Add sequential page numbers, letters, or custom labels to every page.
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Add Bates numbers to every page
Bates numbering places a unique sequential label on every page of a PDF, turning loose pages into an indexed document you can cite with confidence. Legal teams, auditors, and researchers rely on it to keep discovery and records organized. This tool applies the numbers entirely in your browser, and it requires a Premium subscription.
The convention comes from legal discovery, where each page of evidence carries a distinct number so everyone can refer to the same item. That habit spreads well beyond the courtroom. Insurance claims, regulatory submissions, and scanned archives all benefit when every page has a stable reference that survives printing and copying.
Bates numbering differs from ordinary page numbers in one important way: you control the prefix, the starting value, and the suffix. A label like DEF-001234-v1 tells a reader at a glance which matter the page belongs to, while a bare page number carries no such context. That extra information is what makes the numbering useful in large, shared document sets.
Before applying numbers, you set a prefix and suffix, a starting number, and a digit count between three and six. Leading zeros pad each value so labels sort correctly in any system, from 00001 to 99999 in a five-digit run. A live preview shows the first few labels so you can check the format before committing.
Five positions are available: the bottom right corner, bottom left, bottom center, or the top left and top right. The labels are drawn in a small black Helvetica font at a consistent margin, so they read cleanly even on dense legal pages. Choosing the corner used by your existing filing system keeps older and newer documents looking consistent, and the small type keeps the numbering unobtrusive on scanned content.
A confirmation screen appears when the numbering is done, with a download button for the new file. The original stays untouched, so you can re-run the job with different settings without starting over, and the whole process takes only as long as it takes to read your document locally.
Pro tip
For an entire archive, keep the prefix and digit count consistent from the first batch onward. Numbers that start clean at the beginning of a project are much easier to reference later than a scheme you change halfway through, and consistent padding keeps every label in sorted order across exhibits.
Once a document carries Bates labels, its pages can be cited precisely, filed in any order, and cross-referenced across exhibits. That stability is exactly why the numbering survives as the standard for organized records. When you need the same labels again, the settings persist in your browser for the session, so repeating the task takes only a file selection.
The numbering also works well outside formal discovery. A multi-part manual whose sections are renumbered, a scanned archive being brought into a document system, or a set of images that need page references for a video edit all gain from the same trick: a unique label per page that everyone can agree on. The moment a page is cited, the label proves its worth.
Bates numbering is a Premium feature, so you need an active subscription to use it. The file is processed locally on your device, meaning confidential discovery material never touches a server and no copy is stored anywhere. The only thing that leaves your machine is the download you choose to make, and the numbered PDF you get back is a standard file like any other.