How to Add Page Numbers to a PDF (Page X of Y, Skip Cover)
By Chinmoy Biswas · Updated , first published
Page numbers are easy to forget until someone on a call says “go to the table on... which page is it?”. They are required for most court bundles, theses, tenders and board packs. When the document was assembled by merging several PDFs, the only practical way to number it consistently is at the end, on the finished PDF. This guide covers the steps, the numbering schemes people actually need, and the cases where numbering the PDF is the wrong fix.
How do you add page numbers to a PDF?
Open the PDF in a numbering tool, pick a position and a format, set the starting number and download the result. In Add Page Numbers that takes under a minute, and the file never leaves the device.
- Open Add Page Numbers and choose the PDF. Files up to 200 MB are accepted. A preview of the first numbered page appears.
- Pick one of six positions: top or bottom, left, center or right. Bottom center and bottom right are the most common.
- Choose a format such as 1, Page 1, or Page 1 of N.
- Set Start at, the font size (6 to 36 pt, 11 pt by default) and the distance from the edge (28 pt by default, about 1 cm).
- Choose which pages to number, tick Skip the first page if there is a cover, then press Add page numbers and download.
| Format | Looks like | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Books, theses, anything with its own design |
| Page 1 | Page 7 | Reports and letters |
| Page 1 of N | Page 7 of 42 | Contracts, faxes, anything where a missing page must be noticed |
| 1 / N | 7 / 42 | Slide handouts and compact footers |
| - 1 - | - 7 - | Manuscripts and drafts |
How do you skip the cover page and start at 1 on page 2?
Tick Skip the first page. The cover gets no number, and the second page receives your start number, which is 1 unless you change it. In Page 1 of N formats the cover is not counted in the total either.
Reports and theses usually leave the cover unnumbered, and many start numbering at 1 on the first page of the actual content. For longer front matter, set the page range to begin after it (for example 4-60) and set Start at to 1. If the document has a contents page and a preface that should not be numbered either, start the range at the first chapter.
Roman numerals for front matter
The tool prints arabic numbers only. If a thesis needs i, ii, iii on the front matter and 1, 2, 3 on the body, the cleanest route is the source document: Word section breaks allow a different number format per section. If only the PDF exists, leave the front matter unnumbered and number the body from 1, which most style guides accept.
Continuing from another document
Set Start at to the next number. If volume one ended on page 24, start volume two at 25. The field accepts values from 0 to 99999, so very long bundles are fine. With Page 1 of N, N is the last number printed, so a second volume starting at 25 with 30 pages reads Page 25 of 54.
Bundles made of many documents
Legal and tender bundles often combine letters, contracts, invoices and photos. Merge them first with Merge PDF, then number the merged file so numbering runs continuously across everything. If each document already has its own footer numbers, place the bundle numbers in a different corner, such as top right, so the two do not collide and readers can tell them apart.
Mixed bundles often contain landscape pages and rotated scans. Each page is measured as it is displayed, so the number sits at the chosen edge in reading orientation, not sideways along the long edge.
Legal bundles and exhibits
Courts and tribunals often have specific rules: numbering may need to run continuously across the whole bundle, sit in a particular corner, and match an index at the front. Check the practice direction or the instructions you were given before numbering. Build the index after numbering, from the final page positions, and add it at the front as instructed. If documents are added later, renumbering the whole bundle is safer than squeezing in pages like 14a, which confuses everyone who has an earlier copy.
In US litigation the same idea is called Bates numbering, after the hand stamp patented in the 1890s. Bates numbers usually carry a prefix and leading zeros, such as ABC000123. Add Page Numbers does not add prefixes or zero padding, so use it for plain sequential bundle numbers and use dedicated litigation software when a Bates format is required.
How do you keep numbers from covering content?
Choose a corner with free space, reduce the font size, or move the number closer to the edge. Page numbers are drawn on top of the page, so they do not push existing content out of the way.
