How to add a header or footer to every page of a PDF

A line of text at the top or bottom of every page tells a reader what they are holding, even when one page has been printed and separated from the rest. Lawyers add case references, finance teams add “Draft” and a date, and consultants add the client's name. You can add one to a finished PDF without going back to the original document.

What to put in a header or footer

• Document title, shortened: “Q3 report — board pack”.
• Status and date: “Draft for comment, 3 October 2026”.
• Reference number: a case, claim, order or invoice number.
• Confidentiality: “Confidential — not for distribution”.
• Who it is for: “Prepared for Northfield Ltd”.

Keep each line short. A header that runs into the page content is harder to read than none.

Add it step by step

1. Open Add Header and Footer to PDF and add your file.
2. Type the header text, the footer text, or both.
3. Choose left, centre or right alignment and a text size.
4. Set the distance from the edge so the text sits inside the printable area, about 10 mm on most office printers.
5. Tick “Skip the first page” if the document opens with a cover or title page.
6. Save, then check the first page of the saved file, which is shown as a preview.

Headers, page numbers and watermarks together

Page numbers are added with a separate tool, Add Page Numbers to PDF, which offers formats such as “Page 3 of 12”. Run one after the other and put them in different places: for example the reference in the footer on the left and the page number on the right. Both tools have a first-page option, so the cover stays clean.

A watermark does a different job. It crosses the page diagonally and is hard to ignore, which suits “Draft” or “Copy”. A header is quieter and suits reference information. If you need both, use Add Watermark to PDF for the status and a footer for the details. The guide to watermarking a PDF has wording that works.

Things to check

• Existing headers. Many documents already have a header from Word. Put yours at the other edge, or in a different corner, so the two do not overlap.
• Landscape pages. Tables are often on rotated pages. Look at those thumbnails specifically.
• Full-bleed pages. Photographs and slides that run to the page edge may hide light text. Choose a text colour that shows on both white and dark areas, or move the line inwards.

It becomes part of the page

The text is drawn onto each page, so the recipient sees it in every viewer and on paper. It is not a form field that can be switched off. That is the point, but it also means you should keep the original file: if the date or the status changes, start again from the clean copy rather than stamping over the old line.