The fastest way to remove an unwanted blank page

A blank second page usually appears because Word is pushing content down with extra paragraph marks, page breaks, or table spacing. The quickest fix is to turn on formatting marks so you can see what's actually on the page, then delete the invisible characters causing the break.

Open your document and press Ctrl+A (or Cmd+A on Mac) to select all text. Then press Ctrl+H (or Cmd+H on Mac) to open Find and Replace. In the "Find what" field, type ^p^p (that is, caret-p twice). In the "Replace with" field, type ^p (caret-p once). Click "Replace All". This removes extra paragraph marks that often create blank pages.

If that does not work, the blank page is likely caused by a page break or table formatting. Read the sections below for those specific situations.

Key Takeaways

  • Turn on formatting marks by pressing Ctrl+Shift+8 (or Cmd+Shift+8 on Mac) to see what is actually creating the blank page.
  • Extra paragraph marks are the most common cause — use Find and Replace to remove them in bulk rather than one at a time.
  • A manual page break (shown as a line with "Page Break" text) must be deleted by clicking on it and pressing Delete or Backspace.
  • A table at the end of your document may force a blank page below it, which you can remove by adjusting the table's paragraph spacing.

Show formatting marks to see what is causing the blank page

Formatting marks are the invisible characters Word uses to show where you pressed Enter, Tab, or Space. They are hidden by default, which is why a blank page can seem to appear from nowhere. Turning them on takes one keystroke and shows you exactly what is pushing content to a new page.

Press Ctrl+Shift+8 on Windows or Cmd+Shift+8 on Mac. You will now see paragraph marks (¶) at the end of every line, dots between words where you pressed Space, and arrows where you pressed Tab. Look at the second page — if it is mostly empty except for a few paragraph marks at the top, those marks are the problem. Click at the end of the last line of content on page 1, then hold Shift and click after the last paragraph mark on page 2 to select all the extra marks. Press Delete.

If you see a line that says "Page Break" in the middle of your document, that is a manual page break, not extra paragraph marks. See the section below on removing page breaks instead.

Delete a manual page break

A manual page break is different from the automatic page breaks Word creates when a page fills up. You create a manual page break by pressing Ctrl+Enter (or Cmd+Enter on Mac), and it forces everything after it to a new page regardless of how much space is left.

With formatting marks turned on (Ctrl+Shift+8), a manual page break appears as a line across the page with the words "Page Break" written on it. Click directly on that line to select it, then press Delete or Backspace. The page break disappears and the content below moves up to fill the space.

If you do not see a page break line but the blank page persists, the problem is likely paragraph spacing or a table. Move to the next section.

Remove extra space from a table at the end of your document

Tables often force a blank page to appear below them because Word adds automatic spacing after the table. If your document ends with a table and a blank page follows, the table's paragraph spacing is the culprit.

Click anywhere inside the table, then right-click and select "Table Properties" (in Word for Windows) or go to the Table menu and choose "Table Properties" (in Word for Mac). Click the "Row" tab, then look for a setting called "Allow row to break across pages" — make sure it is unchecked. Click OK.

If the blank page is still there, click just after the table (outside of it) and check the paragraph spacing. Right-click and select "Paragraph". Under "Spacing", set "After" to 0 pt. This removes the space Word automatically adds after a table.

Check your section breaks and page setup

Section breaks are different from page breaks — they let you have different headers, footers, or page orientations in different parts of the same document. A section break can also push content to a new page if it is set to "New page" rather than "Continuous".

With formatting marks on, a section break appears as a line that says "Section Break (Next Page)" or "Section Break (Continuous)". If you see one and do not need it, click on it and press Delete. If you need the section break but do not want it to start a new page, right-click on it, select "Edit Section", and change the setting from "New page" to "Continuous".

You can also check your page setup: go to the Layout tab (or Page Layout in older versions), click "Margins", and make sure your top and bottom margins are not so large that they force a page break. Unusually large margins can create a blank page if your content is short.

Delete the blank page if it is truly empty

If the second page is completely blank with no formatting marks visible, it may be a display glitch or the result of a setting you cannot easily see. The safest approach is to place your cursor at the very end of page 1 (after all your content) and press Delete repeatedly until the blank page disappears. Word will not let you delete actual content this way — it will only remove the invisible characters or breaks pushing the page down.

If that does not work, try selecting the entire blank page by clicking at the top of it and dragging to the bottom, then pressing Delete. If the page still will not go away, the problem may be a hidden object, a very large image, or a setting in your document template. In that case, copying all your content into a new blank document is often faster than troubleshooting further.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Word keep adding a blank page when I type?

Word is usually responding to a page break, large margins, or a table at the end of your document. The most common cause is pressing Ctrl+Enter by accident, which inserts a manual page break. Turn on formatting marks to see what is there, then delete the page break or extra paragraph marks.

Can I delete a page without deleting the content on it?

No — a page is just the space Word uses to display content. If you delete the content, the page disappears. If you want to keep the content but move it to a different page, cut it (Ctrl+X), delete the page break or extra marks, then paste it back (Ctrl+V) where you want it.

What if I delete something by accident?

Press Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z on Mac) when ready to undo. You can undo multiple steps by pressing Ctrl+Z several times. Word keeps an undo history, so you can go back quite far if needed.

Is there a way to prevent blank pages from appearing in the first place?

Yes — avoid pressing Ctrl+Enter unless you actually want a page break, and keep an eye on your paragraph spacing and margins. If you are working with a template, check that the default spacing is not set to add large gaps between paragraphs. Turning on formatting marks while you type helps you catch extra marks before they become a problem.