Legal documents require specific PDF preparation: proper page numbering, Bates numbers, signature fields, protection from editing, and sometimes flattening for court filing. Here is a complete free workflow for preparing legal PDFs professionally.
Gather all component documents and merge them in the correct order using pdfeditor.onl/organize-pdf. Legal document bundles (trial bundles, exhibit packages) should have all exhibits in sequential order before numbering.
Go to pdfeditor.onl/page-numbers. Add Bates numbers using the Header & Footer tool — place a prefix (e.g., "EXHBT-") followed by the page number in the bottom-right corner. Set the font to Helvetica 8pt for a professional look.
Tip: For legal Bates numbering, use zero-padded numbers (0001, 0002, ...) by setting the prefix and using fixed-width numbers. This ensures correct alphabetical sorting of large document sets.
Use pdfeditor.onl/header-footer to add a case name, document title, or confidentiality notice in the header. Common legal header: Left = case reference, Right = document title. Common footer: Left = counsel name, Right = Bates/page number.
Go to pdfeditor.onl/protect-pdf. Set an owner password to prevent editing. Restrict permissions to prevent modification and annotation. Leave printing and copying allowed (courts need to print exhibits).
Use pdfeditor.onl/repair-pdf in Flatten mode before submitting to court. Courts often require flat PDFs — no interactive elements, form fields, or layers. Flattening ensures the document renders identically in every PDF viewer.
US courts typically require Letter (8.5" × 11"). UK courts use A4 (210 × 297mm). Check the specific court's filing requirements — many have detailed PDF technical specifications.
Many courts have file size limits (e.g., 25 MB per document). Use the Balanced compression profile if needed. Avoid the Smallest profile for legal exhibits — image quality may be too low for legibility standards.