What a Bates number is for
A Bates number is a unique identifier stamped on every page of a document set so that a single page can be cited without ambiguity. When a filing says see ABC000412, everyone involved can turn to exactly one page.
It is standard in litigation discovery, and it is also useful anywhere a set of documents has to be referenced precisely — audits, insurance claims, regulatory submissions, long tender packs.
The three things that make it different from page numbers
Page numbering and Bates numbering look identical on the page and are not the same job.
1. The sequence runs across files, not within them. Twelve exhibits each numbered 1 to n is useless: there are twelve page 4s. The counter has to carry from the last page of one document to the first page of the next. That is why this tool takes a whole set at once and asks you to order it.
2. The digits are fixed width, and that is not cosmetic. ABC000412 sorts correctly as text everywhere — file listings, spreadsheets, databases, review platforms. ABC412 does not: it lands between ABC41 and ABC42, because text sorting compares character by character. In a set of a few hundred pages you might catch it. In a set of forty thousand you will not, and the disorder is silent.
3. The bottom-right corner is the convention. It is the default here because it is where opposing counsel will look. The other five positions are available for when a document's own footer is already there.
Why this one runs in your browser
A litigation production is close to the worst possible thing to upload to a free web tool. It is confidential by default, often privileged, and frequently subject to a protective order that says in plain words where it may and may not go.
Everything here happens inside this browser tab. There is no upload, no server-side queue, no temporary file on someone else's disk, and no copy to delete afterwards, because no copy is ever made. You do not have to take that on trust: open your browser's developer tools, watch the Network tab, and stamp a set. You will see the page load and nothing else.
What you get back
Each file comes back separately, keeping its original name, inside a single ZIP.
Files are not merged. In a production the document boundaries carry meaning — one document is one document — and merging them would destroy exactly the structure the numbering exists to describe. If you want them merged, that is a separate, deliberate step.
The result also tells you the range that was assigned: the first number, the last number, and how many pages across how many files. Check that against your production log before serving the set.
Where this stops
Being clear about the boundary is more useful than implying there is not one.
This tool stamps numbers onto pages. It does not:
- build a load file or a DAT/OPT index
- track privilege, confidentiality designations or redaction status
- generate a production log
- detect duplicates across the set
- apply a confidentiality legend as a second stamp
Those are jobs for a review platform. If you are running a large matter you already have one. If you are a small firm, a sole practitioner, or someone dealing with a production once, stamping the numbers is usually the part you are missing, and this does that part properly and for free.
Practical notes
- Add every file before you start. Adding one afterwards means restamping the whole set, because the sequence has to stay continuous.
- Leave room in the digit count. Six digits is the sensible default. Widening it partway through breaks the sort order of everything you already stamped.
- Keep your originals. The stamp is drawn into the page content, so it prints and survives copying — which is the point, and also means it cannot be removed cleanly.