> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.matter-vault.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Bates & Productions

> Producing Bates-stamped document sets for discovery.

A **production** is a set of documents you produce in discovery, Bates-stamped and exported in the format opposing counsel expects. Matter Vault builds these on a matter through a short wizard.

## The Productions Tab

The **Productions** tab lists each set you have produced, with its name, Bates range (for example `PLF-00001 — PLF-00005`), the date it was locked, and its status — **Staging** while you are still assembling it, **Locked** once produced, or **Partial** if some pages hit a stamping error.

## Creating a Production

Click **New Production** to open a four-step wizard:

1. **Select Documents** — filter and check the documents to include.
2. **Bates Setup** — name the production, set the Bates prefix and number padding, choose the starting number, and pick the export format (Relativity, Concordance, or native with an index). A live preview shows the resulting range and warns of any overlap.
3. **Privilege Review** — mark each document Produce, Redact, or Withhold.
4. **Confirm** — review and finish.

From the staged set you then click **Lock Production**, which finalizes the set, stamps the documents in the background, and records a chain-of-custody event.

## Bates Numbering

The Bates **prefix** defaults from the case — the first word of the matter title, in capitals (so "Rudy v. Acme" becomes "RUDY") — and you can change it in step 2 of the wizard. Numbering runs **per matter, per series**: each prefix is its own self-contained sequence. Numbers start at 1 and display zero-padded (so the first page reads `PLF-00001`), and you can set a different starting number if you need to. Multi-page documents show as a range, like `PLF-00001–00005`.