Bates numbering: a practical guide for US litigation

Updated September 5, 2026. Written for paralegals and litigation support staff. Not legal advice; check your court's local rules and your ESI protocol.

What Bates numbering is

Bates numbering is the practice of stamping a unique, sequential identifier on every page of a document production so that any page can be cited unambiguously. The name comes from the Bates Manufacturing Company, whose hand-operated numbering machine was widely used for the job through the twentieth century. Today the stamp is applied electronically, but the purpose is unchanged: when opposing counsel writes "see ABC-000412", everyone in the case knows exactly which page is meant.

Bates numbers are distinct from page numbers, exhibit numbers and document control numbers. A page number is internal to one document. An exhibit number identifies a whole document offered in a deposition or at trial. A Bates number identifies a page across an entire production, and it stays with that page for the life of the case.

Anatomy of a Bates stamp

Prefix

Letters identifying the producing party or the production, for example ABC or SMITH. Prefixes are agreed early and never reused for a different party.

Number

A sequential integer, zero-padded to a fixed width, typically six or seven digits: 000001, 000002. Fixed width keeps sorting correct in any system.

Separator

Usually a hyphen or underscore between prefix and number. Some parties use none. Consistency matters more than choice.

Suffix

Optional, rare. Some protocols append a volume or family marker.

Confidentiality legend

A second line such as CONFIDENTIAL or CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY, applied under a protective order. It is part of the stamp, not a separate watermark.

Placement

Most often the bottom right corner of each page, inside the printable margin, in a small sans-serif face. The stamp must not obscure content and must read upright even when the underlying page is rotated.

Conventions that keep productions defensible

• One number per page, forever. A Bates number is never reused, reassigned or re-stamped. If a page is re-produced with a correction, it gets a new number or an agreed suffix, and the log records the relationship.
• Sequential and gap-free within a production. Gaps invite questions about withheld pages. Where pages are withheld for privilege, a slip sheet carrying the Bates number takes the page's place so the sequence stays whole.
• Continuous across productions. The first page of your second production continues from the last page of your first. Track the last number used on the matter, not per batch.
• The number is metadata too. Productions with load files carry BegBates and EndBates fields for every document, and BegAttach and EndAttach for families. The stamp on the page and the fields in the load file must agree.
• Native files get a placeholder. Spreadsheets and other natively produced files receive a Bates-numbered slip sheet, and the file itself is named with that number.
• Log everything. A production log recording file name, page count, first and last Bates number and a hash of the file is the record you will need six months later.

Where the rules come from

No federal rule requires Bates numbering by name. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 governs the form in which documents and electronically stored information are produced and lets the requesting party specify a form; parties then agree the details in an ESI protocol or a Rule 26(f) discovery plan, and Bates numbering is almost always part of that agreement. Many courts' local rules, standing orders and model ESI orders describe Bates conventions in more detail. State courts follow their own civil rules and local practice. Because the specifics vary, the safe approach is to read the ESI protocol for the matter, then the local rules, then the judge's standing order, and to follow the most specific one.

Mistakes that cause real problems

1. Restarting the numbering. A second production that starts again at 000001 produces duplicate identifiers across the case. Every later citation becomes ambiguous, and the fix means re-producing.
2. Stamping in the wrong order. Files stamped in file-system order rather than the intended order scramble families and make the log useless. Fix the order before stamping, not after.
3. Covering content. A stamp placed over a signature line, a footer or a table row destroys evidence on that page. Check margins on the first and last pages of every document, and on any odd-sized page.
4. Sideways stamps on rotated scans. Scanned landscape pages are often stored rotated. A stamp applied without accounting for the rotation ends up sideways or on the wrong edge.
5. Stamping before redacting. Redact first, stamp second. Otherwise the pre-redaction version carries the same Bates number as the redacted one and can be confused with it.
6. Losing the last number. If the last Bates number used lives only in someone's memory or an email, the next production is a guess. Record it on the matter.

Pre-production checklist

• Prefix, separator and digit width match the ESI protocol.
• Starting number is the last number used on the matter plus one.
• Documents are in the intended order, families together.
• Redactions are applied and verified before stamping.
• Placement checked on first page, last page, rotated pages and odd sizes.
• Confidentiality legend matches the protective order designation for each document.
• Production log generated with page counts, ranges and file hashes.
• Last Bates number recorded on the matter for next time.

How ExhibitSet handles it

ExhibitSet makes the conventions above the default rather than a checklist. Stamps are placed relative to the page as the reader sees it, so rotated scans get an upright stamp in the right corner, and the stamp font travels with the file. Redaction runs before stamping in the pipeline, and the production log with SHA-256 fingerprints is generated with every batch. Exhibit labels per document and Bates numbers per page are applied together. Numbering continues from the last number stored on the matter and, for teams, ranges are reserved so two people cannot collide. The batch screen is in early access today.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Bates number?

A unique, sequential identifier stamped on every page of a document production, usually a prefix identifying the producing party followed by a zero-padded number, for example ABC-000001.

Is Bates numbering required by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure?

No rule requires it by name. Rule 34 governs the form of production and parties usually agree on Bates numbering in their ESI protocol or discovery agreements because it is the practical way to cite pages.

How many digits should a Bates number have?

Six or seven digits is the common convention. Pick a width that will never overflow for the matter; a production that starts at ABC-000001 and runs past 999,999 pages is a problem you do not want mid-case.

Should Bates numbers restart for each production?

Never. Numbering continues from the last number used on the matter so that every page cited in the case has one identifier for its life. Restarting is the most common Bates error and the hardest to unwind.

Where should the stamp go?

Bottom right is the most common placement in US practice, with a confidentiality legend at bottom center or bottom left. What matters more than the corner is that the stamp does not cover content and sits upright on rotated pages.