Add page numbers to a PDF

Page numbers make a document easier to navigate, cite and discuss: see page 14 only works if page 14 is labeled. They are often required for:

• Court filings and legal exhibits, where every page must be identifiable.
• Theses, dissertations and term papers with formatting guidelines.
• Grant applications and RFP responses with page limits.
• Merged documents, where each original file had its own numbering or none at all.
• Printed handouts, so loose pages can be put back in order.

Choose one of six positions: top left, top center, top right, bottom left, bottom center or bottom right. Numbers are placed about 0.4 in (28 points) from the page edge, in dark gray, at a font size you choose from 6 to 36 pt (11 pt is a good default for body text in 10–12 pt).

Start at sets the first number. Use it when your PDF is one part of a larger document: if part 2 starts on page 31, set it to 31.

Don't number the first page (cover) leaves the first page blank and starts numbering on page 2. With this on and the start number at 1, the second page of the file is labeled 1, which is what most style guides expect after a title page. Totals in 1 / 10 and Page 1 of 10 formats count only the numbered pages.

Numbers are added in your browser, so the PDF is never uploaded. They are drawn into the page content with an embedded font, so they print and display the same in every PDF reader. The existing text and images are not changed.

You merged a 1-page cover sheet, a 6-page report and a 3-page appendix into one 10-page PDF for a grant application that requires page numbers at the bottom center. Open the merged PDF, choose Bottom center, format Page 1 of 10, keep the start number at 1, and tick Don't number the first page. The result shows Page 1 of 9 on the report's first page through Page 9 of 9 on the last appendix page, with a clean cover.

For headers and footers with several parts, such as a document title on the left, the date in the middle and the page number on the right, or for legal Bates numbering with a prefix like ABC000123, use Add header and footer to PDF. To combine files before numbering, use Merge PDF.

Tips for clean numbering

• Check the margins first. If your pages have text very close to the bottom edge, place numbers at the top instead so they do not overlap.
• Mixed page sizes are handled page by page: each number is positioned relative to its own page, so a landscape chart page gets its number in the right place too.
• Number after merging and deleting. Page numbers are part of the page content, so add them as the last step, once the final set and order of pages is settled.
• Odd and even sides: for double-sided printing, bottom center avoids numbers ending up in the binding margin.