Add Header and Footer to PDF — Custom Text on Every Page

Add Professional Headers and Footers to Any PDF

Headers and footers transform casual PDFs into professional documents. Add your company name at the top, page numbers at the bottom, or confidentiality notices on every page.

What You Can Add

Position	Common Content	Example
Header left	Company name or logo reference	"Acme Corporation"
Header center	Document title	"Q3 Financial Report"
Header right	Date or version	"March 2026 — v2.1"
Footer left	Author or department	"Finance Department"
Footer center	Page numbers	"Page 5 of 23"
Footer right	Confidentiality	"CONFIDENTIAL"

How to Add Headers and Footers

Step 1: Upload Your PDF

Open MyPDF's Header Footer tool and upload your document.

Step 2: Configure Content

For each of the 6 positions (header left/center/right, footer left/center/right):

• Type custom text


• Insert dynamic fields: {page}, {total}, {date}, {filename}


• Set font, size, and color

Step 3: Set Options

• Starting page — skip the cover page (start from page 2)
• Margins — distance from page edge
• Font — choose from standard PDF fonts (Helvetica, Times, Courier)

Step 4: Apply and Download

Click "Apply" and download the PDF with headers and footers on every page.

Dynamic Fields

Use these placeholders in your header/footer text:

Placeholder	Replaced With	Example
{page}	Current page number	5
{total}	Total page count	23
{date}	Today's date	March 24, 2026
{filename}	Original filename	report.pdf

Example: "Page {page} of {total}" becomes "Page 5 of 23" on page 5 of a 23-page document.

Header/Footer vs Page Numbers vs Watermark

Feature	Header/Footer	Page Numbers	Watermark
Position	Top/bottom margins	Bottom of page	Center of page
Content	Any text + dynamic fields	Numbers only	Text or image
Customization	6 positions, fonts, colors	Position and format	Opacity, rotation, size
Purpose	Document info	Navigation	Copyright/branding
Tool	Header Footer	Page Numbers	Watermark

Tips

1. Skip the first page — title pages and cover sheets usually don't need headers/footers
2. Use small font sizes — 8-10pt for headers/footers; they should be readable but not distracting
3. Keep it simple — one or two pieces of information per header/footer is enough
4. Use gray text — light gray (#888888) headers/footers look professional without being intrusive
5. Match existing style — if the document already has specific fonts, match them in the header/footer

Frequently Asked Questions

Will headers/footers overlap existing content?

They're placed in the margin area. If your PDF has narrow margins, you may need to adjust the margin offset to prevent overlap.

Can I add different headers to odd/even pages?

Some advanced tools support this (e.g., book-style layouts with title on left pages and chapter on right pages). MyPDF applies the same header/footer to all specified pages.

Can I remove existing headers/footers?

Not directly — headers/footers baked into the PDF are part of the page content. You'd need to crop the PDF to remove them.

Related Tools

• Add Page Numbers — Simple page numbering
• Add Watermark — Overlay text or images
• Bates Number — Legal sequential numbering
• Merge PDF — Combine PDFs before adding unified headers