Pre-Production Stamping Checklist
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A step-by-step checklist a paralegal or litigation support person can run through before, during, and after batch-stamping a document production so nothing leaves the office with a duplicate, missing, or misplaced Bates number.

[ ] Copy every original file into a read-only source folder that no stamping run will ever write to.
[ ] Record a manifest of the originals: file names, page counts, and a hash for each file.
[ ] Confirm the matter's Bates prefix against the last production served, and check it does not collide with any other producing party.
[ ] Look up the last Bates number used in the previous volume and choose a starting number that leaves a visible gap.
[ ] Check that the digit padding still has room for this volume and the ones likely to follow.
[ ] Decide which documents need a confidentiality or privilege legend and confirm the exact wording from the protective order.
[ ] Decide whether exhibit labels are needed now or should wait until the hearing exhibit list is settled.
[ ] Sort the set into native PDFs and scanned image PDFs, since they behave differently under stamping.
[ ] Run OCR on image-only files that must be searchable, and do it before stamping, not after.
[ ] Preview stamp placement on a sample of scanned pages, including landscape pages, oversized pages, and pages with dark borders.
[ ] Confirm stamp position, font size, and margin so the number never covers existing text, signatures, or footers.
[ ] Create a fresh, empty output folder named for the matter and volume, separate from the originals.
[ ] Run a small test batch of a few dozen pages and open the output before committing to the full set.
[ ] Run the full batch and note the start time, the end time, and the total pages reported by the software.
[ ] Compare the total stamped pages with the page count from the originals manifest.
[ ] Confirm the first and last Bates numbers in the output match the planned range exactly.
[ ] Spot-check pages from the beginning, middle, and end of the set, plus every scanned file flagged during preview.
[ ] Search the output for duplicate numbers and gaps, using a full-set check rather than a visual scan.
[ ] Verify that legends and exhibit labels appear only on the documents that were supposed to receive them.
[ ] Record the volume, prefix, first number, last number, page count, and date in the production log.
[ ] Archive the stamping settings or profile used so the next volume can be run the same way.
[ ] Keep the untouched originals and the manifest for the life of the matter.