---
title: "The State of Exhibit Marking in 2026: Stickers, Stamps, and PDF Exhibits"
description: "Where exhibit marking stands in 2026: paper stickers, PDF stamps, numbering set by court order, remote exhibits, and checks before a stamp joins the record."
url: "https://depostack.com/blog/state-of-exhibit-marking-2026/"
published: "2026-10-11"
updated: "2026-10-15"
author: "Andrew Mayes"
topic: "Exhibits"
---

# The State of Exhibit Marking in 2026: Stickers, Stamps, and PDF Exhibits

Where exhibit marking stands in 2026: paper stickers, PDF stamps, numbering set by court order, remote exhibits, and checks before a stamp joins the record.

Published October 11, 2026 · Updated October 15, 2026 · By Andrew Mayes · Topic: Exhibits

Canonical URL: https://depostack.com/blog/state-of-exhibit-marking-2026/

## Key takeaways

- The rules require exhibits to be marked for identification and kept with the deposition; they do not choose paper or PDF.
- Courts in 2026 issue paper stickers and electronic sticker files side by side, with party colors and numbering set locally.
- In large cases, numbering is set by court order, and some orders make the court reporter responsible for number blocks.
- Before a stamped PDF becomes the exhibit, check that the mark is flattened, the text is searchable, and the log matches.

Walk into almost any deposition in 2026 and you will find two traditions on the same table. One is the
paper sticker: yellow or blue, a number written or printed on it, pressed onto the first page. The other is
the PDF stamp: the same mark, placed by software on a file that will be shared on screen, emailed, and
attached to the transcript. Neither has replaced the other. The more useful question is not which one wins.
It is whether the mark, the number, and the exhibit log survive the trip from the room to the record.

This note covers what the rules require, what courts are doing with stickers and files this year, how
numbering is being set in large cases, and what to check before a stamped PDF becomes the exhibit.

## What the rules require, and what they leave alone

The federal rule is short. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(f)(2)(A), documents and tangible things
produced for inspection during a deposition "must, on a party's request, be marked for identification and
attached to the deposition."[1] A person who wants to keep the originals may offer copies to be marked and used
as originals, after all parties have a fair chance to compare them.[1] At the end of the deposition, Rule
30(b)(5)(C) has the officer state on the record any stipulations about custody of the transcript, the
recording, and the exhibits.[1]

Notice what the rule does not say. It does not name a sticker color, a stamp layout, a numbering scheme, or a
file format. Those come from local practice, a judge's procedures, a case order, or the parties' stipulation.

The rules also keep a distinction the profession guards carefully: being marked is not the same as being
received in evidence. Alaska's court system states it plainly in Administrative Bulletin No. 9, revised
effective August 3, 2026. "Marked for identification" means the exhibit "has received an exhibit sticker and
exhibit number and has been listed on the exhibit list." Offering it into evidence is a separate,
later step, and admitting it is the court's decision.[2] A stamp, paper or digital, records identity. It never decides anything
else.

## The paper sticker is current practice

Alaska's bulletin is a useful snapshot because it was revised this year and it is specific. Exhibits must be
marked with a court-provided sticker before they are referred to in court. Stickers are color coded: yellow
for plaintiffs or petitioners, blue for defendants or respondents, red for grand jury and coroner
proceedings, and green for miscellaneous parties. Each sticker carries the full case number and the exhibit
number or letter, and it goes in the lower right corner of the first page "in a manner which will not
interfere with the viewing of the exhibit." Plaintiffs number from 1, defendants letter from A, and in
cases with many parties and large volumes the court may assign each party a block of one thousand numbers.[2]

The U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island shows the same tradition with a digital option
beside it. Its exhibits page requires attorneys to pre-mark all exhibits before trial or an evidentiary
hearing, and says stickers "can be obtained from the Clerk's Office or the electronic versions linked below
can be used."[3] The same page lists accepted electronic formats (PDF for documents) and a file naming
convention: exhibit number, case number, and description.[3]

That one page is the state of exhibit marking in 2026. The paper sticker and the electronic sticker are both
accepted, and the court cares far more that the number is right and the file is findable than about which
one you used.

