What is Bates numbering, and how do you do it?
· 6 minute read
Bates numbers give every page of a legal production a unique, sortable identifier. What they are, how the prefix and width work, and how to apply them to a PDF.
If you have ever seen a page in a legal document with a small code at the bottom, something like ABC000417, you have seen a Bates number. It is a way of giving every page in a body of documents a unique address, so that anyone involved can refer to exactly one page without ambiguity. This article explains how it works and how to produce one. It is general information and not legal advice; the rules for a particular case come from the court or the parties.
Where the name comes from
Bates numbering is named after a numbering machine, the Bates Automatic Numbering Machine, that stamped a running number on documents as they were filed. The idea has outlived the machine. Today the numbers are written onto digital pages, but the purpose is the same: one running sequence, unbroken, across everything that is being exchanged.
What makes it different from page numbers
- It does not restart. Page numbers begin again at 1 in each document; a Bates number carries on across the whole production.
- It has a prefix, usually an abbreviation of the party or the case, so a page can be traced to who produced it.
- It has a fixed width. 000417 rather than 417, so that the numbers sort correctly in a list and every page’s label is the same length.
Together these properties mean that "ABC000417" can be cited in a statement, found in an index and checked against a list, with no chance of confusing it with a page 417 from some other document.
The three settings
To produce a Bates number you decide three things.
- The prefix. Keep it short and recognisable, and do not reuse one that another party is using in the same matter.
- The start number. If this is the first batch, it is 1. If it continues an earlier one, it is the next number after the last page you already numbered.
- The number of digits. Choose enough for the largest number you expect to reach. Six digits allows almost a million pages.
Do things in the right order
A production is built in a sequence, and the numbers go on last.
- Assemble the documents into one file, in the order they will be produced, with Merge PDF.
- Remove anything privileged or confidential from the pages with Redact, which deletes the text and does not merely cover it.
- Apply the Bates numbers to the finished set with Bates numbering.
- Record the first and last number of the batch. The last one tells you where the next batch begins.
Common mistakes
The most damaging mistake is a repeated number. If a start number is wrong, or if two batches are numbered from the same starting point, two different pages end up with the same identifier, which defeats the whole point. Check the start number before every run, and check the last number afterwards.
The second is numbering before redaction. If you number first and then remove or add a page, the sequence has a gap or a duplicate. Always finish the content before you stamp the numbers.
Tools mentioned
- Bates numbering — A prefix and a fixed-width number on every page, for a bundle.
- Merge PDF — Several files, one document, in the order you put them in.
- Redact — Take words out of the file, not just paint over them.
- Page numbers — Numbering across the document, in the corner you pick.