Bates numbering
Stamp sequential legal numbering across a whole set of files.
- Zero-transmission processing
- No watermark
- Limited daily trial
- Unlimited on Pro
Drop your PDFs here
or pick them from your device
Your files are never transmitted. Nothing is uploaded.
Before you start
- Add every file of the set at once — numbering continues from one file to the next, in list order.
- Want each file named by its range? Turn on Name each file by its Bates range.
Good to know
- Accepts
- Files at once
- Up to 100
- Transmission
- None — nothing is uploaded.
Chain it
Run Bates numbering → Compress PDF back to back — nothing to download in between.
How to do it
Add your file
Add the documents to be numbered. Add them together in the order they belong: the numbering runs continuously across the whole set, not restarting for each file.
Set it up the way you want
Set the prefix, the starting number and how many digits. ABC-000001 and its successors are what a court or opposing counsel will cite, so the format matters more than the appearance.
Download the result
Download the numbered set. Every page now carries a unique identifier that can be referenced precisely in a filing, a deposition or a letter, and bates-log.csv lists each file’s first and last number for the production index.
More than one change to make?
Open the editor: change the text that’s already there, fill and sign, cover up and rearrange pages — one file, undo for every step.
Try every tool before you pay. Download with Pro ($11/month) or a day pass ($3).
Open the editorQuestions about Bates numbering
- Why not just use page numbers?
- Because page numbers restart with every document. A Bates number is unique across an entire production, so "ABC-004215" identifies exactly one page out of tens of thousands — which is the whole point when two sides need to refer to the same page without ambiguity.
- Can I continue numbering from a previous batch?
- Yes — set the starting number to where the last batch ended. Productions usually arrive in stages, and the sequence has to continue rather than restart.
- Do my case documents get uploaded?
- No. Everything is numbered without an upload. For privileged material this is not a convenience, it is a requirement.