How to Remove a Blank Page in Word

To remove a blank page in Word, first show the hidden formatting marks. The page may contain extra empty paragraphs, a manual page break, or a section break. A blank last page can also come from the paragraph Word keeps after a table. Find the cause before pressing Delete: removing a section break can change headers, page numbers, margins, or orientation elsewhere in the document.

These steps are for desktop Word on Windows or Mac. If you use Word for the web, see the web instructions below. If your ribbon says Page Layout, follow our Word 2007 blank-page instructions.

First, show what is on the blank page

1. Open the document and go to the unwanted page.
2. On the Home tab, select Show/Hide ¶. You can also press Ctrl+Shift+8 on Windows or Command+8 on Mac.
3. Look on the blank page and at the bottom of the page before it. Note whether you see empty ¶ marks, a labeled Page Break, or a Section Break. Then use the matching fix below.

If you see extra empty paragraphs

1. Select only the unnecessary ¶ marks on the blank page.
2. Press Delete or Backspace. The following content should move up and the blank page should disappear.
3. Review the paragraphs around the change so you have not removed spacing you meant to keep.

If the page stays blank, look for another cause. Repeatedly pressing Backspace without seeing the marks can remove useful content.

If you see a manual Page Break

1. Select or double-click the labeled Page Break.
2. Press Delete. Word should move the following content onto the preceding page if it fits.

Word also adds page breaks automatically as text flows. Those automatic breaks cannot be selected and deleted like a manual break. If you see no labeled break, check the paragraph settings or page layout instead. Microsoft explains the difference between manual and automatic page breaks.

For more on selecting a manual break, see our page-break removal guide.

Knowing how page breaks work in Word, including the Ctrl+Enter shortcut, makes it easier to avoid leaving empty pages behind.

If you see a Section Break

A Next Page, Odd Page, or Even Page section break can create an apparently empty page. The Odd and Even types can add a page deliberately so the next section starts on the requested side.

1. Save a copy of the document if it uses different headers, page numbers, columns, margins, or page orientations.
2. Check the formatting on both sides of the break. If those sections need different settings, keep a section boundary.
3. If the section can start on the same page, change its section start to Continuous in desktop Word. If the section boundary is unnecessary, select the break and delete it.
4. Check the pages on both sides again. Undo the change if the formatting shifts unexpectedly.

Deleting a section break combines the sections; the result uses formatting from the section after the break. Microsoft explains that behavior. If the break is hard to spot, switch to View > Draft and turn on Show/Hide.

If the blank last page follows a table

Word keeps a final paragraph after a table. If the table fills the previous page, that required ¶ can land alone on a new page. Deleting it will not solve the problem.

1. Turn on Show/Hide and select the final ¶ after the table.
2. Enter 01 in Word’s Font Size box and press Enter to make that paragraph 1 point.
3. Check whether the paragraph now fits after the table and the blank page is gone.
4. If it still does not fit, Microsoft suggests reducing the bottom margin only as needed. Inspect the rest of the layout before keeping the change.

Our last-page guide covers other causes of an unwanted final page.

If no break or extra paragraph explains it

A paragraph can have Page break before turned on. If you see a small square beside an empty paragraph, right-click it, open Paragraph Settings, choose Line and Page Breaks, and clear Page break before. Check the page again. Microsoft documents this setting in its blank-page instructions.

For a long document, View > Navigation Pane > Pages can help you locate the blank page, but selecting its thumbnail does not remove the formatting that created it. Return to Show/Hide and correct the visible cause. If Track Changes is on, a deletion may remain as a proposed change until it is accepted; review tracked changes according to your document’s editing process rather than hiding the markup and assuming the page is gone.

If text or images are actually on the unwanted page, use our guide to deleting a page of content instead of the blank-page steps.

What if I use Word for the web?

In Editing view, you can select and delete empty paragraphs or a manual page break. Microsoft says section-break changes require desktop Word. Open the document in desktop Word if a section break is causing the page, then save and check the document again in the browser.

Check the result

Switch back to Print Layout or open print preview. Confirm that the unwanted page is gone and that nearby headings, headers, page numbers, and page orientation still look right. If a change fixed the page but damaged the layout, use Undo and try the next cause-specific fix rather than deleting more marks.

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