How to Add Page Numbers in Word (and Skip the First Page)

Adding page numbers in Word takes a few seconds. Getting them to behave — no number on the cover page, or starting the count on page 3 — takes a couple more. Here’s how to do both.

Add page numbers

1. Click the Insert tab.
2. Click Page Number (in the Header & Footer group).
3. Choose where you want them: Top of Page, Bottom of Page or Page Margins.
4. Pick a style from the gallery, such as Plain Number 2 for a centred number at the bottom.

Word adds a number to every page and opens the header/footer area. Press Esc, or double-click anywhere in the main page, to go back to your text.

Show “Page 1 of 10”

In the Page Number gallery, scroll down to the Page X of Y section and choose a layout. Word fills in the current page and the total automatically.

Remove the page number from the first page

Perfect for a cover page or title page.

1. Double-click the header or footer on page 1 to open it.
2. On the Header & Footer tab that appears, tick Different First Page.
3. Press Esc to close.

The number disappears from page 1. Page 2 still shows “2” — if you’d rather it showed “1”, read on.

Start numbering from a different number

1. Go to Insert > Page Number > Format Page Numbers…
2. Under Page numbering, choose Start at and type a number.
3. Click OK.

With a cover page, set Start at to 0. The cover is page 0 (and hidden by Different First Page), so the next page shows 1.

Start page numbers on page 3 (or any page)

If you have a cover page and a contents page, you’ll need a section break so Word treats them separately.

1. Click at the very end of the page before where you want numbering to start.
2. Go to Layout > Breaks > Next Page. This starts a new section.
3. Double-click the footer on the page where numbering should begin.
4. On the Header & Footer tab, click Link to Previous so it’s turned off.
5. Go to Page Number > Format Page Numbers…, choose Start at: 1 and click OK.
6. Scroll up to the earlier pages, click in their footer and delete the page numbers.

Because the sections are no longer linked, deleting the numbers on the early pages doesn’t affect the rest.

Tip: Press Ctrl + Shift + 8 to show formatting marks — you’ll be able to see your section break.

Use Roman numerals or letters

In Format Page Numbers…, change the Number format to i, ii, iii or A, B, C. This is common for introduction pages in reports and dissertations — combine it with a section break so the main content uses normal numbers.

Change the font or size of page numbers

Double-click the footer, select the page number and change its font, size or colour on the Home tab, just like normal text.

Remove page numbers

Go to Insert > Page Number > Remove Page Numbers.

Troubleshooting

Every page shows the same number. The number was typed by hand instead of inserted. Delete it and use Insert > Page Number.

Changing one section changes them all. Link to Previous is still on. Open the footer of that section and click it to turn it off.

Numbers restart unexpectedly. Check Format Page Numbers in each section and set it to Continue from previous section.

Wrapping up

Insert > Page Number does the basics. Add Different First Page to hide the number on your cover, and use Format Page Numbers to control where the count starts.