How to Bates-number PDFs for discovery
Bates numbering gives every page in a production a unique, consistent label so everyone can cite the same document. Here is how to do it cleanly, including load files, without the documents ever leaving your machine.
If you produce documents in litigation, Bates numbering is not optional. It is the shared addressing system that lets everyone point to the same page without confusion.
What Bates numbering is, and why discovery needs it
Bates numbering stamps a unique identifier on every page of a document set, usually a prefix plus a zero-padded sequence, for example ACME000001, ACME000002. The name comes from the Bates stamping machine lawyers used for about a century before this moved to software.
In discovery it is how citation works. When opposing counsel writes "see ABC000123," everyone is looking at the exact same page. Without consistent numbering, producing and citing documents across a case becomes a mess that is hard to clean up later.
What a clean Bates scheme looks like
- A prefix that identifies the producing party or matter, for example SMITH, ACME, or DEF.
- Enough zero padding that the numbers sort correctly across the whole set. Six digits handles up to 999,999 pages.
- A consistent position on the page, usually the bottom right, placed so it does not cover content.
- Continuous numbering across the set, so a range like SMITH000045 to SMITH000052 is unambiguous.
- Often a confidentiality designation alongside it, for example CONFIDENTIAL, for protected material.
How to Bates-number a PDF, step by step
- Open your PDF, or several at once, in the Bates tool. They load in your browser, and nothing is uploaded.
- Set your scheme. Choose the prefix, the starting number, the padding, and the position. Add a confidentiality stamp if you need one, and skip pages such as cover sheets when required.
- Apply and export. KeptPDF stamps every page and can generate a load file (CSV, and on Pro the .DAT and .OPT formats) plus a production report, so the numbers line up with your review platform.
Re-stamping and overlapping ranges
If a set was already numbered and you need to re-stamp it, KeptPDF places the new number in a clean box so it does not collide with the old one. To keep ranges from overlapping between productions, continue the sequence from where the last one ended rather than restarting at one.
Why do it in your browser
A production set is exactly the kind of material you do not want briefly sitting on a third party's server. KeptPDF stamps the documents on your device, so the set never leaves your machine, and you can run it in Airplane Mode to confirm that for yourself.