The fastest way to delete a header in Word
Open your document and double-click in the header area — the space at the very top of the page where the header text sits. Once you are in header-editing mode, select all the text in the header (Ctrl+A on Windows, Command+A on Mac) and press Delete or Backspace. Then double-click back into the main document body to exit header mode. The header is now gone.
If your document has multiple sections with different headers, this method removes only the header from the section you are currently in. Word treats each section's header separately, so you may need to repeat this step in other sections if they have their own headers.
Key Takeaways
- Double-click the header area at the top of the page to enter header-editing mode, then select all text and delete it.
- If your document has multiple sections, each section's header must be deleted separately — removing one does not affect the others.
- The "Different First Page" option creates a separate header for page one, so check the Design tab to see if that setting is active.
- If you only want to remove the header from one page, you will need to create a new section break before that page and give it an empty header.
Removing headers from only part of your document
If you want to keep the header on some pages but remove it from others, Word requires you to use section breaks. Place your cursor at the beginning of the page where you want the header to stop, then go to the Layout tab (or Page Layout in older versions), click Breaks, and select Next Page. This creates a new section.
Once the new section exists, double-click the header in that section and delete the text. The previous section keeps its original header. This approach works when you want a header on the first few pages but not on the rest, or when different parts of your document need different headers.
Checking for the "Different First Page" setting
Word has a built-in option to give the first page a different header than the rest of the document. If you delete what you think is the only header but it reappears on page two, this setting is likely active. Go to the Design tab (or Header and Footer Tools in older versions), look for "Different First Page," and uncheck it if you want all pages to have the same header.
When "Different First Page" is checked, Word maintains two separate headers: one labeled "First Page Header" and one labeled "Header." You must delete both if you want no header on any page. Double-click the header area on page one, delete that text, then move to page two and delete the header there as well.
Why headers sometimes reappear after deletion
Headers can seem to come back if you have not fully exited header-editing mode. After you delete the header text, make sure you double-click in the main document body (not the header area) to return to normal editing. If you close the document without doing this, Word may not register the deletion.
Another reason headers reappear is linked sections. By default, each section's header is linked to the previous one, meaning they share the same content. If you delete a header in one section, it deletes in all linked sections. If you want different headers in different sections, you must click "Link to Previous" in the Design tab to unlink them first.
Removing headers without using the Design tab
If you cannot find the Design tab or Header and Footer Tools, you can still delete headers the manual way. Double-click the header area, select and delete the text, then double-click the document body to exit. This works in every version of Word and does not require navigating menus.
For users on very old versions of Word (2003 and earlier), headers are accessed through the View menu instead of a Design tab. Click View, then Header and Footer, and the header area will open for editing. The deletion process is the same: select all, delete, and return to the document.
What happens to page numbers and dates when you delete a header
If your header contained a page number, date, or other field inserted through the Insert menu, deleting the header removes those as well. If you want to keep page numbers but remove other header content, delete only the text around the page number field, leaving the field itself in place.
To remove just the page number while keeping other header text, double-click the header, click directly on the page number, and press Delete. The number field disappears but the rest of the header remains. This is useful if you want a document with a title or author name in the header but no page numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I undo a deleted header?
Yes. Press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (Mac) when ready after deleting the header to undo the action. If you have already closed and reopened the document, the undo history is lost and you cannot recover the deleted header text.
What if the header area is grayed out and I cannot click it?
The header area is locked in some templates or protected documents. Check the Review tab for a "Protect Document" or "Restrict Editing" button. If protection is on, you must unprotect the document first. You may need a password if the document was protected by someone else.
Does deleting a header affect the footer?
No. Headers and footers are separate. Removing a header does not touch the footer, and removing a footer does not affect the header. You must delete each one independently if you want both gone.
How do I delete a header from just the last page?
Create a section break before the last page using Layout > Breaks > Next Page, then delete the header in that final section. The pages before it keep their original header. This is the only way to remove a header from a single page in the middle or end of a document.
Will deleting the header change my document's margins?
No. The header is content, not a margin setting. Deleting it does not affect how much white space sits at the top of the page. If you want to change the actual top margin, use Layout > Margins instead.