How to add Bates numbers to a PDF
Updated
Contents
To add Bates numbers to a PDF, open Add Page Numbers, add your file, and choose Bates number under Format. Type a prefix, pick how many digits the number has, and press Add page numbers. Every page gets the prefix and a number padded with zeros, starting from ACME-000001.
Bates numbering is how legal, insurance and audit work labels pages: every page in a set of documents gets its own reference, and the references never repeat. Because the number always has the same count of digits, the references sort in order and anyone can point to one page by quoting it.
It runs in your browser, so your PDF stays on your device. It numbers one file at a time, up to 100 MB.
Step by step
- 1Open the Add Page Numbers tool and drop your PDF where it says Drop your PDF here, or click browse. It stays on your device.
- 2Under Format, choose Bates number in place of Page numbers.
- 3Type a Prefix, such as ACME-, and set Digits to how long the number should be, from 1 to 12. The preview beside the Format heading shows the first page's label.
- 4Under Placement, pick where the number goes, and set First number to the number the first page should carry.
- 5Press Add page numbers, then Download numbered PDF. The copy is named after yours, with -numbered added.
The prefix and the digits
The prefix is printed exactly as you type it, before the number, so it can be a case name, a client code or a party's initials, with a dash or a space to separate it. Leave it empty for a bare number. Digits sets how wide the number is: with 6 digits, the first page reads ACME-000001 and page 250 reads ACME-000250.
A number that grows past the width is printed in full, never cut short, so choose enough digits for the whole set at the start. The number is drawn on the page as real text in the font you pick, so it can be searched for and copied in any PDF reader.
Numbering a set of several files
Add Page Numbers numbers one PDF at a time, and each file starts counting from First number. It has no way to carry the count from one file to the next on its own, so a set of files can be numbered in one of two ways.
The first is to combine the files with Merge PDF before you number them, so the numbers run straight through one PDF. The second keeps the files apart: number the first file, note the last number on its last page, and set First number to the next one for the following file. A new batch of documents carries on from the last batch the same way.
Making sure no page is skipped
A Bates number usually goes on every page, the cover and the blank pages included. So keep Start on page at 1, and under Pages, font and color, leave Leave the cover unnumbered unticked and Skip last pages at zero: both of those leave pages without a number.
The number is drawn on top of what is already on the page. If a footer or a page number already sits in that spot, choose another position under Placement or a larger Margin, and check the preview of the downloaded copy before you send it.
Common questions
What is a Bates number?
A unique reference printed on every page of a document set, made of a prefix and a number with a fixed count of digits, such as ACME-000001. Lawyers and auditors use it to refer to a single page without ambiguity.
Can I continue numbering from a previous batch?
Yes. Set First number to the number after the last one you used. If the last batch ended on ACME-000250, set First number to 251 and the first page reads ACME-000251.
Can I Bates number several PDFs in one go?
Not in one step: the tool numbers one PDF at a time, and each file starts from First number. Combine the files with Merge PDF first so the numbers run through all of them, or number each file in turn and set First number to carry on from the last.
Can I write my own Bates template?
Yes. With Page numbers chosen, type into the Custom format field: {n:6} prints the number padded to 6 digits, so ACME-{n:6} gives the same labels as the Bates number style, and you can add your own text around it.
Is my PDF sent to a server?
No. The numbers are drawn in your browser tab and the copy is saved on your device; the PDF is not sent to pdf.xyz.