Quick answer: To start visible page numbers on page 3 or another later page in desktop Word, make that page the start of a new section. Unlink the new section’s numbered header or footer from the opening pages, add a page-number field, and choose its first displayed number. A regular page break or a new Start at value alone will not hide numbers on the opening pages. If only the cover page should be blank, use Different First Page for page 2 instead.
Start page numbering on page 3 or later
- Save a working copy. This gives you a safe point before changing section breaks and shared headers.
- Place the section boundary. Click immediately before the content that should appear on the first numbered page. Choose Layout > Breaks > Next Page under Section Breaks. Turn on Home > Show/Hide (¶) to inspect the break. If a manual page break already sits at the same boundary, remove that redundant break so it does not create a blank page.
- Unlink the numbered area. On the first page of the new section, double-click the header for a top number or the footer for a bottom number. Turn off Link to Previous for that area. Headers and footers link separately; changing the header link will not unlink a footer number.
- Insert or keep the field. Choose Insert > Page Number and select a position and style if this section has no field yet. If a number is already there, inspect it before adding another field.
- Choose the first value. With the cursor in the new section, choose Page Number > Format Page Numbers. Under Page numbering, select Start at and enter the number you want the first numbered page to display.
- Clear the opening pages if needed. After unlinking the new section, open the earlier section’s matching header or footer, select only its page-number field, and delete it. Keep any logo or other header content. Then inspect the page before the break and the first two pages after it.
Microsoft’s section-numbering instructions and its Link to Previous guide support the separate break, header/footer link, and starting-value controls. Build and check this layout in desktop Word; Word for the web has simpler page-number controls and is less suitable for editing complex section schemes.
Example: cover and contents pages, then page 1
Imagine a report whose physical pages 1 and 2 are a cover and table of contents. Both should be unnumbered. Insert the Next Page section break immediately before the main text on physical page 3. In that new section, unlink its numbered footer, insert a page-number field, and set Start at 1. The result should be blank, blank, 1, 2 on the first four physical pages. To place the automatic table on that separate page, follow our contents-page layout guide.
If the assignment instead wants physical page 3 to display 3, use Start at 3 in the new section. This changes the label on that page; it does not move the section boundary. Check page 4 too: it should show 2 in the first scenario or 4 in the second.
Restart numbering at 1 later in the document
The same section method restarts numbering anywhere, such as at each chapter or after an appendix divider, even when the earlier pages keep their numbers.
- Click at the start of the page where the count should begin again.
- Choose Layout > Breaks > Next Page.
- Double-click the header or footer that holds the number in the new section.
- Choose Page Number > Format Page Numbers, select Start at, enter 1, and click OK.
You do not have to unlink the header or footer just to restart the count, because Start at belongs to the section. Unlink only when the earlier pages need different header or footer content, such as no number at all.
In the same dialog, the Number format list lets each section use its own style. A common layout uses i, ii, iii for the front matter and 1, 2, 3 from the main text onward.
Check first-page and odd/even header settings
If the number appears on the second page of the new section but not its first, inspect Different First Page. Word can apply it to the first page of any section, so the first body page may have a separate First Page Header or Footer. Turn the option off if it is unnecessary, or put the page-number field in that separate first-page area. If the document uses Different Odd & Even Pages, check both header or footer types. A number can exist in one type and be absent in the other.
If the result is wrong
- Opening pages still show numbers: verify the new section’s matching header or footer is unlinked, then remove the field from the opening section. Unlink the footer if the number is in the footer.
- Removing an early number removes the later one too: undo the deletion, turn off Link to Previous in the later section, and remove the early field again.
- The first numbered page shows 3 instead of 1: choose Start at 1 in the later section rather than Continue from previous section.
- The first numbered page is blank: check Different First Page and the separate first-page header or footer; also confirm a number field exists there.
- An extra blank page appears: show formatting marks and look for a redundant manual page break or paragraph next to the Next Page section break. An Odd Page or Even Page section break can intentionally skip a physical page.
- Numbers restart again at a later chapter: in that chapter’s section choose Continue from previous section when numbering should carry on.
Inspect the saved document in Print Preview, including the first page of every section. If it has an automatic table of contents, update the table after finalizing pagination so its page references match. For more symptoms, see our page-number repair guide. Microsoft’s later-numbering guidance also distinguishes hiding one first-page number from starting on page 3.
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