Can ChatGPT make a court bundle? What it can do, and the file steps it can't

A court bundle (in the US, often an exhibit set or a document production) is the set of documents a judge will read, put into one agreed order, with every page numbered and an index at the front. People preparing one for the first time often ask a chat assistant to "make the bundle". Here is what that gets you, and what it doesn't.

What a chat assistant is good for

Chat assistants are useful for the thinking around a bundle. Paste in your notes and they can draft a chronology, suggest headings for sections, or turn a list of file names into neat index titles. They can explain in general terms what a practice direction says, though you should read the rule itself, because rules change. The version of Practice Direction 27A for family cases in England and Wales that applies today came into force on 2 March 2026.

Where it stops

A bundle is a file, and the hard part is mechanical.

• Merging. Forty PDFs, scans and phone photos have to become one PDF in the order you choose. A chat assistant does not hand your documents back merged.
• One paper size. Letters, receipts, landscape spreadsheets and photos have to be fitted to A4 or US Letter without cropping anything.
• A number on every page. "Page 112 of 340", or B14, or SMITH-000112 has to be stamped on each page. Chatbots cannot stamp pages.
• Page ranges that match. The index says "Tenancy agreement, pages 4 to 17". Those numbers only exist after merging, because they depend on the real page count of every document before it. A list typed in a chat has to guess, and one wrong count shifts every range after it.
• Bookmarks and links. Courts that take electronic bundles want a bookmark for each section and document, and an index whose lines link to the pages.

What courts ask for

Requirements differ, so check the rules and any order in your case. A few current examples:

• England and Wales, civil courts. The judiciary's general guidance on electronic court bundles (2021) asks for a single PDF, computer-generated page numbers that start at page 1 and match the PDF page numbers, a hyperlinked index, and bookmarks for every section and significant document. For trial bundles, Practice Direction 32 para 27.8 says the bundle is "paginated (continuously) throughout, and indexed with a description of each document and the page number".
• England and Wales, family court. PD 27A makes the e-bundle the default (para 4.2) and limits it to 350 A4 pages without the court's permission (para 11.2(b)). It numbers pages by section, A1, A2, then B1, and calls this the Bates numbering system (para 1.2). The index is not paginated (para 7.2(b)), and bookmarks must contain the page number (para 11.2(d)(ii)). It also leaves out emails, WhatsApp messages and photographs unless the court directs otherwise (para 5.2).
• Employment tribunals in England and Wales. The Presidential Guidance that took effect on 4 June 2026 asks for a PDF numbered from page 1 with no separately numbered sections, page numbers that match the PDF, an index at the front, bookmarks for significant documents, and pages resized to A4 (para 24).
• US federal courts. Rule 34(b)(2)(E)(i) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires documents to be produced as kept in the usual course of business, or organized and labeled to match the requests. Bates numbers are the usual label, and ESI agreements often require them: the Western District of Washington's model agreement says each image file "shall be named with a unique number (Bates Number)".
• Australia, Federal Court. The eBooks practice note (GPN-eBOOKS) allows one bookmarked PDF whose displayed page numbers match the PDF's own, with an index of tab numbers, titles, dates and pages at the front.

How to build it

1. Collect every document as a file: PDFs, scans, photos, and exports of chats and emails.
2. Decide the sections and the order. Chronological within each section is common.
3. Choose the numbering your court uses and the paper size.
4. Merge, number and index in one step, so the page ranges are computed, not typed.
5. Open the result and check the first and last page of each document against the index.

Our Court Bundle Builder does steps 3 and 4 for you. Upload the documents, drag them into sections, choose "Page X of Y", section numbers or Bates numbers, and get one PDF with an index, bookmarks and a number on every page. WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger, Instagram and email exports go in as dated records. The index and the first pages are free to check; the whole bundle is $5, paid once. It formats the bundle; it does not decide what goes in it, and it is not legal advice.

For the family court, see family court bundles under PD 27A. For tribunals, see evidence bundles for an employment tribunal. For productions, see Bates numbering for PDFs.