Legal Definitions - Bates-stamp number

A Bates-stamp number is a unique identifying number that is added to a document or its individual pages. It is named after a self-advancing stamp machine made by the Bates Manufacturing Company. The number is commonly used to identify documents produced during discovery.

For example, if a law firm is reviewing a large number of documents related to a case, they may use Bates-stamp numbers to keep track of each document. Each page of the document will have a unique number, making it easy to reference and locate specific pages.

Bates-stamp numbers are also useful in legal proceedings, where it is important to keep track of documents and ensure that they are not tampered with. By adding a unique identifier to each page, it becomes more difficult for someone to alter or remove pages without being detected.