Not paginating an e-bundle properly causes confusion but the confusion starts with “what is page one?”
Formatting e-bundle pagination properly is a top concern for our clients, and rightly too, when a case may be sanctioned.
It’s a natural conclusion to make that we want our electronic bundles to mimic the paper version of a ring binder. Nobody would put a page number on the title page of a ring binder, would they?
But since e-bundles have been mandated, the interpretation of the rules by different courts is now causing some confusion.
For the sake of this exercise, let’s forget paper bundles ever existed, and simply focus on a single PDF document.
The PDF document must have continuous page numbering throughout. There are a variety of instructions on the internet on how to insert continuous page numbering②, and how that numbering must be linked to the document index.
To add more confusion about pagination, if the bundle is split into sections, the index can have a different page numbering scheme③.
Overall, the page numbers will never match the number of the page of the PDF itself①. So, what do we do about that?
We can format e-bundling pagination to appear as you (and the court) would like it.
Obviously, it helps to know which court requires which specific pagination format. This article contains useful links t
This image is an example of a standard bundle to be submitted to the Family Court. Its layout mimics the old-fashioned ring binder and the PDF is navigable from the bookmarks, the index page and simple scrolling.
If you require a bundle with a different pagination format it can be made for you, just let us know how you (and the court) want it formatted. You can learn more information about preparing your ebundle here.
Update: Court guidance has been updated on 29th November 2021 and includes reference to page numbering. In particular:
“All pages in an e-bundle must be numbered by computer-generated numbering, not by hand. The numbering should start at page 1 for the first page of the bundle (whether or not that is part of an index) and the numbering must follow sequentially to the last page of the bundle, so that the pagination matches the pdf numbering. If a hard copy of the bundle is produced, the pagination must match the e-bundle.”
So that we can follow this request, we will no longer include a cover page to the bundle and page number 1 will appear on the first page of the index.
