You have a PDF that needs to go out as part of a discovery production by end of day. It needs sequential page identifiers, a confidentiality designation stamped on every page, a signature certifying the production, and a file size your opposing counsel’s email server will actually accept. The catch: it’s privileged work product, and your firm’s information-security policy says you cannot upload it to a third-party service.

Here is the four-tool chain that handles all of that in a single browser tab. Every step is free, requires no account, and never sends the document anywhere — it stays in your browser’s memory from start to finish.

Why this chain, in this order

The order matters. Bates first because the unique identifiers need to be set in stone before any other markup goes on the page — once SMITH001234 is stamped, that is the page’s permanent address forever. Watermark next so the confidentiality designation sits on top of the production but does not interfere with the Bates IDs. Signature third because you are certifying the finished, marked-up production, not the raw source. Compression last so nothing further changes the byte count.

Doing it any other way risks renumbering, overlapping stamps, or a signature certifying a document that still gets edited afterward.

Step 1: Stamp every page with a Bates number

Open the Bates Numbering tool. Drop the PDF in. Set:

Prefix: your case ID, party initials, or custodian code (for example SMITH).
Start number: 1 if this is the first document in the production, otherwise whatever number continues from the previous file in the set.
Padding: 6 digits is the most common default and handles up to 999,999 pages without breaking text-sort order.
Position: bottom-right is conventional; pick another corner only if the page already has content there.

The preview banner shows the first and last numbers you’ll generate (SMITH000001 → SMITH000247) so you can sanity-check before you commit. Click stamp, then download the result. Keep that downloaded file open in your file manager — it’s your input for the next step.

Step 2: Add the confidentiality watermark

Open the Watermark tool in a new tab and drop in the file you just downloaded. Type the appropriate designation text — CONFIDENTIAL, ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY, or HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — OUTSIDE COUNSEL ONLY — based on what your protective order requires. Set the position so it does not collide with the Bates number you stamped in step 1: a centred diagonal stamp or a top-right corner usually works. Adjust the opacity so the text underneath is still legible.

Stamp every page and download the result.

Step 3: Sign the production

Now open the Signing tool and drop in the watermarked, Bates-stamped file. Add your signature on the certification page (typically the cover page or the last page, depending on your firm’s convention). The tool produces a free, verifiable audit certificate alongside the signed PDF, recording a SHA-256 hash of the final document — useful if you ever need to prove later that the production has not been altered, but not required for the production itself.

Download both files. Keep the audit certificate in your case file.

Step 4: Compress for delivery

If your opposing counsel uses a corporate email server with a 10 MB attachment cap (most do) and your production is over that, run it through the Compress tool as the final step. The compressor strips redundant resources and reduces image quality slightly without altering the visible content — the Bates numbers, watermark, and signature all remain pixel-perfect. Confirm the output still looks correct in a PDF viewer before sending.

What to watch out for

Bates numbers stamp on top of whatever is in the chosen corner. If a page already has a footer, a prior production’s Bates number, or an exhibit sticker in the bottom-right, you will get a collision. Either pick a different corner before stamping, or split the PDF, stamp the affected page range with a different position, and merge the pieces back together.

The other thing: this tool chain produces a visually marked-up production. It does not generate a load file (the DAT/CSV mapping Bates ranges to documents) that specialised e-discovery platforms produce. If your protective order requires a load file or a specific production format, you’ll need to track the Bates ranges in your matter management system and format the load file separately.

Make a scanned PDF searchable, then sign it — for productions that come in as image-only scans.
Turn screenshots, web pages, and notes into a single signed PDF — when the underlying material isn’t a single PDF yet.
Fill, sign, and lock a government tax form — same flatten-and-sign pattern, applied to AcroForm tax PDFs.

Signegy provides general information, not legal advice. Confirm any specific format or production requirements with your case’s protective order, ESI protocol, or supervising counsel.