How to Add a Header or Footer in Microsoft Word
Add a header or footer in Word from the Insert tab, pick a built-in design or start blank, insert page numbers, and set a different first page.
Open the Insert tab, select Header or Footer, then pick a built-in design or choose Edit Header (or Edit Footer) to start from a blank one. Once you’re inside the header or footer area, you can add page numbers, turn on Different First Page, and select Close Header and Footer to get back to editing your document. These steps are the same in Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2021, and Word 2019 on Windows. One specific case trips people up: Different First Page is a per-section setting, so turning it on affects only the section your cursor is sitting in, not the whole document.
Insert a header or footer from the Insert tab
Go to Insert > Header (or Insert > Footer). A gallery of built-in designs drops down; some of them already include page numbers laid out for you, so check the preview before picking one. If you’d rather build your own from scratch, choose Edit Header or Edit Footer at the bottom of that gallery instead of a preset design — this opens a blank header or footer area where the cursor is already active and you can type or paste text right away.
If a header or footer already exists in the document, you don’t need the Insert tab at all: just double-click anywhere in the header or footer area at the top or bottom of a page. Word switches into header/footer editing mode and dims the body text so you can see what’s editable.
Add page numbers inside the header or footer
Page numbers live inside the header or footer, so the fastest route is Insert > Page Number, then choose a location — Top of Page, Bottom of Page, Page Margins, or Current Position — and a style from the gallery. If the document has no header or footer yet, Word creates one automatically to hold the number.
Once you’re already editing a header or footer, the same Page Number command is available on the contextual Header & Footer tab, along with Format Page Numbers, which lets you change the numbering style or set a different starting number (useful if a cover page or table of contents should stay unnumbered).
Give the first page a different header
For a title page, cover letter, or report cover that shouldn’t repeat the running header, double-click into the header or footer to open the Header & Footer tab, then check Different First Page in the Options group. This clears the header and footer content on page one only — every other page keeps what you already set up. Type new first-page content if you want one, or leave it blank for a clean cover page. Turning the checkbox off again restores the same header and footer to every page, including the first.
Close the header or footer area
When you’re done editing, select Close Header and Footer on the ribbon, or just press Esc. Either one returns you to the normal document view without discarding anything you typed. To remove a header or footer entirely later, go to Insert > Header (or Footer) and choose Remove Header (or Remove Footer) from the bottom of the gallery.
Header and footer tasks at a glance
| Task | Where to find it |
|---|---|
| Insert a built-in header/footer design | Insert tab > Header or Footer > pick a design |
| Start a blank header/footer | Insert tab > Header or Footer > Edit Header / Edit Footer |
| Add page numbers | Insert tab > Page Number > choose a location |
| Change the starting page number | While editing, Page Number > Format Page Numbers |
| Different first-page header | Double-click header, then Header & Footer tab > Different First Page |
| Exit the header/footer area | Close Header and Footer button, or press Esc |
| Delete a header/footer | Insert tab > Header (or Footer) > Remove Header / Remove Footer |
A header that overlaps your body text or sits too close to the edge of the page is usually a margins issue rather than a header bug — if that happens, check how to change margins in Word before you rebuild the header from scratch. And if you’re formatting a document that other people are also editing, it’s worth knowing how to track changes in Word so header and footer edits don’t get lost in a round of revisions.
Once the header or footer looks right on page one and any later pages, scroll through the whole document before sending it out — page-number formats and different-first-page settings occasionally reset when sections get added or deleted.
Common questions
Why does Different First Page still leave a header on later pages?
Different First Page is a per-section option, so it only clears page one of the section your cursor is in. If the document has section breaks, turn it on inside each section, and use Link to Previous to control whether a section copies the header before it.
Why is my header grayed out and I can’t type in it?
If the whole header just looks faded, that dimming is normal while you edit the body — double-click inside the header area to make it active. If it stays truly locked, the document has Restrict Editing turned on; open Review > Restrict Editing and choose Stop Protection.
How do I use a different header for each chapter or section?
Insert a Next Page section break at each chapter start (Layout > Breaks), double-click the new section’s header, then turn off Link to Previous on the Header & Footer tab before you edit it. Without breaking that link, every section keeps sharing the same header.
Why is my header text cut off at the top of the page?
The header sits too close to the paper edge for your printer, or the “Header from top” distance is larger than the top margin. Open Layout > Margins > Custom Margins, check the Header setting on the Layout tab, and raise the top margin if needed.