Bates Numbering
Stamp sequential Bates numbers across one or more PDFs, with a live preview and continuous numbering across files, right in your browser.
Drop one or more PDFs here, or click to browse
Add several files to number them as one continuous sequence
How Bates numbering works
Bates numbering is a document-indexing convention that gives every page of a document set a unique, sequential identifier — typically a short prefix followed by a zero-padded number, like ABC-000001, ABC-000002, and so on. It originated in legal discovery (named after the Bates automatic numbering machine from the 1890s) and is still the standard way attorneys, paralegals, and compliance teams reference an exact page in a filing, an exhibit, or a production without any ambiguity — "see page ABC-000047" means one specific page, permanently.
This tool stamps that numbering onto your PDFs entirely in your browser: pick a prefix, a starting number, how many digits to zero-pad to, where on the page the stamp should sit, and its font size — a live preview of your actual first page updates instantly as you adjust any of these, so you know exactly what the output will look like before you run it. Add more than one PDF and they're numbered as a single continuous sequence in the order you arrange them, exactly like a real legal production: the second file's first page picks up right where the first file's last page ended. Nothing is uploaded anywhere in the process.
Common use cases
- Indexing exhibits and documents for legal discovery or litigation review
- Numbering pages in a contract set or compliance filing for unambiguous reference
- Stamping medical or insurance records for consistent internal tracking
- Preparing a multi-file document production where reviewers need to cite an exact page
- Archiving scanned records with a permanent, traceable identifier per page
Bates numbers are conventionally applied to every page, including cover pages — unlike page numbers, they aren't meant to restart or skip anything, since the whole point is a stable, unique ID per page. When numbering several files together, the order they're arranged in before you run the tool is the order the sequence follows, so double-check it before stamping.
Related tools
Bates Numbering — frequently asked questions
Bates numbering (also called Bates stamping) is a document-indexing convention, originally from legal discovery, that stamps a unique sequential identifier — a text prefix plus a zero-padded number, like ABC-000001 — onto every page of a document set. It's what lets an attorney, paralegal, or reviewer reference "page ABC-000047" and know exactly which page they mean, with no ambiguity across a filing, an exhibit, or a production.
Regular page numbers restart at 1 for every new document and just describe position within that one file. Bates numbers are a persistent, unique ID meant to stay attached to a specific page no matter how it's copied, filed, or referenced later — they typically don't restart, and the identifier format (prefix + padding) usually stays consistent across an entire case or project rather than resetting per file.
Yes — set any text prefix, choose the starting number, and pick how many digits to zero-pad to (for example, 6 digits turns 47 into 000047). The live preview updates instantly as you change any of these, so you can see the exact stamp before running it.
Five positions are available — bottom-right (the most common convention), bottom-center, bottom-left, top-right, and top-left — plus a font size slider from 8pt to 24pt. The preview reflects whichever combination you pick in real time.
No — the Bates stamp is drawn in the position you choose without modifying any existing content, page numbers, or watermarks. If something else is already stamped in that exact spot, the two may visually overlap, so it's worth picking a position that's actually free on your document.
Yes — add several PDFs and they're numbered as a single running sequence in the order you arrange them: the first page of the second file picks up exactly where the last page of the first file left off. Reorder files with the up/down controls before stamping, and download either the single result or all of them together as a .zip.
Yes to both — no sign-up, no daily limit, and every PDF is read and stamped entirely in your browser. Nothing is ever uploaded to a server.