How to Add Page Numbers to a PDF (and Where They Should Go)

How to add page numbers

1. Open Add page numbers and choose your PDF.
2. Pick a position: bottom centre, bottom right, bottom left, top centre, top right or top left.
3. Pick a format: “1”, “Page 1” or “1 / 10”.
4. Set the size (8–12 pt suits most documents) and the starting number.
5. Tick Don’t number the first page if the document has a cover.
6. Download, then flick through to check nothing is covered.

Where should page numbers go?

Whatever you choose, the number must sit inside the printable area. Office printers can’t print right to the edge, so a number hugging the bottom edge may disappear on paper.

Which format?

• 1, 2, 3 — clean and universal. Best for most documents.
• Page 1 — clearer for readers unfamiliar with the document, such as a bundle sent to a tribunal or agency.
• 1 / 10 — shows the total, so the reader knows immediately whether pages are missing. Useful for applications, contracts and anything that must be complete.

Pages to leave alone

The tool places numbers on the page image itself, so anything already in that corner will be overlapped. Watch out for:

• Cover pages — use the skip-first-page option.
• Official documents — certificates, passports and government forms. A number printed over a seal or reference number can make a document look altered. If a bundle contains them, consider placing numbers in a corner those documents leave blank, or keep official documents as a separate, unnumbered file.
• Forms with their own numbering — “Page 2 of 4” in the form’s footer plus your own number is confusing.
• Full-bleed images — a number on top of a photo or chart can be hard to read.

Numbering that starts later

The Start at option is useful when a document continues from another — for example, an appendix that should start at page 21 because the main report ends at 20. When you skip the first page, the cover gets no number, the next page gets your starting number, and the total in the “1 / 10” format counts only the numbered pages — so a cover plus ten pages reads 1 / 10 to 10 / 10.

Worked example: a 12-page rental application

Mia’s application bundle has a one-page cover letter followed by ID, three payslips, two bank statement pages, a rental reference, an employment letter and a two-page application form.

1. She assembles everything with Merge PDF and fixes the order with Reorder PDF pages.
2. She notices her driver licence scan has a reference number in the bottom right, so she picks bottom centre.
3. She chooses the 1 / 12 format so the agent can see the bundle is complete, and 9 pt size.
4. She numbers the cover letter too — the agent will print the whole bundle, and the cover letter is part of it.
5. In her email she writes: “Payslips are on pages 3–5; my rental reference is on page 8.”

Finally, the bundle goes through Compress PDF to get under the portal’s 10 MB limit — compression doesn’t affect the numbers.

Page numbers in different kinds of documents

Assignments and theses

Follow your institution’s style guide first — some require numbers in a specific corner, and some number front matter (title page, contents) separately. A common approach is to export the front matter and the main text as separate PDFs, number the main text starting at 1, then merge them.

Legal and tribunal bundles

Courts and tribunals often have strict rules: consecutive numbering across the whole bundle, numbers in a particular position, and an index listing where each document starts. Check the practice directions for your jurisdiction; the “Page 1” or “1 / 10” formats are usually safest where rules don’t specify.

Business reports and proposals

Bottom right or bottom centre, “1” format, with the cover unnumbered. If the report has an appendix produced separately, number it with a starting value that continues from the main report.

Applications and evidence bundles

The “1 / 10” format helps the reader confirm nothing is missing. Mention key page numbers in your covering email so the reader can go straight to them.

Double-sided printing

If a document will be printed on both sides and bound, bottom centre is the safest position: outer-corner numbering needs numbers to alternate between left and right on odd and even pages, which most simple tools — including this one — don’t do. Centred numbers look right on every page, front and back.

Referring to page numbers in your covering message

Page numbers earn their keep when you use them. In the email or form that accompanies a bundle, point the reader to the key evidence: “My two most recent payslips are on pages 3–4, and my rental reference is on page 8.” Reviewers who handle dozens of applications a day notice the ones that save them time. For long bundles, a short index on the first page — document name and starting page — does the same job more formally, and it’s expected in many legal and official submissions.

Numbering documents you didn’t create

Most documents in a bundle already have their own page numbering — “Page 1 of 3” on a bank statement, for instance. Your bundle numbers are a second, overall sequence. That’s fine and normal in evidence bundles, but keep them visually distinct: a different position, and small. If a document has a busy footer, choose a top corner for the whole bundle rather than switching positions page by page.

Common mistakes

• Numbering before the final page order is settled.
• Numbers so large they compete with the content — 8–11 pt is plenty.
• Numbers too close to the edge to survive printing.
• Numbering over stamps, seals or form footers.
• Mixing numbered and unnumbered bundles in one submission without explaining which is which.

Privacy

Page numbers are added in your browser, so the documents in your bundle — ID, payslips, statements — aren’t uploaded.