Bates numbering

What Bates numbering is

A sequential identifier stamped on every page of a document production, so that any single page can be referred to unambiguously. It is standard practice in litigation discovery, and increasingly in regulatory submissions and audits.

The format is conventionally a prefix identifying the producing party, then a zero-padded number: ABC-000001, ABC-000002. The padding matters — fixed-width numbers sort correctly in a file listing, where ABC-2 would sort after ABC-10.

Numbering runs across files, not within them

This is the part that matters and the part most tools get wrong. A Bates number must be unique across an entire production. If you upload five documents, numbering restarts at 1 for each and you have five page ones — which defeats the whole purpose.

Here the counter carries across every file in the order uploaded. Five documents of twenty pages produce a continuous run from 000001 to 000100, and you get them back as a zip with each document numbered in its place.

Choosing a starting number

Productions are usually numbered in batches, so the second batch starts where the first ended. Set the starting number accordingly rather than renumbering everything — the earlier numbers have already been cited.

Position

Bottom-right is the convention, because it is visible when pages are held in a bound stack and it rarely collides with document content. Bottom-left and the top corners are available where the content demands it.

It is an overlay

The stamp is drawn on top; the document beneath is untouched and stays searchable.