Add Bates numbers to PDFs in your browser — CASE-2026-000001 format, custom prefix, padded digits, date and section tokens, continuous numbering across multiple files. Your legal documents never leave your device.
Add page numbers, Bates labels, and watermarks directly in the browser.
Preview appears when safe; very large PDFs skip preview and keep download fast.
Every jurisdiction and professional context has its own Bates convention. Here are the most common formats supported by the tool.
| Format | Output | Use case |
|---|---|---|
| BATES-{page:000001} | BATES-000001 | Legal productions and discovery |
| CASE-{date}-{page:000001} | CASE-2026-000001 | Case files and evidence bundles |
| TENDER-{section}-{page:0001} | TENDER-SEC-0001 | Tender submissions |
| ANNEX-{section}-{page:000} | ANNEX-A-001 | Annexures and appendices |
| HR-{date}-{page:00001} | HR-2026-00001 | HR compliance files |
| AUDIT-{filename}-{page:000} | AUDIT-report-001 | Audit document sets |
Bates numbering is a page stamping standard used in legal, audit, and compliance work. Unlike regular page numbers that restart at 1 for each document, Bates numbers are unique sequential identifiers that run continuously across an entire document set. Every page gets a stamp like CASE-2026-000001 — making each individual page traceable and citable regardless of which document it came from.
The format was named after the Bates Automatic Numbering-Stamping Machine, a mechanical device used in law firms for decades. Today, Bates stamping is done digitally — but the same traceability principle applies. Courts, arbitration bodies, regulatory agencies, and major audit standards often require Bates-style numbering for discovery productions, evidence bundles, and compliance filings.
In litigation, legal teams Bates-stamp every page produced in discovery so that deposition questions, court filings, and expert reports can reference specific pages by their unique Bates number. A deposition might cite “see CASE-000247” rather than “see page 12 of Exhibit 4” — eliminating ambiguity when multiple parties have assembled documents differently. Courts in India, the UK, the US, Australia, and other common-law jurisdictions regularly require Bates-stamped document productions.
Tax audit responses, corporate compliance filings, due diligence document sets, and HR investigation files are typically Bates-stamped to create an unambiguous page reference system. When auditors or regulators request “production of all pages relating to contract XYZ”, the responding party can provide a specific Bates range — AUDIT-000145 through AUDIT-000182 — that is verifiable and traceable.
Many government and institutional tender processes require that all submitted pages be sequentially numbered across the entire submission. The numbering format — prefix, digit count, and starting number — is often specified in the Request for Proposal. This tool’s custom format field and starting number control support any required format.
Legal documents, case files, and audit records are among the most sensitive documents that exist. Online tools that upload your PDF to a remote server — including DeftPDF, pdfFiller, and most other Bates numbering services — create a record of your confidential file on third-party infrastructure. Number My Document processes every document in your browser. Your files never touch any server. Verify this by blocking network traffic in browser developer tools and confirming that processing still completes correctly.
Common questions about Bates stamps for legal, audit, and tender documents.
Bates numbering stamps each page with a unique sequential identifier — e.g. CASE-2026-000001 — combining a prefix, padded counter, and optional date or section label. Every page is individually traceable across legal, audit, tender, and compliance document sets.
Upload your PDF, enter your prefix, set padded digit length and starting number, then click Process. Your Bates-stamped PDF downloads from your browser. No server upload, no account.
PREFIX-000001: capital letter prefix plus zero-padded 6-digit number. Example: SMITH-000001. Always verify the specific requirements of the court, tribunal, or tender authority.
Yes. Upload multiple PDFs. The counter continues across all files — if PDF 1 ends at CASE-000050, PDF 2 starts at CASE-000051. All files download in a single ZIP.
No. Page numbering adds readable integers within one document. Bates numbering adds unique cross-document identifiers for traceability across an entire legal production or document set.
Yes. Enter your required prefix, set padded digit count, and number across all submission PDFs continuously. Batch ZIP output includes each file individually stamped.
Yes. All processing runs in your browser using PDF-lib. Legal files never touch any server. Verify this by monitoring network requests in browser developer tools while processing.
Yes. Set the starting number to any value — if the previous batch ended at CASE-000250, enter 251. Ensures continuous numbering across multiple processing sessions.