Legal & Discovery5 min read2026-02-14

What Is Bates Numbering? The Essential Guide for Legal and Compliance Teams

Understand how Bates stamping works, why courts require it, and how to configure sequential prefixes and padding.

By Pdfyara Legal Technology Group

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The Origin of Bates Numbering

Invented in the late 19th century by Edwin G. Bates, the mechanical Bates automatic numbering machine stamped sequential numbers on physical paper evidence. Today, digital Bates stamping provides the identical sequential verification on electronic PDF bundles.

Best Practices for Bates Stamping

Attorneys typically use 6-digit zero-padding (e.g. DEFENDANT-000001) in the bottom-right corner to maintain consistent alignment across thousands of pages during discovery.

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