Add a header and footer to a PDF

There are six slots: header left, center and right, and footer left, center and right. Type plain text or combine it with placeholders:

Examples: Page {page} of {total} in the footer right, {filename} in the header left, CONFIDENTIAL in the header center, or Exhibit A – {date} in the footer left. Quick presets fill common combinations in one click, and you can edit them afterward.

Bates numbering gives every page in a set of documents a unique, sequential identifier, such as SMITH000001, SMITH000002 and so on. It is standard in US litigation, discovery productions and regulatory submissions, because it lets everyone refer to an exact page.

When you use {bates} anywhere, three extra settings appear:

• Bates prefix: letters or a case code, such as ABC or SMITH-.
• Start number: continue where the previous production ended, for example 1251.
• Digits: zero-padding width, usually 6 to 8; 6 turns 42 into 000042.

An example under the settings shows exactly what the first number will look like. The usual place is the footer right.

• Font size: 6 to 24 pt. 9–10 pt is typical for footers.
• Distance from edge: small, normal or large. Use large if the pages have content close to the edges.
• First page number: start {page} at another number when this PDF continues a longer document.
• Only on these pages: a range such as 2-10; leave empty for all pages.
• Leave the first page (cover) blank: skip the header and footer on page 1.

Text is drawn with an embedded font that supports accented letters, so names display correctly. Each slot is aligned to its own position, and text that is too long for its slot is shrunk automatically so it stays on the page.

The header and footer are drawn into the page content in your browser; the PDF is never uploaded, which matters for legal productions, medical records and client files. The stamps print and display in every PDF reader, and the original text stays selectable. A preview of the first pages appears after processing.

You are producing 340 pages of documents in a dispute, continuing from a previous production that ended at SMITH001250. Merge the documents into one PDF in the agreed order, open it here, choose the Bates number, bottom right preset, set the prefix to SMITH, the start number to 1251 and digits to 6. Add CONFIDENTIAL in the header center. Click Add header and footer: the pages are stamped SMITH001251 through SMITH001590. This is a formatting tool, not legal advice; follow the production rules that apply to your case.

• Just page numbers: Add page numbers to PDF has simpler options.
• A large diagonal stamp: Watermark PDF.
• Combine documents first: Merge PDF.