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

Why page numbers matter

Page numbers are small, but they do a lot of work: they let a reader say "see page 12" instead of describing a page, they make a printed document reassemblable after a drop, and they expose a missing page at a glance. Reports, application packs, manuals and contracts all read as more finished once their pages are numbered.

Where page numbers should go

Bottom center is the safest default. It sits clear of headings at the top and body text in the middle, it works for single- and double-sided printing, and readers look there first. Top center is a reasonable choice for formal reports that already carry a footer, since it keeps the number away from footer text. Whichever you choose, keep it consistent through the whole document: a number that moves from page to page looks like a mistake, and a number placed in a corner risks colliding with a header or footer that already lives there.

The Start at option: setting the first number

The Start at option sets the number printed on the first page of the file you stamp. Leave it at 1 for an ordinary document. Set it to 2, for example, when the file you are stamping is the second half of a larger document, and the first stamped page should read 2, the next 3, and so on. Remember that it shifts every page by the same amount: it does not skip or restart numbering partway through a file.

Add page numbers step by step

1. Finish the document first: page order, deletions and rotations should all be done, because numbering last avoids numbers falling out of sequence.
2. If you want the cover left clean, split the cover off first with the Split PDF tool and keep it aside.
3. Open the free Add Page Numbers tool, choose the placement, set the Start at first number if you need one, and download the stamped file.
4. If you split a cover off, merge it back at the front with the Merge PDF tool, then open the finished file and check the first numbered page.

Honest limits: every page gets stamped

The Add Page Numbers tool stamps every page of the file it processes, including the cover. There is no skip-first-page option, no roman numerals for front matter, no Bates numbering, and no "page X of Y" format — numbers are plain sequential numbers. The cover workaround above is the honest way around the missing skip option: split the cover off, number the rest starting at 1, and merge the cover back at the front. The same trick handles front matter: split it off, number the main body, and merge everything back in order.

Password-protected PDFs

Password-protected files must be unlocked first in the application that created them. Once the restriction is removed, you can add page numbers like you can to any other PDF. No PaperKit tool bypasses a password.