PDF Header and Footer — Add Custom Text

About this tool

PDF Header and Footer drops a configurable strip of text at the top and bottom of every page in a PDF without a desktop editor in sight. Drop your file, type the text you want in the header field (left, centre, or right slot), do the same for the footer, optionally toggle a page-number suffix like 'Page 3 of 12', preview the first page in real time, and hit Apply. pdf-lib walks every page and draws your text in Helvetica with a small margin from the page edge, sensitive to portrait or landscape page orientation, then hands you the new file. Because everything runs locally, contracts, internal reports, and quote bundles never leave your device. Ideal for adding 'Confidential — Internal Use Only' to every page of a leaked-prone draft, or stamping a client name and date on quotes you ship out the door.

Why use it

• Three Slots Per Strip: Left, centre, and right text slots for both header and footer mean you can put a date, label, and version on a single line per strip.

• Optional Page Numbers: Toggle a 'Page X of Y' suffix without leaving the form — uniform numbering on every page in one pass.

• Live First-Page Preview: pdf.js renders page 1 in real time as you type so you can see exactly how the strips will look before downloading.

• Browser-Only Privacy: pdf-lib runs locally — confidential drafts and client-named documents never leave your device.

• Helvetica Fallback Font: A clean, universally-supported font ensures the stamps render correctly in every PDF reader.

• Free with No Watermark: Stamp as many PDFs as you need with no signup, no quota, and no UtilityKit branding on output.

How to use

1. Drop or select the PDF you want to stamp — the tool reads the page count and shows a live first-page preview.
2. Type the header text — separate left / centre / right slots let you put a date in the left and a brand label in the right.
3. Type the footer text the same way — left / centre / right slots are independent.
4. Optionally toggle Add Page Numbers to append a 'Page X of Y' to the footer of every page.
5. Click Apply Header and Footer — pdf-lib stamps every page in one pass and the download starts.
6. Open the result and verify the alignment; minor edge-margin tweaks can be made by re-running with shorter text if anything overflows.

When it helps

• When stamping 'Confidential — Internal Use Only' on every page of a draft circulating internally.
• When sending a multi-page client quote with the customer's name in the header and your company in the footer.
• When preparing a court-bundle PDF where every page needs a case reference and continuous page numbers.
• When adding a copyright line to the footer of every page of a printable e-book before distribution.
• When uploading a meeting pack to a board portal that requires custom headers or footers per document.
• When labelling versioned drafts (v1, v2, v3) so reviewers can spot the right edition at a glance.

Examples

Tips

• Keep header/footer text short — long centre slots may collide with left or right slots on smaller page sizes.
• Use the date in the left slot, document title in the centre, and version or page number in the right.
• Avoid using all three slots if your PDF has very narrow margins — pick one or two.
• After downloading, check the first and last page; rare oddly-rotated pages may need rotating before stamping.
• For high-stakes legal stamping, run PDF Header and Footer first, then PDF Watermark to layer a status mark on top.

Frequently Asked Questions

Glossary

Header

A horizontal strip of text or imagery at the top of every page in a printed document.

Footer

A horizontal strip of text or imagery at the bottom of every page, commonly used for page numbers and copyright.

Slot

One of the three regions (left / centre / right) within a header or footer strip; each slot holds one short piece of text.

Page Number

A numeric reference for each page, often shown as 'Page X of Y' or simply 'X'.

Helvetica

A sans-serif font supported by every PDF reader, chosen here for cross-platform consistency.

Margin

The whitespace between the page content and the page edge — header and footer strips sit inside this margin.