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How to Add Bates Numbers to a PDF
This page walks you through it: four decisions, eight clicks and a check at the end. The tool is right below, free, and your PDFs are never uploaded.
Add Bates Numbers to a PDF
or drag PDF files, a whole folder or a ZIP here
Free, no limit on files, no sign-up. Files are read on your device and never uploaded.
Save as PDF
Keep this tab open until the download starts. Closing it stops the export.
One row per email and per attachment, with its first and last number.
Bates numbers for PDFs
Keep this tab open until the download starts. Closing it stops the numbering.
One row per file, with its pages and its first and last number.
Several emails? The paid features save them all at once: a ZIP of PDFs, or one merged PDF sorted by date with a contents page and page numbers. PDF and image attachments are added after their email, and all attachments come as a ZIP.
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For offices that save emails every week.
US$14.90 /month
billed every month
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US$99 /year
≈ US$8.25/month, billed yearly
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Recommended
Legal
For law firms that send numbered evidence.
US$24.90 /month
billed every month
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≈ US$16.58/month, billed yearly
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The free version stays free. See pricing.
Before You Start: Four Decisions
Decide these first, because the numbers cannot be changed on a finished file:
- The order. Numbers follow the order of the list, so put the files in the order the reader should meet them.
- The prefix. A short code such as ABC- for the case or the producing party. It can be empty.
- The start number. 1 for a new set; the next number after the last one you used if this set continues an earlier one.
- One file or many. One merged PDF is easy to send. One PDF per file in a ZIP keeps each original’s bookmarks, form fields and jump links.
Keep your original files. The numbered PDFs are new downloads, and there is no button to take numbers off again. The number lands in the bottom right corner of every page, and each page is shrunk a little to make room for it, so a numbered page is slightly smaller than the original when you print it.
Step by Step: From Files to a Numbered PDF
- Drag your PDFs onto the box at the top, or use Choose PDF files or Choose a folder. A ZIP of PDFs works too.
- A list appears, one row per file, with its page count. A file that cannot be numbered says so in its row and is skipped.
- Fix the order. Drag a row, press its arrows, or use Sort by file name. Use Remove on a file that should not be in the set.
- Type the prefix. The rows now show the numbers each file will get, for example “12 pages · ABC-000001 to ABC-000012”.
- Set Start at if you are not starting from 1.
- Choose the output and, if you like, tick “Page x of y”.
- Click Download numbered PDF. The numbering runs in your browser with a progress bar.
- When the line “Checked: … no gaps, no repeats” appears, the download has started. Then click Download number list (CSV).
Check the Result
The tool has already checked itself: it reads the numbers back from the finished PDF and compares every page. If a page is wrong, nothing downloads and the message names the page. For your own look, open the first and last page of each file and confirm the number sits in the bottom right corner and nothing is covered.
The number list helps here. It has a row per file with its page count and its first and last number, so you can add the rows up and compare the total with the last number of the set.
Hand It Over
Send the numbered PDFs, and the number list if the other side should have an index. When you refer to the set, give the range the tool printed, for example ABC-000001 to ABC-000507. The done message also tells you the size of the file, which helps when an email system limits attachments.
Hold on to the original files and to the CSV. If a question comes later about which file a number belongs to, the CSV answers it.
When Something Goes Wrong
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A row says “Not numbered: encrypted or restricted and cannot be changed” | The file has a password, or an owner password that limits editing even though it opens without one. The tool cannot change it | Open it in a PDF reader, print it to a new PDF (Save as PDF, or Microsoft Print to PDF), add that copy, and remove the old row |
| A row says “could not be read as a PDF” | The file is damaged or is not really a PDF | Try opening it in a PDF reader; if it opens, print it to a new PDF and add that |
| A line says a file is digitally signed | Numbering changes the file, so the signature will no longer be valid | Number a copy; keep the signed original |
| The prefix is marked with a message | It has a character the standard font cannot print, or it is too long | Use A–Z, a–z, 0–9, space and - _ . / up to 20 characters (no accented letters); the message names the character |
| “Number check failed” | A page did not carry the number it should | Nothing was downloaded. Try again, with fewer files if the set is big |
Adding More Files Later
Say the first batch ended at ABC-000507. After the download click Start the next batch at 508: the list empties, the prefix stays, and the start number is filled in. If you closed the tab, open the number list from the first batch, read the last end number, add one, and type it into Start at. The prefix and start number are remembered in this browser, so they are usually already there.
For the reasons behind the format and the checks, read Bates numbering for PDF. For emails with attachments, see merge EML files into one PDF.
FAQ
How do I add Bates numbers to a PDF for free?
Drop the PDF on the box at the top of this page, type a prefix such as ABC-, and click Download numbered PDF. It is free for everyone, with no account.
Can I add Bates numbers to several PDFs at once?
Yes. Drop them all, put them in order, and the numbers run on from one file to the next. You get one merged PDF or one PDF per file in a ZIP.
Can I start the numbers at 500?
Yes. Type 500 in Start at. Spaces and commas are understood, and so is a number typed with the same prefix as the Prefix box, such as ABC-000500 when the Prefix box holds ABC-.
Can I Bates number only some pages of a file?
No. Every page of every file in the list gets a number. To number only part of a document, split the document first and add the part you want.
How do I remove Bates numbers I added?
This tool cannot remove them. Run it again on your original files with the settings you want.