Bates numbering explained, with examples

Bates numbering gives every page in a set of documents a unique identifier. Instead of "page 4 of the third email attachment from March", you can write "ABC000187", and everyone knows which page you mean. The name comes from the Bates Automatic Numbering Machine, a hand stamp invented by Edwin G. Bates in the late 19th century that advanced its number by one each time it was pressed.

Anatomy of a Bates number

• A prefix identifying the party, the case or the batch: SMITH, ACME-, PLT.
• A number with a fixed number of digits and leading zeros, typically six to eight: 000187. Fixed width keeps them sortable.
• Optionally a suffix, for example a confidentiality marker.

Numbers run continuously across all documents in a production. If the first file ends at ACME000042, the second starts at ACME000043.

Conventions worth following

• Bottom right is the usual position. Avoid the bottom centre if the documents have their own page numbers there.
• Keep a log: which file starts and ends at which number. It's what you'll consult months later.
• Number after the set is final. Inserting a page later breaks the sequence, and suffixes like ACME000043.001 get messy.
• Never renumber documents that have already been produced and cited.

Adding Bates numbers

1. Open Bates numbering and add the PDFs in production order.
2. Set the Prefix, the Start at number and the number of Digits.
3. Choose the position, usually bottom right, and a small size around 8 to 10 pt.
4. Press Add Bates numbers. The message shows the first and last number used, which goes straight into your log.

Each number sits on a small white background so it stays legible over content near the edge. For a single document where you only need page numbers, Page numbers is simpler.

Bates numbers versus page numbers

Page numbers restart in every document and describe position within it. Bates numbers never restart and describe position within the whole production. Many productions carry both: the original page numbers from the author, and the Bates number added when the documents were exchanged.