How to Add Footnotes in Word (and Endnotes)

Footnotes are the small numbered notes at the bottom of a page — perfect for references, extra detail or asides that would interrupt your main text. Word numbers them automatically and keeps them in order, even when you move text around.

1. Click right after the word or sentence you want to reference.
2. Go to the References tab.
3. Click Insert Footnote.
4. Word adds a small number in the text and jumps to the bottom of the page. Type your note.

To get back to where you were, double-click the number at the start of the footnote.

Endnotes work the same way, but they're collected at the end of the document instead of the bottom of each page. Use References → Insert Endnote or Ctrl + Alt + D.

Hover your mouse over the footnote number in the text and the note pops up in a tooltip.

Don't delete the text at the bottom of the page — that leaves an empty note behind. Instead, select the number in the main text and press Delete. The footnote disappears and Word renumbers the rest.

Click the small arrow in the bottom-right corner of the Footnotes group on the References tab. You can:

• Change the Number format to i, ii, iii or symbols like *, †, ‡.
• Restart numbering on each page or each section.
• Switch between footnotes and endnotes with Convert…

The footnote separator line is missing or wrong. Switch to View → Draft, then References → Show Notes to edit the separator.

Footnote text is a different font. Modify the Footnote Text style — see our guide to using styles.

Numbers start at the wrong value. Open the Footnotes dialog and set Start at to 1.

Ctrl + Alt + F to add a footnote, delete the number in the text to remove one, and let Word handle the numbering.