Bates numbering is the practice of stamping every page of a document set with a unique, sequential identifier so that any page can be cited precisely and unambiguously. It is standard in legal discovery, and it turns up wherever a set of documents has to stay referenceable: medical records, insurance claims, audits and regulatory filings.
This guide covers the conventions, the mistake that quietly ruins a production, and how to stamp a whole set free in your browser without sending privileged material to anyone.
How to Bates number a set of PDFs
- Open ihatepdf.cv/bates-numbering — no account and nothing to install.
- Add every PDF in the production, then use the arrows to put them in the order the numbering should follow.
- Set the format — a prefix such as ABC, the starting number, and how many digits to pad to. Six is the usual choice.
- Check the range preview, which shows the first and last number the whole set will receive before anything is written.
- Apply and download — each file reports the exact range it got, and the production log comes out as a CSV.
What a Bates number looks like
Conventionally a party or case prefix followed by a zero-padded sequence:
ABC000001, SMITH-000042, DEF00001234. The prefix
identifies the producing party or matter; the number identifies the page.
The zero-padding is not decoration. Fixed-width numbers sort correctly in a file listing and read unambiguously in a filing. A set that runs from ABC1 to ABC1200 sorts as 1, 10, 100, 1000, 11, 110 in most file managers — which is exactly the kind of small mess that wastes an afternoon three months later.
How many digits should you use?
Enough that the highest number in the production still fits without the field widening. Six digits covers just under a million pages and is the common default. Under-padding is the mistake to avoid, because you cannot fix it later without re-stamping and re-citing everything.
The mistake that ruins a production
The entire point of a Bates number is that it identifies exactly one page in one production, permanently. That guarantee collapses the moment numbering restarts with each file.
Most free tools stamp one document at a time. Run a twelve-exhibit production through a tool like that and you get twelve pages all stamped 000001. They cannot be told apart in a filing, a deposition or a privilege log — and the problem is invisible until somebody tries to cite a page and finds three candidates.
Numbering has to treat the set as the unit: you order the files, and the sequence flows straight through them. If the first exhibit ends at ABC000042, the second begins at ABC000043. The ihatepdf tool works this way and reports the exact range each file received, so those ranges can go straight into your log.
Bates numbers are not page numbers
They look similar and behave completely differently. Page numbers describe a position inside one document and restart at 1 in the next one — two documents in a bundle will both have a page 3. Bates numbers describe a position inside an entire production and never repeat.
Use page numbers when you want readers to navigate a single document. Use Bates numbering when a set of documents has to be citable as a set. They are not alternatives, and the same pages frequently carry both.
The production log
The log is the record of which Bates range belongs to which document, and it is what lets anyone locate a cited page later. Retyping ranges by hand is a classic source of error — transposed digits, a range that overlaps its neighbour, an exhibit that got missed entirely.
A tool that already knows the ranges should write the log for you. The ihatepdf tool exports a CSV listing every source file, its stamped output, and its begin and end Bates numbers, which drops straight into a spreadsheet or a case management system.
Where to put the stamp
Bottom right is the convention, and it is the default for good reason: it is the corner a reader's thumb does not cover and the one least likely to collide with letterheads or footers. Two practical adjustments are worth knowing. If the stamp lands on existing content, increase the margin to move it clear. If it lands on a dark scan or a photograph, put a white plate behind it so it stays readable — an unreadable Bates number is functionally a missing one.
Cover pages and exhibit separators
Practices differ on whether exhibit cover sheets get numbered. Some productions number every physical page without exception; others skip separators so the numbers correspond only to substantive pages. Neither is wrong, but you must be consistent across the whole production and record which convention you used. Where you are skipping covers, a skip-first-page option applied uniformly is safer than deleting pages and re-adding them.
Why not to upload a production
A document production is, close to by definition, the material you least want sitting in a third party's upload queue. Conventional online Bates tools require you to send every page of a discovery set to infrastructure you do not control — difficult to justify to a client, and harder to justify to a court if it goes wrong.
Browser-based stamping removes the question. The files are opened, stamped and saved on your own machine using WebAssembly; there is no transmission, so there is nothing to secure or delete. Once the page has loaded you can disconnect from the network and the stamping still completes. If your set also needs sensitive material removed, do that with real redaction before stamping, not with black rectangles.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bates numbering?
A sequential page identifier applied across a document set so any page can be cited precisely. It normally combines a party or case prefix with a zero-padded number, such as ABC000001.
Does numbering continue across multiple files?
It must, and this is the single most important thing to check in any tool. Numbering that restarts per file produces duplicate identifiers, which defeats the purpose entirely.
Can I continue from a previous production?
Yes — set the starting number to one past where the last production ended. The range preview lets you confirm the first and last number before committing.
How many digits should a Bates number have?
Six is the standard default, covering just under a million pages. Use more only if the production could plausibly exceed that.
Does Bates numbering work on scanned documents?
Yes. The number is drawn onto the page as new content, so no text layer is required. It works identically on scans, native PDFs and mixed sets.
Is Bates numbering only used in law?
It began in legal discovery and remains most common there, but the same idea is used in medical records, insurance claims, audit and regulatory submissions, and archival scanning.
Will the stamp cover up my content?
It can on documents with content running into the margin. Increase the margin to move it clear, or enable a white plate behind the number so it stays legible wherever it falls.