## Numbering is set by order, and orders differ

In a two-party case, numbering is usually a matter of habit and stipulation. In large and multidistrict
cases, it is often written into a deposition protocol, and the protocols do not agree.

| Convention | Where it appears | What someone has to track |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sequential within each deposition, prefixed with the deponent's name | Target data breach MDL, D. Minn., 2014 order[4] | The prefix and the last number used in that deposition |
| Number blocks per deposition, assigned by the court reporter, with no overlapping numbers | Zantac MDL, S.D. Fla., Pretrial Order No. 54 (2020);[5] Valsartan MDL, D.N.J., Case Management Order No. 20 (2020)[6] | Every block issued, and every number already used |
| A marked exhibit keeps its number across later depositions | Zantac[5] and Valsartan[6] orders | Whether a document was marked before, and under what number |

The Valsartan order goes further than most. It says that once an exhibit has been numbered, "it is intended
that it shall retain that number throughout the case."[6] Where the same document was numbered differently at
different depositions, the court reporter and the parties confer to confirm it. The court reporter for each
deposition includes a list of the exhibits referenced in that transcript, and the reporter and the parties
keep a joint list showing exhibit number, deponent, and date. The order is careful about who answers for it:
the list "may be coordinated with the court reporter service for efficiency, but the parties remain
responsible for the accuracy of the list."[6]

Under orders like these, the reporter's exhibit log stops being a page at the back of one transcript and
becomes a running register for the case. That is real work, and it is exactly the kind of work where a
duplicate number or a skipped block causes trouble months later at trial.

> **Figure.** Numbering under a case order: each deposition draws from its own block, a marked exhibit keeps its number later, and one joint list tracks them. Drawing: Three deposition transcripts, each tied to its own block on a number register, an exhibit from the first reused under the same number in the third, and a joint list below.

To plan numbers across deponents and days, and print a matching exhibit log, use the free
[exhibit number planner](https://depostack.com/tools/exhibit-numbers/).

## Remote depositions made the PDF the everyday exhibit

Rule 30(b)(4) allows a deposition by remote means on stipulation or court order[1], and in a remote deposition
the exhibit reaches the witness as a file. Recent orders describe how that file must behave. The Depo-Provera MDL
deposition protocol in the Northern District of Florida, filed March 14, 2025, requires that full copies of
exhibits be provided to the witness and counsel, made available through the remote deposition technology,
file sharing, or other electronic means, and in hard copy on request. The platform must let the witness
privately access any part of an exhibit and move through it, and let counsel display and annotate exhibits,
add and remove them, and change their order. The order also says that a witness being given an electronic
copy is not, by itself, a basis to object to the exhibit at trial.[7]

The profession worked out much of the practice early. In March 2020, Lynette Mueller, then chair of NCRA's
Technology Committee, wrote in the Journal of Court Reporting that in remote depositions "it is best to have
the attorneys (not the court reporter) handle the marking of the exhibits"; described adding a digital exhibit sticker to
PDFs in Acrobat; and advised that "there is no need to flatten the document during the deposition." She also
noted that "all exhibits marked during the proceeding are working copies."[8] Flattening, in other words, is a
finishing step, not a live one.

Vendors have built that practice into their platforms. One agency's exhibit platform, for example, describes
applying "the exhibit sticker with a single click," moving it or changing its transparency, and sharing the
marked exhibit through a secure link.[9] Before relying on any tool like this, ask the
questions in the next section.

## Flattened stamp or movable annotation

A PDF can carry a mark in two very different ways. It can be an annotation, which the PDF standard keeps
apart from the page's own content. The standard even names the type: a rubber stamp annotation "displays
text or graphics intended to look as if they were stamped on the page with a rubber stamp."[10] Annotations can
be hidden, and the standard offers a Locked flag that, when set, stops a user from deleting an annotation
or changing its position and size.[10] Or the mark can be flattened into the page content, where it displays and
prints as part of the page.[8] During preparation, a movable mark is useful. On the exhibit attached to a
certified transcript, it is a liability: the next person to open the file can change what the exhibit says
about itself.

> **Figure.** Sticker to exhibit: a hand-placed sticker; a PDF stamp that can still move; the mark flattened into the page, matched to the log. Drawing: Three pages: a paper page with a hand-placed sticker, a PDF page whose stamp lifts off as a movable annotation, and a page with the stamp flattened in, beside the exhibit log.

Court e-filing guidance shows what a court system expects of a PDF it keeps. The District of Oregon's
CM/ECF manual tells filers to "print or flatten the fillable PDF before uploading it to CM/ECF so that the
fields are removed," and states that all PDF documents filed in CM/ECF must be text-searchable under its
Local Rule 5-2(b).[11] That guidance covers court filings, not deposition exhibits, and requirements vary by
court. It is still a fair benchmark for any exhibit that may later be filed or used at trial.

