How to Put a Running Head in Word (APA Style)

To put a running head in Word, open the header, type your shortened paper title in capital letters at the left margin, press Tab twice, and insert a page number so it sits at the right margin. Under APA 7th edition, only professional papers (manuscripts for publication) need a running head. Student papers need just the page number in the top-right corner unless your instructor asks for more.

What an APA running head looks like

A running head is a short version of your paper’s title that appears at the top of every page. In APA 7th edition style, it follows these rules:

• Text: your paper title, shortened if needed, in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.
• Length: 50 characters or fewer, counting spaces and punctuation.
• Position: flush left in the header, with the page number flush right on the same line.
• Pages: every page, including the title page, with the same text throughout.
• No label: APA 7 does not use the words “Running head:” in front of the title.

For example, a paper called “Sleep Quality and Academic Performance in First-Year College Students” could use SLEEP AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE as its running head. Keep the key idea of the title and drop filler words.

How to add an APA 7 running head in Word

These steps use Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows. Word’s header has a center tab stop and a right tab stop that match the default 1-inch margins, which is why two presses of Tab push the page number to the right edge.

1. Open your paper and select the Insert tab.
2. Select Header, then choose Edit Header. You can also double-click the top margin of any page. The cursor moves into the header and the Header & Footer tab appears.
3. If a placeholder or old text is in the header, delete it so the header is empty.
4. Type your shortened title in capital letters. Press Caps Lock first, or type normally, select the text, and press Shift + F3 until it changes to all caps.
5. Press Tab twice. The cursor jumps to the right margin.
6. On the Header & Footer tab, select Page Number > Current Position > Plain Number. A page number appears at the right edge of the header.
7. Look at the Different First Page box on the Header & Footer tab and make sure it is not checked. APA 7 uses the same header on the title page as on every other page.
8. Select Close Header and Footer, or double-click in the body of the page.

Scroll through the document. Each page should show the title on the left and the correct page number on the right, starting with 1 on the title page. Make the header text match the font of your paper, such as 12-point Times New Roman or 11-point Calibri.

Running head for a student paper

If you are writing a student paper in APA 7, you usually only need a page number. Select Insert > Page Number > Top of Page > Plain Number 3 to place it in the top-right corner. Some instructors still ask students to include a running head, so check your assignment instructions before you skip it. Our APA formatting guide for Word covers the other page setup rules, such as margins, font, and line spacing.

APA 6th edition: “Running head:” on the title page only

Some courses and older templates still follow APA 6th edition. In that version, the title page header reads “Running head: YOUR TITLE,” and every page after it shows only the title in capitals. You need two different headers, which Word handles with the Different First Page option.

1. Double-click the top margin of page 1 to open the header.
2. On the Header & Footer tab, check Different First Page.
3. In the page 1 header, type Running head: followed by your title in capitals, press Tab twice, and insert Page Number > Current Position > Plain Number.
4. Move to the page 2 header. Type only the title in capitals, press Tab twice, and insert the page number the same way.
5. Select Close Header and Footer.

The page 2 header carries through to the rest of the paper, so you only set it up once. If you need to strip the header from one page instead, see removing a header from the second page.

Word for Mac and Word for the web

In Word for Mac, the Header, Page Number, and Different First Page controls are in the same places: on the Insert tab and the Header & Footer tab that opens while you edit the header. Labels can vary slightly between versions.

Word for the web can add a header and page numbers, but it has fewer layout controls. If the title and page number will not line up, select Editing > Open in Desktop App and follow the Windows or Mac steps.

Fix common running head problems

• The page number lands on a second line. Your title is too long for the line. Shorten it to 50 characters or fewer.
• The page number sits in the middle. You pressed Tab once. Click just before the number and press Tab again.
• Numbering starts at 0 or 2, or restarts partway through. Select Page Number > Format Page Numbers and set Start at to 1. Section breaks can also restart numbers; see fixing missing or restarting page numbers.
• The title page shows a different header. Different First Page is turned on. Clear it for APA 7.
• The header text uses a different font. Select the header text and page number and apply the same font and size as your body text.

Microsoft’s guide to inserting page numbers in Word explains the other numbering options if your school uses a different style.

Matt Wilmont

Matt has been writing about Microsoft Windows and other Microsoft products since the days of Windows XP. He spends much of his time writing for sites like WindowBrain.com