Add Header and Footer to PDF
Repeat a title, page numbers or the date at the top or bottom of every page.
Select a PDF fileor drop it anywhere on this page, or paste
Opens in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
Add Header and Footer to PDF, free and private
Add a header and footer to a PDF online and the same line repeats on every page. Put a report title at the top left, a date at the top right and a confidential notice at the bottom. Insert {page}, {pages}, {date} or {filename} and each page shows its own number, the page count, today's date or the file name. This helps when the source document is gone and all you have is the PDF.
The text is drawn onto each page in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, and there is no account or page limit.
How to add a header and footer to a PDF
- 1
Add your PDF
Press Select PDF files or drop the document on the page. The tool handles one PDF at a time.
- 2
Type your header and footer
The header and the footer each have a Left, Center and Right box. Fill in any of the six and leave the rest empty. Click a box, then press Page number, Page count, Date or File name to insert that value. The preview shows how each page will read.
- 3
Set the style and the pages
Pick a font and colour, set Size (pt) from 6 to 36 (10 by default) and the distance from the edge. Turn on Skip the first page to leave a cover page clean. Flip through the preview to check any page.
- 4
Apply and download
Press Add header & footer. The text goes on every page (or every page after the first), and you can preview or download a file ending in -header-footer.pdf.
Why use PDFToolz for this
Page numbers and dates in the text
{page} becomes the page number, {pages} the page count, {date} today's date and {filename} the file name without .pdf. A footer like Smith v. Jones, Page {page} of {pages} reads Page 3 of 12 on page 3. {total} still works as another name for {pages}.
Placed where you see it
Each line is placed from the edges of the page as your viewer shows it. Mixed A4 and Letter pages, landscape pages, rotated scans and cropped pages all get a tidy header and footer.
Accents and other alphabets
The font covers Latin letters with accents, such as Romanian ș and ț or Polish ł and ż, plus Greek and Cyrillic. Chinese, Japanese and Korean are not supported.
Original pages kept
Your text is added on top of the page. Nothing is re-rendered, so existing text stays sharp and searchable. Your PDF never leaves your device.
How to add a header and footer to a PDF online
By default the text is dark grey, 26 points (about 9 mm) from the top or bottom edge. Left and Right boxes keep their text the same distance from the side, and Center puts it in the middle of the page width. Font, colour, size and distance apply to all six boxes.
The date uses today's date on your device, written in your browser's language, for example '1 Oct 2026' or 'Oct 1, 2026'. It is the date you run the tool, not the date the file was made.
- Title only: Quarterly Report, Acme Inc. in the header.
- Numbered footer: Page {page} of {pages} in the footer's right box.
- Notice and number: Confidential on the left, Page {page} of {pages} on the right.
- Issued copy: {filename} on the left of the header and Issued {date} on the right.
Check these before you send
The text is added to existing pages, so it can hit content already in the margins. Press Preview and look at a few pages, including any landscape or odd-sized ones.
- Overlaps. If the file already has a running head or page number in the same spot, use a different box, a smaller size or a larger distance from the edge.
- Long text does not wrap. A line wider than the page runs off the edge, so keep it short.
- Unknown words in braces, like {name}, are printed as typed. Only {page}, {pages}, {total}, {date} and {filename} are replaced.
- Files that block printing or copying work as they are. A file that needs a password to open must go through Unlock PDF first.
Header and footer, page numbers or watermark
Use this tool for a title, notice or simple Page 3 of 10 line on every page. Add Page Numbers has more number options, like skipping the cover page or numbering only a range. For legal numbering with a prefix, use Bates Numbering.
To mark the whole page as a draft or confidential copy, Watermark PDF puts large, see-through text across the page instead of a small line in the margin.
Frequently asked questions
Add the PDF, type your text in the header and footer boxes, check the preview and press Add header & footer. It is free and the file stays on your device.
Yes. Click a footer box and press Page number and Page count, or type {page} and {pages} yourself. Page {page} of {pages} reads Page 1 of 12 on the first page of a 12-page file.
Yes. Fill in any of the six boxes and leave the rest empty. The tool needs text in at least one box before it can run.
Yes. Each has its own left, center and right box, so you can put text on both sides and in the middle at once.
Yes. Pick Sans, Serif or Mono, any colour, and a size from 6 to 36 pt.
Last reviewed . See how we build and test our tools, or report an error.
