How to Add Page Numbers in Word

Page numbers seem simple until you need them to start on page 2, or restart after a section break, or appear in the footer of every page except the title page. This guide covers every page numbering scenario in Word — from the straightforward to the frustrating — and explains the cleanest way to handle each one.

Adding basic page numbers

The standard approach for adding page numbers to a Word document is through the header or footer. Here's the basic method:

  1. Double-click at the very top or bottom of a page to open the header or footer area.
  2. In the toolbar, look for the 'Insert' options — find Page Number and click it.
  3. Choose your position: top of page (header), bottom of page (footer), or page margins.
  4. Pick an alignment — left, centre or right. Centre and right are most common for professional documents.
  5. Click anywhere in the main body of the document to close the header/footer and return to editing.

Starting page numbers on page 2 (skipping the cover page)

For reports, essays and formal documents, it's standard to have a cover or title page with no number, and page numbers starting from 1 on the second page. Here's how:

  1. Double-click the footer (or header) to open the header/footer editing area.
  2. Look for a 'Different First Page' checkbox or toggle in the toolbar and turn it on. This removes the number from your first page.
  3. Your second page will now show page number 2. To make it show 1 instead, find 'Page Number Format' or 'Start at' in the page number options and set it to start at 0 — this way page 2 displays as 1.

Formatting your page numbers

Page numbers inherit the font of your header or footer by default. To change how they look, double-click to open the header/footer, click the page number itself, and apply any font, size or style from the toolbar — just like regular text.

For academic and legal documents, a common format is 'Page X of Y' (for example, 'Page 3 of 12'). You can do this by typing 'Page ', inserting the page number field, typing ' of ', then inserting the total pages field. The fields update automatically as pages are added or removed.

  • Roman numerals (i, ii, iii) for front matter — select the page number and change the format in Page Number > Format Page Numbers
  • Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) for the main body — the default in most documents
  • A dash or parenthesis around the number — type the characters around the number field
  • Smaller or greyed-out numbers — reduce the font size or change the colour to slate or grey

Removing page numbers

To remove page numbers entirely, double-click the header or footer, click the page number, select it and press Delete. If the number was inserted as a field, select the entire field (it may appear highlighted in grey) and delete it.

If page numbers appear on every page even after you delete one, it's because they're in a linked header/footer — deleting from one page removes them from all pages in that section, which is what you want.

If numbers stubbornly reappear, check whether you've accidentally left a page number in a section you didn't mean to edit.

Page numbers in different sections of a document

Long documents — dissertations, reports, books — often need different numbering in different sections: Roman numerals for the introduction and bibliography, Arabic numerals for the main chapters.

This is done with section breaks. Insert a section break at the point where you want numbering to change (use the Insert or Layout menu to find section breaks). Then break the link between the headers/footers of adjacent sections — look for a 'Link to Previous' button in the header/footer toolbar and turn it off. After that, you can set independent page number formats for each section.

It sounds fiddly, but once you understand the section break → unlink → reformat sequence, it becomes straightforward. The key insight is that page numbers belong to the header/footer, and the header/footer belongs to a section.

Frequently asked questions

How do I start page numbers on page 3?

Insert two section breaks — one after page 1 and one after page 2. Unlink the headers/footers of section 3 from section 2 (turn off 'Link to Previous'). Add your page number to section 3's footer only, set to start at 1 (or whatever number you want).

Why is my page number showing on the cover page even though I enabled 'Different First Page'?

Check whether the cover page is in a separate section. 'Different First Page' only affects the first page of each section, not the first page of the whole document unless it's in its own section.

Can I put the page number in the middle of the page (not header/footer)?

Technically yes, using a text box — but this is non-standard and won't update automatically. For anything professional, always use the header or footer for page numbers.

My page numbers are wrong after I added a new section. How do I fix it?

Double-click the footer in the affected section, find the page number, and use Format Page Numbers > Start at to set the correct starting number. Or unlink the section from the previous one and set fresh numbering.

How do I add 'Page X of Y' in Word?

In the footer, type 'Page ', then insert the current page number field, type ' of ', then insert the total number of pages field. Both are available from the Insert > Field or Quick Parts menu.