Guide

How to number exhibits in a PDF bundle

Updated on 24 October 2026.

Every exhibit gets a number, and every page shows which exhibit it belongs to. Here is how that works by hand, and how the free CourtMerge web tool does it in a few minutes.

What numbering means here

Numbering an exhibit is more than a digit in a file name. Whoever reads the bundle wants to see two things: the number of each exhibit in the index, and on every page which exhibit that page belongs to. The PDF's own page numbers (1 to 88) do not tell you that. Page 37 may be the third sheet of exhibit 5, and the reader should be able to see that without flipping back.

When several parties file exhibits in the same case, each party usually numbers its own: exhibits 1, 2, 3 for one party and 1, 2, 3 for the other. The label on the page then also says which party the exhibit comes from.

By hand

Without a tool, the work usually looks like this:

open each exhibit in a PDF editor and put a number at the top, with a text box or a stamp;
repeat that on every page, or only put it on the first page and hope nobody takes the rest apart;
merge the exhibits in the right order;
type an index in Word and look up the page numbers in the bundle one by one.

If an exhibit is added later or the order shifts, the numbering no longer adds up, and neither do the page references in the index. Then you start again.

With the free web tool

Open the web tool. There is nothing to install and no account to create.
Drag your case folder or your loose PDFs into the window. Subfolders come along.
Put the exhibits in order and fill in the party, the number and the title for each one. If you move something later, Renumber numbers each party 1, 2, 3 again.
Click Make the bundle. Every page gets a label with its exhibit, and the index at the front has the right page references.

Your PDFs are not uploaded: your browser reads them and makes the bundle on your own computer.

Things to watch

Check what is asked for. One court or procedure wants a single bundle, another wants each exhibit as a separate file. The numbering stays the same either way.
Freeze numbers once they are cited. If a brief or report already refers to "exhibit 7", do not renumber; add the new exhibit at the end.
One PDF with several exhibits? Do not split it in another program first. In the web tool you give each exhibit a page range.

Try it with your own documents

It costs nothing and you need no account. Your PDFs stay on your computer.

Open the web tool

Need more?

The CourtMerge desktop app for Windows does the same, and on top of that puts your office stamp on every exhibit, makes a bundle per party, compresses large scans and saves your case files. It comes with CourtMerge Pro, €149 once.

Questions

What if an exhibit is added later?

Add it, put it in its place and make the bundle again. The web tool saves nothing itself, so you add the PDFs again. The CourtMerge desktop app does save the case file, so there you only add the new exhibit.

Can I take several exhibits out of one PDF?

Yes. Add the same PDF as several exhibits and give each one its own page range.