Bates Numbering vs. Exhibit Stamping: A Plain-English Glossary

Litigators throw around "Bates stamping," "exhibit stamping," and "numbering" like they're interchangeable. They're not. Use the wrong one in front of a judge and you'll get a polite correction; use the wrong one in a production and you'll cause a real downstream mess. Here's the plain-English breakdown.

What is Bates numbering?

Bates numbering is a sequential identifier applied to every page of every document in a production. The purpose is purely indexical: any party can refer to ABC000147 and everyone knows exactly which page is meant. It's named after the Bates Manufacturing Company, which sold the original mechanical stamping device in the 1890s.

A Bates number typically has three components: a prefix (often the producing party's initials, e.g. SMITH), zero-padded digits (000001), and sometimes a suffix for a confidentiality designation. Format conventions vary — there's no rule of civil procedure that dictates them — but the canonical convention is PREFIX0000001 across the bottom corner of every page.

What is exhibit stamping?

An exhibit stamp (sometimes called an "exhibit sticker" or "exhibit label") marks a document as a discrete piece of evidence in a specific proceeding — a deposition, hearing, or trial. Each exhibit gets a single number or letter. Page two of Exhibit 14 is still Exhibit 14; the stamp doesn't increment per page.

The stamp itself is usually a colored box (yellow is the unofficial standard) placed on the first page, containing some combination of:

• Caption — "PLAINTIFF'S EXHIBIT," "DEFENDANT'S EXHIBIT," "DEPOSITION EXHIBIT," etc.
• Exhibit number — a single number (Ex. 1, Ex. 2) or letter (Ex. A, Ex. B), depending on local rules.
• Case caption — short-form case name + docket number.
• Witness/date — for deposition exhibits, the deponent's name and date the exhibit was marked.

Side-by-side

The simplest way to keep them straight:

• Bates numbers identify pages in a production. They go on every page.
• Exhibit stamps identify documents in a proceeding. They go on the first page only.
• A single document can carry both — Bates on the bottom corner of every page, exhibit sticker on the first page only — and usually does.

Common conventions you'll see

Civil cases

Plaintiff's exhibits typically use a numeric sequence (Ex. 1, Ex. 2…); defendant's exhibits use a letter sequence (Ex. A, Ex. B…) or a different number range (Ex. 100+, Ex. 200+). Joint exhibits get their own sequence (JX-1, JX-2…). The convention is local — check the standing order or the judge's practice rules before you commit.

Depositions

Deposition exhibits are typically a single sequence per deponent ("Smith Ex. 1, Smith Ex. 2…") with the witness name and date stamped on each. Many federal courts now use a continuous sequence across all depositions in a case to avoid duplicate-number confusion at trial.

Federal court trial exhibits

The federal courts' AO-187 form (full guide here) requires an exhibit list with each exhibit's number, a brief description, and offered/admitted/refused tracking. Your stamps need to match that list exactly — typos compound at trial.

What about "endorsements"?

Endorsements are a third category, separate from both Bates and exhibit stamps. They mark a confidentiality or production status — things like "CONFIDENTIAL," "ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY," or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — TRADE SECRET." They go on every page (like Bates), but their purpose is access control rather than identification. See our guide on endorsements for when each tier applies.

The TL;DR

• Bates number → page-level identifier, every page, sequential, used in production indexes and citations.
• Exhibit stamp → document-level identifier, first page only, used to introduce evidence in a proceeding.
• Endorsement → confidentiality marker, every page, governs who can see the document.

Stampify handles all three in one pass — drop in the production, set the Bates prefix, choose the exhibit stamp template, and toggle the confidentiality endorsement. The output is a stack of PDFs that any court will accept on filing.