Documents with content right to the edge, like slide decks or scanned pages, can end up with a number over text. Use the preview arrows to check several pages, not only the first. The distance from the edge can go down to 6 pt, but most office printers cannot print in the outer 4 to 6 mm (about 12 to 17 pt), so stay at 18 pt or more if the document will be printed. For scans with dark edges, trim the edges first with Crop PDF so the number sits on a light area. Cropping only changes the visible area, which is all that is needed here. On dark slide backgrounds, change the number color to white.
Is it better to number pages in Word or Google Docs instead?
Yes, when you still have the source file. Numbers added in the source reflow when pages change, can differ per section, and match the document's fonts. Number the PDF when the source is gone or the file was assembled from several sources.
In Word, use Insert > Page Number; Microsoft's page number guide covers the options, including different first page. In Google Docs, use Insert > Page numbers, described in Google's help page. Then export to PDF again. Numbering the PDF directly also makes sense when you do not want to risk the layout shifting on re-export, for example a signed-off report where page breaks are already referenced in the text.
What the built-in apps can and cannot do
Preview on a Mac has no page numbering feature. You can add a text box per page by hand, which is tolerable for three pages and not for thirty. The iPhone Files app and Markup are the same. Windows has no built-in PDF editor at all, and Edge only annotates. Android viewers do not number pages either. A browser tool is the practical free option on all four, and Add Page Numbers works at phone width, so a bundle can be numbered from an iPhone or Android phone.
Troubleshooting
The sidebar still shows different numbers
PDF viewers show page labels in the thumbnail sidebar and the page box. Labels are a separate feature of the PDF format (ISO 32000-2 calls them page labels) and are not changed by printing numbers on the pages. If the cover is skipped, the printed 1 sits on the page the viewer calls 2. Tell readers to go by the printed numbers.
Two sets of numbers on the same page
This happens when a numbered file is numbered again. Printed numbers are part of the page content and cannot be removed cleanly afterwards. Go back to the unnumbered original. If it is lost, put the new numbers in a different corner and tell readers which set applies, or crop the old footer away first.
Numbers are out of order after moving pages
Reorder first, number last. If you need to move pages, do it with Organize PDF on the unnumbered copy, then number again. Moving pages after numbering leaves the sequence broken.
Useful details
- Numbering changes the page content, so it appears in every viewer and when printed.
- A digital signature on the PDF is invalidated by numbering, as by any edit. Number before the document is signed.
- Keep an unnumbered original. If pages are added or removed later, renumbering from it avoids doubled numbers.
- Existing text stays selectable and searchable, and the numbers themselves are real text, so a search for Page 14 of 42 finds the page.
- Password-protected files need the password first. Everything happens on your device.
FAQ
Questions people also ask
How can I add page numbers to a PDF for free?
Use a browser tool. Open Add Page Numbers, choose the file, pick a position and a format such as Page 1 of N, and download. There is no sign-up or watermark, and the PDF is processed on the device instead of being uploaded.
Can I add page numbers to a PDF without Adobe Acrobat?
Yes. Acrobat's header and footer feature is part of the paid version, but numbering does not need it. A browser-based tool works on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android. Preview and Edge cannot number pages automatically, so they are not a real alternative.
How do I start page numbers on page 3 of a PDF?
Number a page range. Select Choose pages, enter 3 to the last page, for example 3-40, and set Start at to 1. Pages 1 and 2 stay unnumbered, and page 3 shows 1. For a single cover page, Skip the first page is quicker.
Can page numbers be removed from a PDF later?
Not cleanly. Printed numbers become part of the page content, mixed in with everything else. Keep the unnumbered original and renumber from it. As a fallback, cropping the footer hides old numbers from view, though the cropped content stays inside the file.
Free tool
Try Add Page Numbers
Number your pages in a corner or centered, in the format you need, starting from any number. Skip the cover page with one tick. Numbers are added as real text in your browser, and the file is never uploaded. Runs in your browser, so the file never leaves your device.
Open Add Page Numbers