Add Header & Footer to PDF — Insert Page Numbers, Dates & Custom Text Free Online
Add custom headers and footers to every page of your PDF. Insert page numbers, document titles, dates, or any text you need — positioned exactly where you want. Runs entirely in your browser, nothing uploaded anywhere.
Add Header & Footer to PDF
Upload a PDF, configure your header and footer text, then download the updated file
Drop your PDF here or click to browse
Select one PDF file · Any size · Files never leave your device
📄 Header Settings
📋 Footer Settings
📄 Page Range (optional)
File Summary
✅ Header & Footer Added!
Your PDF now has custom headers and footers on every page. Click the button to download.
📝Adding Headers & Footers — More Useful Than It Sounds
I honestly didn't think I'd use this tool that often when I first built it. Then a paralegal friend asked me if there was a free way to add page numbers to a 47-page contract before sending it to a client. She'd been doing it manually — printing, hand-writing numbers on the footer, scanning back. That took her about 40 minutes every time. This tool does it in about 8 seconds.
The tool uses PDF-lib to modify the PDF directly in your browser. It renders each page's existing content untouched and draws the header/footer text on top using your chosen font size, color, alignment, and margin settings. The {page}, {total}, and {date} tokens get replaced automatically — so "Page {page} of {total}" becomes "Page 1 of 47" on the first page, "Page 2 of 47" on the second, and so on. Nothing leaves your device at any point.
Page Numbers
Auto-insert page numbers with {page} token
100% Private
PDF never touches any server
Always Free
No limits, no payment, no account
Custom Styling
Pick color, size, and alignment
Auto Date
Insert today's date with {date}
Works on Mobile
Use it from your phone too
📋How to Add Header & Footer to Your PDF
Upload Your PDF
Drag your PDF onto the drop zone or click to browse. Any PDF works — text documents, scanned pages, reports.
Type Your Header Text
Enter whatever you want in the header. Use {page} for the current page number, {total} for page count, {date} for today's date.
Configure the Footer
Same deal for the footer. You can leave either field blank if you only need a header or only need a footer — doesn't have to be both.
Download the Result
Click the process button, wait a few seconds while each page gets updated, then download your finished PDF.
👥When You Actually Need This Tool
- Legal documents: Contracts, NDAs, and agreements almost always need page numbers. Judges and arbitrators get annoyed when pages aren't numbered. This takes about 10 seconds and looks completely professional.
- Reports and proposals: A business proposal looks miles better with the company name in the header and "Confidential — Page X of Y" in the footer. Clients notice these details.
- Academic submissions: Many universities require your name and student number in the header of submitted papers. Add it here without touching the original document structure.
- Invoice batches: If you're combining multiple invoices into one PDF, adding "Invoice Batch — Page {page} of {total}" in the footer makes it easy for accounting to cross-reference.
- Presentations converted to PDF: When you export a PowerPoint as PDF for a client, adding the date in the footer makes it obvious which version they're looking at.
🔬Token Reference — What Each Placeholder Does
| Token | What It Inserts | Example Output |
|---|---|---|
{page} | Current page number (starts at 1) | 3 |
{total} | Total number of pages in the document | 47 |
{date} | Today's date (MM/DD/YYYY format) | 03/13/2026 |
You can combine them however you like. "Ref: Project Alpha · Page {page}/{total} · {date}" is a valid header that gives you everything at once. The tokens get swapped per-page, so the page number is always correct regardless of how many pages the document has.
❓Frequently Asked Questions
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