Reference
Bates stamp is the correct spelling. Bate stamp, bate stamped, batestamped, and bate number are widespread misspellings of the same thing: sequential page identifiers applied to a litigation document production.
Write Bates stamp. The term is named after Edwin G. Bates, who patented the Bates Automatic Numbering Machine in the late 1800s. Because the word is a surname, the s is part of the name and never drops, the same way you would not write Edison bulb as Ediso bulb.
Everyone in a deposition still understands "was that document bate stamped?" It is a spoken-language slip that made it into writing, not a different practice.
A Bates stamped page carries one unique label, applied in order, that never repeats inside a matter. The label typically combines a party or case prefix with a zero-padded counter, for example SMITH-000123, ACME-000001, or DEF 0004521. Convention puts it in the bottom-right corner, inside the margin so it never covers original content.
A confidentiality designation such as CONFIDENTIAL or ATTORNEYS EYES ONLY is often stamped in a second corner on the same page.
Use Bates stamp or Bates number in anything that goes to a court or opposing counsel, capitalized as a proper name. Inside your own team, nobody will correct a lowercase bates stamp in a chat message. What does need to be exact is the stamp itself: one prefix, one padding width, one separator, and an unbroken sequence across every production in the matter.
Bates stamp is the correct spelling. The term comes from the Bates Automatic Numbering Machine, named after its inventor Edwin G. Bates, so the s belongs to the surname and is never dropped. Bate stamp, bate stamped, and bate number are common phonetic misspellings that mean the same thing.
When someone says a document is bate stamped, they mean it is Bates stamped: every page carries a unique sequential identifier, usually a prefix plus a zero-padded number such as SMITH-000123, so any page can be cited precisely.
Yes. Bates stamping, Bates numbering, and Bates labeling all describe applying sequential page identifiers to a document production. Stamping emphasizes the act of marking the page, numbering emphasizes the sequence, and labeling is common in e-discovery load file terminology.
Yes in formal writing, because Bates is a proper name. Filings and vendor documentation often use lowercase bates stamp informally, and courts do not treat capitalization as substantive.
Hyphenate it when it is used as a verb or compound modifier, as in bates-stamped exhibits. As a noun, Bates stamp is written as two words. Consistency inside one matter matters more than the style you pick.
A bate number is a misspelling of Bates number: the individual sequential identifier printed on a single page of a production, such as ACME-000042.
Spelling in correspondence is harmless, but the stamp itself must be consistent. Mixing prefixes, padding widths, or separators inside one matter creates ambiguous citations and sort order problems in review platforms.
Set a prefix, a start number, and a corner, then stamp. Files are processed on your device and never uploaded.
