Bates numbering without Adobe Acrobat Pro

Published October 27, 2026

In Adobe's lineup, Bates numbering is an Acrobat Pro feature. Adobe's help page for it is titled "Add Bates numbering in Acrobat Pro", and an Adobe employee answering a question on Adobe's community forum wrote that it is not available in Acrobat Standard. Adobe's plan page lists Pro at US$19.99 a month on an annual plan, billed monthly (October 2026). Without Pro there are other ways, and several are free. This page is published by BatesNumbering.app, so read it with that in mind; it names the free options plainly. This is general information, not legal advice.

What Acrobat Pro's tool does

For comparison, Adobe's help page gives the steps: open the PDF, select Edit, then More > Bates numbering > Add in the left pane. You add files or whole folders, set their order, and insert the number into a header or footer. The options are the number of digits, from 3 to 15 (6 by default, giving 000001), a start number, a prefix and a suffix. Adobe notes that protected and encrypted files, and some form types, are not supported.

So the features to match are: numbering that runs on across many files in an order you set, a prefix, zero padding, and a start number.

Free ways

• batesstamp.com. Free, no account, and it runs in the browser; its site says files are processed on your device and never uploaded. It numbers up to 100 files in one continuous run, with a prefix, suffix, start number, digits and six positions, and it can add exhibit stamps and confidentiality notices. It also writes a CSV receipt with each file's Bates range, page count and SHA-256 fingerprint. For Bates numbers alone, it does the job.
• Other free web tools. In October 2026 a Google search for "free bates stamping" showed several more, including deftpdf and pi7. Not every web tool says whether it uploads your files to its server, and with discovery documents that is worth reading on the tool's own page before using it.
• A header or footer with a page number. If your PDF editor can add a page number with text in front of it, "SMITH-" plus the page number gives a Bates-style stamp on one file. The count restarts in each file and may not be zero-padded. Combining all the files into one PDF first gives one continuous run, but then the other side gets one large file instead of separate documents.

Paid ways

• Acrobat Pro, as above, if you or your office already pay for it. Adobe's plan page also lists redaction under Pro.
• BatesKit, $19 once. It numbers across files, writes a manifest with SHA-256 fingerprints, and flags a black box drawn over text that is still in the file. It does not redact.
• LegalBinder, a Chrome extension. Its exhibit stickers are free; Bates numbering, slip sheets, a table of contents and SHA-256 are in its paid Pro tier.
• Other software. A search for "bates numbering software" also shows products such as BatesNumbers, Briefpoint, EasyBates and BatesFast.

Side by side

Prices and features are as we found them in October 2026, on each tool's own site or by trying it, and they change.

When a free tool is enough

If the job is numbers on pages, and nothing in the set needs to come out, a free browser tool does it, and batesstamp.com adds a receipt with fingerprints. The case for paying is a set that also needs work the free Bates tools do not do: finding Social Security, account and card numbers nobody marked, removing them so the text is gone from the file, and numbering in the same pass. Why black box redactions fail explains why a box drawn on top is not the same as removing the text. For more detail, see batesstamp.com alternatives, Adobe Acrobat alternatives and Bates and redaction tools compared.

What to check, whichever tool you use

• The numbers run on across files, in the order you set, with no gaps or repeats.
• There are enough digits for the whole set, and one prefix throughout. See Bates number format.
• No number covers text on the page, especially on landscape pages and edge-to-edge scans.
• There is a list of each file's range: a production index.
• You keep a copy of exactly what you sent.

BatesNumbering.app runs in your browser, and the PDFs are not uploaded. It numbers every page across your files in the order you choose, with a prefix, start number, digits and position, and writes an index of each file's range, page count and SHA-256 as a PDF and a CSV, with no account needed.

Common questions

Can you Bates number in Adobe Acrobat Standard?

Adobe documents Bates numbering as an Acrobat Pro feature, and an Adobe employee on Adobe's community forum wrote that it is not available in Acrobat Standard. Free browser tools such as batesstamp.com are one alternative.

Is there free Bates numbering software?

Yes. batesstamp.com is free, needs no account, and numbers up to 100 PDFs in one continuous run in the browser, with a CSV receipt of ranges and SHA-256 fingerprints. Other free web tools exist; it is worth reading whether a tool uploads your files before using it.

How do I add Bates numbers to a PDF?

Open a Bates tool, add the PDFs in the order you want, set a prefix, a start number and the number of digits, choose a position, and run it. Then check that no number covers text, and keep the output with a list of each file's range.

How much is Acrobat Pro for Bates numbering?

Adobe's plan page listed Acrobat Pro at US$19.99 a month on an annual plan, billed monthly, in October 2026. Prices change, so Adobe's own site has the current figure.

Or check a PDF for numbers left in it, free →

More guides: What is Bates numbering · Bates number format and examples · Bates numbering a discovery response without a lawyer · Exhibit numbers vs Bates numbers · How to redact a PDF for free · Redacting SSNs and account numbers in court filings · Redacting a bank statement · Why black box redactions fail · Redacting a PDF on iPhone or Mac · A document production index · Rolling productions · Responding to a request for production · Bates and redaction tools compared · batesstamp.com alternatives · RedactifyAI alternatives · Adobe Acrobat alternatives for Bates and redaction