The fastest way to remove a blank page
An empty page in Word usually appears because of extra paragraph marks, a page break, or a table that pushed content onto a new sheet. The quickest fix is to place your cursor at the start of the blank page and press Backspace until the page disappears into the previous one. If that does not work, the blank page is likely caused by a page break or section break that you need to delete directly.
Word treats page breaks and section breaks as characters you can select and remove. To see what is actually on your blank page, turn on formatting marks by pressing Ctrl+* (Windows) or Cmd+* (Mac). You will see paragraph symbols (¶), page breaks (shown as a line with "Page Break" text), and section breaks. Delete whichever one is pushing content onto the empty page.
Key Takeaways
- Most blank pages are caused by extra paragraph marks or a page break character that you can delete with Backspace or the Delete key.
- Turn on formatting marks with Ctrl+* (Windows) or Cmd+* (Mac) to see exactly what is creating the blank page.
- If a table sits at the end of your document, the paragraph mark after it may force a blank page — delete that mark to remove the page.
- Section breaks and page breaks appear as visible characters when formatting marks are on, and you can select and delete them like any other character.
Finding the cause with formatting marks turned on
Formatting marks show you invisible characters that control how your document looks. Press Ctrl+* on Windows or Cmd+* on Mac to toggle them on. You will now see paragraph marks (¶) at the end of every paragraph, dots between words for spaces, and arrows for tabs. Page breaks and section breaks appear as their own lines with labels.
Scroll to the blank page and look at what is there. If you see only paragraph marks, select them and delete them. If you see a line labeled "Page Break" or "Section Break", click on that line to select it and press Delete. The blank page should collapse back into the previous page.
Deleting extra paragraph marks
The most common cause of a blank page is one or more empty paragraph marks at the end of your document or before a page break. Each paragraph mark takes up space, and enough of them will push content onto a new page. Click at the very end of the page before the blank one, then press Delete repeatedly until the blank page disappears.
If you have many empty paragraphs, use Find and Replace to remove them faster. Press Ctrl+H (Windows) or Cmd+H (Mac) to open Find and Replace. In the "Find" field, type ^p^p (two paragraph marks). In the "Replace" field, type ^p (one paragraph mark). Click "Replace All" to collapse multiple empty paragraphs into single ones, then repeat until no more replacements happen.
Removing page breaks
A page break is a character that forces Word to start a new page, even if the current page is not full. You insert one intentionally with Ctrl+Enter, but sometimes they get left behind when you edit a document. With formatting marks on, a page break appears as a line that says "Page Break" across the page.
Click directly on the page break line to select it, then press Delete. The page break character will disappear, and any content after it will move up to fill the space. If you cannot click directly on it, click anywhere on the blank page and press Backspace repeatedly until you reach the page break character and delete it.
Handling section breaks
Section breaks are similar to page breaks but also control formatting like margins, headers, and footers. They appear as lines labeled "Section Break (Next Page)", "Section Break (Continuous)", or "Section Break (Even Page)" depending on the type. If a blank page is caused by a section break, select the break line and press Delete.
Be aware that deleting a section break will also delete any formatting that section controlled. If your document suddenly looks wrong after you delete a section break, undo the deletion with Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Cmd+Z (Mac) and try a different approach. Sometimes you need to keep the section break but move it to a different location in your document.
Blank pages caused by tables
If your document ends with a table, Word automatically adds a paragraph mark after it. That paragraph mark counts as content and may push onto a new page, creating a blank page. With formatting marks on, click on the paragraph mark after the table and press Delete. This usually removes the blank page without affecting the table itself.
If deleting that paragraph mark causes problems with your table formatting, undo the change and instead adjust the table size or the margins of the page. Sometimes reducing the table height slightly or tightening the spacing before it will fit everything on one page without needing to delete the final paragraph mark.
Using Find and Replace for stubborn blank pages
If you have a document with many blank pages and manual deletion is slow, Find and Replace can help. Press Ctrl+H (Windows) or Cmd+H (Mac). In the "Find" field, type ^m (which represents a manual page break). Leave the "Replace" field empty and click "Replace All" to remove all manual page breaks at once.
For section breaks, the process is similar but the code is different. In the "Find" field, type ^b (which represents a section break). Again, leave "Replace" empty and click "Replace All". Be careful with this approach on documents with intentional section breaks that control formatting — you may remove breaks you actually need.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my blank page keep coming back after I delete it?
The page is likely being created by content on the previous page that is too large to fit. Check if a large image, table, or block of text is pushing onto the next page. You may need to resize the image, reduce table height, or adjust spacing rather than just deleting the blank page itself.
How do I know if a page break is manual or automatic?
With formatting marks on, a manual page break appears as a line labeled "Page Break". An automatic page break (where Word breaks the page because it is full) does not appear as a visible character — it is just where the page ends. You can only delete manual page breaks; automatic ones disappear when you remove the content that caused them.
Will deleting a section break mess up my headers and footers?
Yes, deleting a section break will explore the formatting from the previous section to the content that follows. If your headers, footers, or margins change unexpectedly after deleting a section break, undo the deletion and try a different solution, such as moving the break or adjusting the content size.
Can I delete a blank page in the middle of my document without affecting the rest?
Yes, as long as you delete only the page break or extra paragraph marks causing the blank page. The content before and after will move together. Just make sure you are deleting the right character — use formatting marks to see exactly what you are removing before you press Delete.
What if I cannot see the page break even with formatting marks on?
The blank page might be caused by a table at the end of the document or by spacing settings rather than a visible page break. Try clicking at the end of the page before the blank one and pressing Delete several times. If that does not work, check the paragraph spacing settings by right-clicking a paragraph and selecting "Paragraph" to see if spacing is pushing content to a new page.