About Bates numbering
Bates numbering is how a legal bundle gets an address on every page. Instead of "page 3 of the second exhibit", every page carries one unique, sequential identifier, such as ABC000417, so anyone can point at it without ambiguity and the whole production sorts into order. It is routine in litigation and regulatory work, and it is tedious to do by hand.
This tool writes a Bates number at the foot of every page of a PDF. You choose a prefix, the number to begin at and how many digits to pad to, and the numbers are stamped in a few seconds. The work is done in your browser, so the documents you are numbering are not uploaded. Bates numbering is part of Plus.
How to Bates number a PDF
- Choose the PDF, or merge a bundle into one first with Merge PDF.
- Under "Put them", choose bottom right, bottom centre or bottom left. Bottom right is the usual position.
- Enter the prefix, such as a client or case abbreviation, "ABC". Leave it empty for bare numbers.
- Set "Start at". The default is 1. To carry on from a previous production, enter the next number in your sequence. A start of 0 is accepted; a negative or fractional start is refused with an explanation, because a repeated number defeats the purpose.
- Set "Digits", the width the number is padded to. The default is 6, which gives ABC000001. Numbers longer than the width are not truncated.
- Press the button, check the preview, and save the numbered file.
When you would use it
- Preparing documents for disclosure or production in a dispute, where each page needs a unique identifier.
- Numbering a set of exhibits so a witness statement can cite "ABC000417".
- Continuing a numbering sequence from an earlier batch by starting at the next number.
- Giving an internal file of contracts a stable, sortable reference on every page.
- Numbering a bundle for a regulator or auditor who asks for page-level references.
What it will not do
- The numbers go along the bottom of the page, in one of three positions. There is no top-of-page option.
- The number runs continuously through the single file you give it. To number several files in sequence, merge them first, or run them one after another and set each run’s start number to continue the last.
- There is no suffix option in the tool, although the numbering itself pads the digits to a fixed width.
- It stamps the numbers on; it does not check for numbers already printed. If a page already has a Bates stamp, a second one will be written beside or over it.
- It is not a redaction or confidentiality tool. Use Redact to remove sensitive text first, then number the result.
How it compares
Dedicated litigation-support software does Bates numbering as part of a larger case-management product, with templates, load files and indexing. That is the right tool for a very large production. For a bundle of a few hundred pages that needs a clean, consistent identifier, a browser tool that stamps the numbers and asks for nothing else is quicker to reach for.
Plain page numbers restart with each document and have no prefix. Bates numbers are fixed-width and carry an identifier, so they sort correctly and cannot be confused with page numbers from another file.
Tips
- Pick the width for the largest number you will reach. Six digits covers up to 999,999 pages, which is more than most productions need.
- Redact and merge before numbering, not after. The number should be the last thing added to the final set of pages.
- Write down the last number you used. It is the start number for your next batch.