How to add page numbers to a PDF

Add page numbers prints a number onto every page of a PDF, in a position and format you choose, directly into the page content rather than as a separate overlay that depends on the viewer. Once added, the numbers show up the same way in any reader and on any printout.

What to choose, and why it matters

Position usually follows convention: bottom centre or bottom right for most documents, top for some academic or legal formats. Format matters for anything someone will reference later: "Page 3" is fine for a short document, but "3 of 40" tells a reader how much is left, useful for a report that might be printed and read away from a screen. Starting number matters when a cover page or table of contents shouldn't count as page 1, a common request: numbering can start from a chosen page rather than the very first one, so the content itself begins at "1."

When plain numbers aren't what you need

Plain sequential numbers restart at 1 for every document and say nothing about which document a page came from. That's a problem for a specific case: a bundle of exhibits, contracts or records submitted together, where every page across every file needs a unique, traceable identifier, such as ABC000001, that survives even if pages are separated later. That's what Bates numbering is for, a different, more rigid scheme used in legal and compliance filings; see Bates numbering explained and Bates numbering if that's the actual requirement rather than ordinary page numbers.

Combining with a header or footer

If a page number needs to sit alongside a date, a document title or a confidentiality notice, rather than stand alone, Add header and footer places all of that together along the top or bottom of each page in one pass.