Adding Page Numbers to a PDF, Including Bates Numbering
Where to place numbers, how to handle front matter that should not be numbered, and what Bates numbering is for in legal and discovery work.
Updated August 11, 20265 min read
Page numbers seem too trivial to need a guide until you are the person on a call saying "the third page of the second appendix, about halfway down" because the 200-page bundle everyone is looking at has no numbers on it. Numbering is what makes a document referenceable, and in legal and regulatory work it is not a convenience — it is a requirement with its own conventions.
Number last, not first
The order of operations matters more here than anywhere else in document assembly. Numbers are drawn onto pages: they do not update if the pages move. Number a document and then insert a page, and every number after the insertion point is now wrong — and there is no way to tell from looking at page 40 whether it is the fortieth page.
- 1Merge everything into one document first — see how to merge PDF files for getting the order right.
- 2Fix rotation and sequence so no page moves again.
- 3Remove anything that is not going out.
- 4Then number. This is the last structural step before sending.
Where to put them
| Position | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom centre | Reports, single-sided documents | Safe almost everywhere |
| Bottom outer corner | Double-sided printing | Must alternate sides by page parity |
| Bottom right | Legal bundles, Bates numbering | The convention in discovery work |
| Top right | Documents with footnotes | Can collide with headers |
Two practical constraints. Keep numbers at least 10–15mm from the page edge, because printers cannot reliably print to the edge and binding eats the inner margin. And check that the position is empty on *every* page — a number that sits neatly below the body text on page 1 can land on top of a full-width table on page 47.
Front matter that should not be numbered
Covers, contents pages and dividers conventionally either carry no number or use lowercase roman numerals, with arabic numbering starting at the first page of real content. That means the number printed on a page and its physical position in the file deliberately differ.
Two settings handle this: which pages get a *number*, and which number the first of them starts *at*. To leave a cover and contents unnumbered and have body page 1 be the third sheet, set the page range to 3 through the last page (e.g. 3-48) and the starting number to 1. Getting this wrong is the most common numbering error, and it is the same off-by-N that makes splitting a PDF go wrong.
Bates numbering
Bates numbering is a sequential identifier stamped on every page of a document set, usually with a prefix, so that each page in a production has a unique reference: SMITH-000001, SMITH-000002, and so on. It is named after the numbering stamp Edwin G. Bates patented in the 1890s, and it is now standard in litigation discovery, where a party may produce tens of thousands of pages and every one must be individually citable.
- A prefix identifying the producing party or matter — often initials or a case code.
- Zero-padded numbers, wide enough for the whole production. Six digits is the usual default; running out and restarting is a genuine problem.
- Continuity across files. The sequence runs through the entire production, not per document. Our tool gives every file the same starting number, so merge the production into one PDF first, or set each file's starting number to one past the previous file's last number.
- Bottom-right placement, by convention, clear of content.
The rule that matters: never renumber a produced set. Once pages have been cited by Bates number in correspondence or filings, those references are permanent. If pages are added later, they get their own new range rather than being inserted into the existing sequence.
Sequential or Bates-style, applied on your device. Case files and client documents are never uploaded. The free tier numbers one PDF of up to 25MB and 100 pages; larger bundles and batches need Pro.
Add page numbersChecking the result
Check the first numbered page
Confirm it carries the number you intended, not an offset of it. This one check catches the majority of errors.
Check the last page
The final number should match the count of pages you expected to number. A mismatch means the range was wrong.
Scan for collisions
Page through at thumbnail size looking for numbers sitting on top of content. Full-width tables and images are the usual offenders.
Check a printed page if it is going to print
Margins that look generous on screen can be inside a printer's unprintable area or lost in the binding.
One last consideration for anything leaving your organisation: numbering does not touch document metadata, so the file still carries its original title, author and creation history. If the bundle was assembled from internal drafts, that is worth checking before it goes out — the same caveat that applies to every other page-level operation.
Finally, keep an unnumbered master. Numbers become part of the page content once applied and cannot be cleanly stripped afterwards, so the only practical way to renumber a document that has changed is to go back to a copy that was never stamped. Saving that copy costs nothing and is the difference between a two-minute renumber and rebuilding the bundle from its parts.
Frequently asked questions
How do I add page numbers to a PDF for free?
Open the document in a page-numbering tool, choose the position and starting value, and apply. Do it as the last step after merging, reordering and removing pages, because the numbers are drawn onto the pages and do not update if pages move afterwards.
What is Bates numbering?
A sequential identifier stamped on every page of a document production, usually with a prefix and zero padding — `SMITH-000001` and so on — so each page has a unique, citable reference. It is named after the numbering stamp Edwin G. Bates patented in the 1890s, is now standard in litigation discovery, and runs continuously across an entire production rather than restarting per file.
How do I start numbering after the cover page?
Number only a page range, and set the starting value separately. To leave a cover and contents unnumbered with body page 1 on the third sheet, set the range to 3 through the last page (e.g. 3-48) and the starting number to 1.
Can I remove page numbers from a PDF?
Not cleanly once they are applied — they become part of the page content rather than a separate layer. Keep an unnumbered master copy so you can renumber from scratch if the document changes, which is far easier than trying to strip existing numbers.