Stamp sequential Bates numbers (EXH-000001) across every page — configurable prefix, padding, and position. 100% in-browser.
Drop a PDF and configure the Bates sequence — nothing is stamped until you confirm
Bates stamping runs entirely in your browser with pdf-lib. Your file is never uploaded. Numbers are burned into the page — keep an unstamped original.
When production documents enter discovery, every page needs a unique, sequential identifier that survives copying, excerpting, and cross-referencing — the Bates number, born from the 19th-century Bates automatic numbering machine and still the standard in litigation, medical records review, and audit binders. A proper Bates stamp has three parts: a prefix identifying the exhibit or production batch (EXH-, PL-001-), a zero-padded sequence where the digit count must accommodate the final page number (padding 6 for a 500-page production is conventional), and an optional suffix for sub-batches. Numbers are burned into the page content — they cannot be un-stamped, so this tool stamps a copy: keep your original. Placement convention puts the number in a corner clear of content; bottom-right is the common default, and the size (9 pt) reads cleanly without obscuring body text.
The digit width adapts to your document length: a 450-page file with start 1 pads to 3 digits unless padding forces 6.
The firm must produce 312 pages of email exhibits, numbered PL-000001 through PL-000312, bottom-right, before the Friday deadline.
To Bates-number a PDF: set your prefix, start number, and position, then apply — every page is stamped locally in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
FreeToolHub Bates Numbering is a free browser-based tool that stamps sequential Bates numbers across PDF pages with custom prefix, padding, and position, no signup, no upload.
Add Bates numbering to PDFs online free. Sequential numbers with custom prefix, zero padding, suffix, and position (EXH-000001). Live preview before stamping, original file untouched. 100% browser-based - no upload, no signup.
A Bates number is three parts: a prefix that identifies the production or exhibit within the case, a zero-padded sequence that sorts correctly as text, and an optional suffix for sub-batches. The padding is not cosmetic — it is what keeps EXH-000009 before EXH-000010 in any file explorer or index spreadsheet that sorts alphabetically, a detail that breaks when tools pad inconsistently. Digit width must accommodate the final page: stamping 450 pages at padding 3 produces EXH-450, which is fine, but the same padding on a production that grows to 1200 pages produces inconsistent widths. When in doubt, pad generously.
Real productions span multiple source documents: 40 emails become 40 PDFs that must share one continuous sequence. The workflow is to merge first (PDF Merge) and stamp the combined file, or stamp each volume with a start number matching where the previous ended. The start-number input exists precisely for the second pattern — stamp volume one starting at 1, note the final number, stamp volume two starting at that number plus one. The live preview always shows the first number of the current configuration, so a mis-set start is caught before stamping rather than in the review queue.
Bates numbers are permanent the moment they are drawn into page content. Keep the unstamped original in your matter file: if the production scope changes, you re-stamp from the original with a new prefix or range rather than trying to work around old numbers. The download is named with a -bates suffix to keep the two straight on disk. For the stamped production copy, consider PDF Protect to prevent modification, and PDF Metadata Editor to record the production date and responsible party in the document properties.
A Bates number is a unique sequential identifier stamped on every page of a production document set — the standard in litigation discovery, medical records review, and audit binders. It lets any page be cited unambiguously ("see PL-000041") even after copying or excerpting. Law firms, compliance teams, and anyone producing paginated evidence volumes use it daily.
The prefix identifies the exhibit or production batch (EXH-, PL-001-). Zero padding must accommodate your final page number: padding 6 fits a 500-page production and keeps sort order stable (EXH-000009 sorts before EXH-000010). The start number matters when numbering across multiple documents in one production — the second volume starts where the first ended. The live preview shows exactly how the first number will read before anything is stamped.
Bottom-right is the common convention, placed in the margin clear of body content. Courts and production protocols sometimes specify otherwise — check yours. The tool offers all six positions (three across the bottom, three across the top) with adjustable margin and font size, so you can match an existing production format exactly.
The numbers are burned into the page content like any other text — they cannot be peeled off the way an annotation layer can. That is by design: a Bates number that could be removed would not prove anything. This is why the tool stamps a copy and leaves your original untouched; keep both. If you need a different numbering later, re-stamp from the original.
Entirely in your browser using pdf-lib text stamping. The file never leaves your device — essential for discovery materials, medical records, and anything under privilege.
What do you call a nosy pepper?
No signups, no data sold. Every tool is free to use — the free tier allows 5 downloads or saves per day, and the optional Pro plan ($7/mo, $59/yr) adds unlimited downloads, batch processing, white-label exports and an ad-free experience.
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