Before a stamped PDF becomes the exhibit, check these:

- **The mark is part of the page.** Open the final file in a second viewer and try to select or move the
  stamp. If it moves, it is not finished.
- **The text is still searchable.** Search for a word on a stamped page to confirm flattening did not turn
  the page into a picture.
- **The mark does not cover content.** Alaska's rule about placement applies to pixels as well as paper.
  Check pages with content in the corner where the stamp lands.
- **The original is kept.** Keep the unmarked file the exhibit came from, so a dispute about content can be
  answered from the source.
- **The log matches the files.** Every number in the exhibit log has one file, every file has one number,
  and the description matches the document.
- **The numbering follows the order.** If a protocol assigns blocks or requires reuse of prior numbers, check
  the case's register before you stamp, not after.

## What has not changed

The paper sticker survives for good reasons. It is visible across a conference table, and a witness holding
the document can see it. The digital stamp brings what paper cannot:
identical copies for every participant, numbering that can be checked against a register, and a file that
arrives with the transcript instead of in a box.

Underneath both is the same job. Someone marks the exhibit for identification, it is attached to the
deposition, its custody is stated on the record, and an index ties each number to one document. Whoever
places the mark, the exhibits travel with the transcript the reporter certifies, and the final exhibit
index belongs to the reporter, not to the software that helped prepare it.

## How DepoStack is approaching this

Exhibits by DepoStack is in Preview for Windows and Mac. It adds exhibit labels to PDFs and keeps
numbering and the exhibit log together. You still need to open and check every saved PDF and its index
before delivery. The final exhibit index remains the reporter's responsibility. See the current features,
limits, and setup instructions on the [Exhibits by DepoStack page](https://depostack.com/exhibits/).

## Sources

Reviewed October 11, 2026.

1. [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 30 (Legal Information Institute)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_30) (law.cornell.edu; Rule 30(b)(4), 30(b)(5)(C), and 30(f)(2))
2. [Alaska Court System, Administrative Bulletin No. 9 (exhibits)](https://courts.alaska.gov/adbulls/docs/ab09.pdf) (courts.alaska.gov; revised effective August 3, 2026)
3. [U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, Exhibits](https://www.rid.uscourts.gov/exhibits-0) (rid.uscourts.gov)
4. [In re Target Corporation Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, MDL No. 14-2522 (D. Minn.), Order Regarding Discovery Plan and Deposition Protocol](https://www.mnd.uscourts.gov/sites/mnd/files/2014-1027-14md2522-Ord1027.pdf) (mnd.uscourts.gov; paragraph 14)
5. [In re Zantac (Ranitidine) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2924 (S.D. Fla.), Pretrial Order No. 54, Deposition Protocol](https://www.flsd.uscourts.gov/sites/flsd/files/20md2924/PTO%2054.pdf) (flsd.uscourts.gov; entered November 11, 2020; section F, Exhibits)
6. [In re Valsartan, Losartan, and Irbesartan Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2875 (D.N.J.), Case Management Order No. 20](https://www.njd.uscourts.gov/sites/njd/files/MDL2875_CMO-20%28%23632%29.pdf) (njd.uscourts.gov; filed November 17, 2020; marking of deposition exhibits)
7. [In re Depo-Provera Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3140 (N.D. Fla.), Pretrial Order No. 16, Deposition Protocol](https://www.flnd.uscourts.gov/sites/flnd/files/mdl/2025.03.14%20-%20325md3140%20-%20PTO%2016%20-%20%20Deposition%20Protocol.pdf) (flnd.uscourts.gov; filed March 14, 2025)
8. [Journal of Court Reporting (NCRA), Handling of exhibits for remote depositions](https://www.thejcr.com/2020/03/31/handling-of-exhibits-for-remote-depositions/) (thejcr.com; Lynette L. Mueller, March 31, 2020)
9. [Lexitas, Electronic exhibit platform](https://www.lexitaslegal.com/solutions/electronic-exhibit-platform) (lexitaslegal.com; one vendor's description, cited as an example)
10. [ISO 32000-1:2008, Document management: Portable document format, Part 1: PDF 1.7 (Adobe copy)](https://opensource.adobe.com/dc-acrobat-sdk-docs/pdfstandards/PDF32000_2008.pdf) (opensource.adobe.com; section 12.5, annotations; annotation flags; rubber stamp annotations)
11. [U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, CM/ECF user manual: creating and filing documents](https://www.ord.uscourts.gov/index.php/filing-and-forms/cm-ecf/user-manual/187-section-05-electronic-filing-protocols/2079-creating-and-filing-documents) (ord.uscourts.gov)

Court rules, orders, and vendor pages change. The rule, order, or stipulation in your matter governs.

## Related Field Notes

- [What I Learned Running Technology at a Court Reporting Firm](https://depostack.com/blog/running-technology-court-reporting-firm/)
- [Court Reporter Per-Page Rates Explained: Originals, Copies & Expedites](https://depostack.com/blog/per-page-rates/)