About the Add Header and Footer to PDF tool
This tool stamps custom headers and footers onto every page of a PDF directly in your browser. It is designed for business reports, contracts, academic papers, and manuals where each page needs consistent branding, dates, stamps, or page numbers. Because the entire process runs locally with no server upload, your document stays private and there is no practical file-size limit beyond your device memory.
How it works
Rather than overprinting into the existing margins, this tool gives every page room of its own. For each page it builds a slightly taller page, adds a coloured header band across the top and a coloured footer band across the bottom, and places your original page content, untouched, in between. That approach means the header and footer never sit on top of your text or images — they occupy their own space — which is why you choose a header height and footer height. You control the band colours, the text colour, the font size, and whether text is bold, so the bands can be a subtle tint or a bold branded strip.
What you can put in each band
Both the header and the footer can hold up to four independent elements: free custom text, the current date, a stamp label such as “Confidential” or “Internal use”, and automatic page numbers. Each element has its own on/off toggle for the header and for the footer, so the two can differ — for example a title and date in the header, and a page count in the footer. Elements can be arranged side by side for a clean single line, or stacked vertically when you have several. The date comes in three formats (2025-02-18, 02/18/2025, or 18 Feb 2025), and page numbers print as “Page X of Y” automatically, counting across the whole document. You can also place the numbers inside your own footer wording using the %page% and %total% placeholders.
Preview, privacy, and good defaults
A live preview shows the header band, your PDF, and the footer band stacked exactly as they will export, with zoom controls to inspect detail. A few practical tips: keep band heights between 60 and 100 pixels for a balanced look, use a light background tint for readability, choose side-by-side for two or three elements and stacked for more, and a 14px font suits most documents. Everything happens in your browser, so the file is never transmitted; the result downloads as stamped_yourfile.pdf. If a file will not load, confirm it is a valid, unencrypted PDF. To combine several PDFs first, use the PDF Merger; to split one, the PDF Splitter; and to shrink the result, the Compress PDF tool.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my PDF get uploaded to a server?
No. This tool runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript — the file is read, stamped, and saved locally, so it never leaves your device. That makes it private and removes any upload-size bottleneck.
How are the header and footer added?
Each page is rebuilt slightly taller: a coloured header band is added above your content and a footer band below it, then your original page is placed in the middle untouched. This is why you set a header and footer height in pixels.
What can each band contain?
Up to four elements — your custom text, the current date, a stamp label (such as “Confidential” or “Internal use”), and page numbers — arranged either side by side or stacked. Toggle each element on or off independently for the header and the footer.
How do I show page numbers like “Page 3 of 12”?
Turn on the Pages toggle, which prints “Page X of Y” automatically. You can also type %page% and %total% inside the footer text field to place the numbers within your own wording.
Why is the Stamp PDF button greyed out?
You need to load a PDF first. Once a valid PDF is selected and its preview appears, the button becomes active. If Download is greyed out, click Stamp PDF first to generate the result.
My PDF will not load — what is wrong?
The file must be a valid, unencrypted PDF (it should begin with the marker %PDF-). Password-protected files cannot be read in the browser; remove the protection first. Very large files take longer because all the work happens on your device.