What Is Bates Numbering? Bates Stamps Explained with Examples

Bates numbering gives each page in a document set its own sequential ID. The number sits in the same spot on every page, most often the bottom-right corner, and goes up by one per page. Each number appears only once in the whole set, so one number always points to one page.

The name comes from Edwin G. Bates, who patented a self-advancing hand stamp in the 1890s. It became known as the Bates Automatic Numbering Machine. Each press printed a number and moved on to the next, which made it quick to number long paper files. Law firms adopted it, and the name stayed after the work moved to software.

Today software adds Bates numbers. E-discovery and PDF tools draw the ID onto each page image or PDF page, so it prints and copies with the page instead of sitting in editable metadata.

A Bates number has two parts, a prefix and a zero-padded number, sometimes joined by a hyphen or underscore. The prefix names the case, the producing party or the custodian. The number is the running count.

Here is a 3-page letter followed by a 2-page invoice, stamped with the prefix ABC and 6 digits. The letter runs from ABC000001 to ABC000003. The invoice continues at ABC000004 and ends at ABC000005. The count doesn't restart for the second document.

Zero-padding, the leading zeros in 000001, keeps every label the same length so numbers sort correctly and line up. Six digits cover up to 999,999 pages. Large productions often use 7 or 8 digits so they never run out and have to renumber.

Some pages carry a confidentiality label next to the number, such as ABC000123 CONFIDENTIAL. The label and the Bates number are separate, but they are usually stamped in the same pass.

In litigation, thousands or millions of pages change hands during discovery. Bates numbers give every party the same precise reference. Instead of 'the third invoice in the second folder', a lawyer cites ABC000456 and everyone finds the same page. Depositions, motions, exhibits and trial references all rely on this.

A multi-page document is cited by its Bates range, from the first page (the beginning Bates) to the last (the ending Bates), such as ABC000456 to ABC000461. E-discovery load files store these as BegBates and EndBates fields.

Bates numbers also leave an audit trail. The sequence is continuous, so a gap shows that pages were held back, for example as privileged. Withheld documents are then listed on a privilege log. That's why courts and opposing counsel expect produced documents to carry Bates labels.

In e-discovery, software numbers a whole production in one run. It goes through every document in order and stamps pages continuously, so the count carries across files instead of restarting. A 50,000-page production is one unbroken sequence.

Productions often go out in batches. Teams either continue the sequence from where the last batch ended or reserve number blocks in advance. The stamp sits in the same corner on every page, sized so it never covers text, and is burned into the page so it survives printing and copying.

Next to the stamped pages, a load file maps each document to its Bates range and links it to metadata and native files. Common formats are DAT, which holds document-level metadata in delimited fields, and OPT, which lists the individual page images. Review platforms use these files to find any document by its Bates number.

Consistency makes a Bates set reliable. Use one clear prefix per producing party so the source of any page is obvious. Choose a digit count big enough for the whole matter before you start. Renumbering later breaks every earlier citation.

Every number must be unique. Don't reuse or skip numbers, keep the stamp in one corner and keep a Bates log that ties ranges to custodians and documents. This keeps the production defensible if anyone questions it.

Under a protective order, confidentiality labels are often stamped next to the Bates number. Common ones are CONFIDENTIAL and HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL. Some orders add ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY. These labels control who may see a page. They are separate from the Bates number, though both usually appear on the same page.

A page number shows where a page sits inside one document and restarts at 1 in the next, so hundreds of files can each have a page 3.

A Bates number is unique across the whole production and never repeats. Two documents can each have a page 3, but only one page in the case can be ABC000003.

Bates numbers work as permanent IDs for legal citation. Page numbers help readers find their way inside one file. Well-organized productions often show both.