Bates Numbering

What Bates numbering is

A Bates number is a unique identifier stamped on every page of a set of documents, so that any single page can be cited exactly. The name comes from the Bates Automatic Numbering-Machine, a hand stamp invented by Edwin G. Bates in the late nineteenth century that printed a number and advanced it by one with each press. Law offices used it for decades to number paper documents; the electronic version does the same job on PDFs.

It is a fixture of litigation in the United States. When parties exchange documents in discovery, the producing party stamps each page, typically with a prefix identifying the party or matter and a zero-padded sequence: SMITH000001, SMITH000002 and so on through the whole production. From then on, depositions, motions and exhibits refer to pages by those numbers — “see SMITH004417” — and everyone can find the same page instantly. Courts and the electronic-discovery protocols parties agree to commonly require it, and often specify the format.

Numbering a production across many files

What makes a Bates number useful is that it never repeats within a production. So the numbering here runs continuously across files: if the first document has 12 pages and takes ABC000001 to ABC000012, the second starts at ABC000013. Order matters, and the list can be rearranged with the arrows before stamping; the range each file will receive is shown beside it as you go.

Zero-padding keeps the numbers the same width, so they sort correctly as text and line up in an index — six to eight digits is usual, enough for productions of a million pages or more. The prefix usually identifies the producing party or the case, and an optional suffix covers schemes that need one. For a later production, set the first number to continue where the last one ended; reusing numbers defeats the purpose.

Numbers usually sit in the lower right corner, clear of the document's own content, which must never be obscured. Any of the six edge positions is available, with the distance from the edge adjustable for documents that run close to the margin.

Confidentiality legends

Documents produced under a protective order usually carry a designation on every page as well as the Bates number — CONFIDENTIAL, or HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY. The legend field stamps that text in a second position, so a page can carry both in one pass. Check the wording against the order itself; the designations are defined there.

Like the numbers, the legend is drawn as real text with a standard font, so it is searchable, stays sharp when printed, and adds almost nothing to the file size.

Separate files or one bundle, and the log

The default output is a ZIP of separate files, because in a production each document keeps its own identity. Each file is named after its original with its Bates range added — contract_ABC000013-ABC000027.pdf — and the ZIP includes a production log, a CSV listing every document with its first number, last number and page count, which is the index a receiving party or a review team will ask for. Choose One merged PDF instead for a single bundle, such as a binder of exhibits.

Everything is stamped in your browser. Productions are full of exactly the material that must not end up on someone else's server — privileged correspondence, medical and financial records, trade secrets — and nothing here is uploaded. One honest limit: large productions to e-discovery platforms are often accompanied by load files, such as DAT and OPT files, that tell review software where each document begins. This tool does not create those; your litigation support team or vendor will.