Reference
Bates numbering is the practice of stamping a unique, sequential identifier on every page of a document production so any page can be cited, located, and verified later. It is the backbone of discovery recordkeeping in United States litigation.
A Bates number is a page-level label, applied in order, that never repeats within a matter. One page equals one number. The label usually combines a prefix identifying the producing party with a zero-padded counter, for example SMITH-000123.
Because the numbers run in an unbroken sequence, opposing counsel, the court, and your own team can point to a single page out of hundreds of thousands and everyone finds the same document.
Examples: ACME-000001, DEF 0004521, PLTF-EX-000087.
The most common production mistake is restarting the counter. If a second batch reuses numbers already sent, two different pages carry the same citation, and every filing that references them becomes ambiguous. Skipped ranges look like withheld documents.
Track the last number used per matter, not per file. BatesTool does this with Case Matters, which remember the prefix and the next available number so each production resumes exactly where the previous one stopped.
You can stamp PDFs with desktop software such as Adobe Acrobat Pro, with e-discovery platforms, or in the browser. BatesTool runs entirely client side: choose a prefix, a starting number, padding, and a corner position, then stamp and download. The files are processed on your machine and never uploaded, which keeps privileged material off third-party servers.
Bates numbering is a method of applying a unique, sequential identifier to every page of a document production so each page can be cited and retrieved later. A typical label combines a case or party prefix with a zero-padded number, such as SMITH-000123.
The name comes from the Bates Automatic Numbering Machine, a hand-held self-incrementing stamp patented by Edwin G. Bates in the late 1800s. Law firms used the device to number paper documents, and the name carried over to digital page labeling.
There is no single legal standard, but the common format is PREFIX-NNNNNN: an abbreviation identifying the producing party or case, a separator, and a zero-padded number wide enough to cover the whole production, usually six digits.
The bottom-right corner is the convention because it stays visible when documents are stapled, bound, or scanned. Place it inside the margin so it does not cover the original page content.
No. A Bates number identifies every page in a production sequentially. An exhibit stamp labels a specific document used at a deposition or trial, such as Exhibit A. Many documents carry both marks at once.
Yes, within a matter. Each new production should pick up where the last one ended so no number is reused or skipped. Gaps and duplicates create disputes about what was produced and when.
Not reliably. The stamp is written into the output PDF, so always keep unstamped originals in a separate folder and treat the stamped set as the production copy.
Set a prefix, a start number, and a position, then stamp. Free for small productions, and no file leaves your device.
