Add Bates Numbers to PDF Files
or drop files here
Give every page in a document set its own permanent identifier, numbered straight through from the first file to the last. The stamped PDFs and the range log are produced on your device, so sensitive material never touches a server.
Order, number, log.
Add the files in order
Drop a single PDF or an entire production. Arrange the files in the order they should be numbered; each one's page count is read as soon as it lands.
Set the label
Pick a prefix, digit count and starting number, then the corner and font. The range every file will receive is listed before a single page is stamped.
Save the production
One file returns as a numbered PDF. Several return as a ZIP holding each numbered PDF, named by its range, together with a CSV log of every range.
Who relies on Bates numbers.
Whenever thousands of pages pass between parties, people need a way to name one page without ambiguity. A Bates number is that name.
Litigation productions
Every page handed to the other side gets its own number, so a witness, the judge and both legal teams can point to SMITH004512 and all mean the same sheet of paper.
E-discovery review sets
Review databases commonly index documents by their beginning and ending Bates numbers. Stamping the PDFs consistently keeps the images, the production log and the privilege log pointing at the same pages.
Insurance claims
Claimants and adjusters trade medical records, invoices and photos in bulk. A Bates reference lets a claim letter cite the exact page of a 400-page record instead of describing it.
Audits and investigations
Audit and compliance teams number evidence as it is gathered, so each finding in the report can cite a specific page, and a gap in the sequence shows at a glance that something is missing.
Regulatory filings
Submissions to regulators and agencies tend to be long and heavily cross-referenced. One continuous number across every exhibit gives reviewers a single way to find any page.
Arbitration hearing bundles
Bundles are easier to work from when every page carries a reference both sides agreed in advance, especially once documents are added late and the page order shifts.
Planning a numbering scheme that holds up.
One prefix per party or matter. The prefix tells anyone holding a page where it came from: ACME for documents produced by Acme, or a short matter code when one firm handles several cases. Keep it the same for the life of the matter.
A fixed digit count. Zero padding makes every label the same width, so ACME000099 sorts before ACME000100 in file lists and spreadsheets. Choose the width once, sized for the whole matter.
Never reuse a number, and never restart. Numbers run on from file to file across a production, and the next production picks up where the last one stopped. A withheld document is commonly replaced by a placeholder sheet carrying its numbers, so the sequence has no unexplained gap.
This describes common practice, not legal advice. A court's rules, a protective order or an agreed ESI protocol may set the exact format, so check those first. If scans need to be searchable for review, run them through OCR before numbering.
Worked example: prefix ACME, 6 digits
The first production starts at 1. Weeks later, a supplemental production starts at 49, the number shown as next unused after the first run.
| File | Pages | Bates range |
|---|---|---|
| Production 1complaint-exhibits.pdf | 12 | ACME000001 to ACME000012 |
| emails-2025.pdf | 30 | ACME000013 to ACME000042 |
| invoices.pdf | 6 | ACME000043 to ACME000048 |
| Supplementalboard-minutes.pdf | 15 | ACME000049 to ACME000063 |
Saved from the first run: a ZIP with three PDFs, such as ACME000013-ACME000042 emails-2025.pdf, plus bates-log.csv recording each range.
Questions answered.
What is a Bates number?
How are several files numbered?
How do I continue numbering for a supplemental production?
What is inside the ZIP?
How many digits should I use?
Will the number cover text on the page?
Which characters can a prefix contain?
Are the numbers searchable, and what about signed PDFs or PDF/A?
Are my documents uploaded?
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