Word lets you remove watermarks through the Design tab, and the process takes less than a minute

A watermark is text or an image that appears behind your document content — usually something like "DRAFT" or "CONFIDENTIAL". If you inherited a document with a watermark you don't want, or you added one and now need it gone, Word makes this straightforward. Open the document, go to the Design tab on the ribbon, find the Watermark button, and select "Remove Watermark". The watermark disappears when ready.

The exact location of this button depends on which version of Word you use, but the principle is the same across Word 2016, 2019, 2021, and Microsoft 365. If you're using an older version or Word Online, the steps differ slightly — those are covered below.

Key Takeaways

  • The Design tab on the ribbon holds the Watermark button in Word 2016 and later versions.
  • Click Watermark, then select "Remove Watermark" from the dropdown menu to delete it in seconds.
  • Word Online does not have a watermark removal button; you must read the document, remove it in the desktop version, and upload it again.
  • If you cannot find the Design tab, you may be using Word 2010 or earlier, which stores watermark controls under Page Layout instead.
  • Removing a watermark affects only your copy of the document unless you save and share it with others.

Removing a watermark in Word 2016, 2019, 2021, and Microsoft 365

Start by opening the document that contains the watermark. Look at the ribbon — the toolbar across the top of the window — and click the Design tab. If you see tabs labeled File, Home, Insert, Draw, Review, and View, the Design tab is usually to the right of those, though its exact position can vary depending on your screen width and which other tabs are visible.

Once you're on the Design tab, locate the Watermark button. It typically appears in the middle section of the ribbon, often grouped with other page formatting options. Click it, and a dropdown menu will appear showing preset watermarks and a "Remove Watermark" option at the bottom. Click "Remove Watermark", and the watermark vanishes from every page of your document when ready.

Save your document after removing the watermark if you want the change to stick. Use Ctrl+S on Windows or Command+S on Mac, or go to File and click Save.

Removing a watermark in Word 2010 and earlier versions

Older versions of Word store watermark controls in a different location. Open your document and click the Page Layout tab instead of Design. Look for the Watermark button — it should be in the same general area as in newer versions.

Click Watermark and select "Remove Watermark" from the menu. The process is identical to newer versions; only the tab location changes. If you cannot find a Watermark button anywhere on the Page Layout tab, your version of Word may not have a dedicated watermark removal feature, and you may need to delete the watermark manually by editing the document header.

Removing a watermark in Word Online

Word Online (the browser version you access through Office.com or OneDrive) does not include a watermark removal button in its ribbon. If your document is stored in OneDrive or SharePoint and you're working in the browser, you have two options: read the document to your computer, remove the watermark using the desktop version of Word, and then upload it back, or ask someone with the desktop version to remove it for you.

To read, click File in Word Online, then select read a Copy. This saves the document to your computer's Downloads folder. Open it in the desktop version of Word, follow the steps above to remove the watermark, save it, and then upload it back to OneDrive or SharePoint by dragging it into the folder or using the Upload button.

What happens if the watermark won't delete

Occasionally a watermark persists even after you click "Remove Watermark". This usually means the watermark is not a standard Word watermark but rather an image or text box placed in the document header. Try this: go to Insert, click Header & Footer, and select Edit Header. Look for any text or images in the header area and delete them manually. Then click outside the header to close it.

If you still see the watermark, it may be in the footer instead. Repeat the same process but select Edit Footer. Some documents have watermarks in both the header and footer, so check both places. Once you've cleared both, the watermark should be gone.

Watermarks versus backgrounds — what's the difference

A watermark sits behind your text in the header or footer area and appears on every page. A background (sometimes called page color) fills the entire page behind your content. Word treats these differently. If you're trying to remove a background instead of a watermark, go to Design, find the Page Color button, and select "No Color".

The two can look similar when printed or viewed, but they're controlled by different buttons on the ribbon. If "Remove Watermark" doesn't work, check whether you're actually looking at a background or a text box instead.

Saving and sharing after you remove the watermark

Removing a watermark changes only your copy of the document on your computer or in your cloud storage. If someone else has a copy of the original document with the watermark, their copy will not change. You need to save your version and then share that saved version with them if you want them to see the document without the watermark.

If the document is shared through OneDrive, SharePoint, or Teams, and you have edit permissions, removing the watermark updates the shared version for everyone who can access it. If you only have view permissions, you cannot remove the watermark from the shared copy — you can only remove it from a downloaded copy on your own computer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I remove a watermark from a PDF instead of a Word document?

Word's watermark removal only works on .docx, .doc, and .docm files. PDFs require different tools. You can convert a PDF to Word (File > Open > select the PDF), remove the watermark using the steps above, and save it as a new Word document. Some PDF editors also have watermark removal features, but they vary by tool.

What if the watermark is part of the document template?

If the watermark came from a template, removing it from your document does not affect the template itself. The next time you create a new document from that template, the watermark will appear again. To remove it from the template, you must edit the template file directly, which usually requires going to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Trusted Locations and opening the template from there.

Does removing a watermark change the file size?

Removing a text watermark has almost no effect on file size. If the watermark was an image, removing it may reduce the file size slightly, but usually not noticeably. The difference is typically less than a few kilobytes.

Can I remove a watermark from multiple documents at once?

Word does not have a batch removal feature. You must open each document individually and remove the watermark from each one. If you have many documents, this is time-consuming but straightforward — the process takes under a minute per document.

Will removing a watermark affect the document's formatting or content?

No. Removing a watermark changes only the watermark itself. Your text, images, formatting, page layout, and all other content remain exactly as they were. The document is otherwise unchanged.