How to Add a Blank Cover Page in Word

To add a blank cover page before an existing document in Microsoft Word, place the cursor at the very beginning, then choose Insert > Blank Page. Word inserts an empty page and moves the document’s existing text forward, so it begins on the next page. If you are starting a new document, its first page is already blank; you can simply begin typing on page two after inserting a page break.

What Word Means by a Blank Cover Page

A blank cover page is an intentionally empty first page, often reserved for a title sheet, a printed binding, a later design, or handwritten information. It is different from a designed cover page, which contains formatted text or graphics, and it is different from an accidental blank page created by extra paragraph marks or a page break.

Word does not treat a blank cover page as a special document type. It is simply a page positioned before the document’s main content. That distinction matters: adding the page changes where the text flows, but it does not automatically change headers, footers, page-numbering rules, or the document’s section structure.

Add a Blank Cover Page Before Existing Text

In Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows, use these steps:

Open the document and save a copy if you want an easy way to reverse larger layout changes.
Click in the document body and press Ctrl+Home to move the insertion point to the start. Alternatively, click immediately before the first character of the document.
Choose Insert > Blank Page on the ribbon. In Word’s Insert tab, this command is in the Pages group.
Check that the first page is empty and that the original opening text now starts on page two. Save the document.

The key is to insert the page at the beginning, not after the first heading or paragraph. If the cursor is halfway through the document, Word inserts the blank page there and pushes only the content after that position forward. If the result is not where you intended, press Ctrl+Z immediately, move the cursor to the correct location, and repeat.

Start with a New Document

A new blank Word document already has an empty first page. To keep that page as a cover and start the main text on page two, click at the top of the first page and insert a page break with Ctrl+Enter. Then click after the break and type the main content. The first page remains blank unless you add text, images, or other objects to it.

You do not need to insert a separate blank page into an empty document before using this method. Doing so can create an extra page break or an additional page you did not intend. A useful check is to turn on formatting marks with Ctrl+Shift+8 on Windows. The marks are not printed; they reveal paragraph marks and page breaks that affect layout. Press the shortcut again to hide them.

Blank Page, Page Break, or Cover Page?

These options can produce similar-looking pages, but they serve different purposes:

Blank Page: Adds a page at the cursor location. It is a convenient choice when you want a whole empty page inserted before or within existing content.
Page Break: Forces the text after the cursor to begin on the next page. Use it when you are writing a new document and want to begin the body on page two, or when you need a clean new page without adding repeated blank paragraphs.
Cover Page: Inserts a designed title-page layout. In desktop Word for Windows, open Insert > Cover Page and choose a gallery design. The available designs include fields and formatting, so this is not the right choice if the page must remain empty.

For an existing document, Insert > Blank Page is usually the most direct option. A page break is often more predictable when you are controlling the position of text in a document you are actively writing. Avoid pressing Enter repeatedly to push text down: later edits can shift those empty paragraphs and make the layout difficult to maintain.

Keep the Cover Page Empty and the Body on Page Two

After inserting the page, look at the document in Print Layout or print preview. Confirm that the first body heading is on page two and that no text, floating image, or table has landed on the cover. If the document has a large title or image at its start, Word may move that object along with the text, which is normally what you want when making room for a cover.

To check the structure, use View > Print Layout if you are in another view, then scroll through the first two pages. You can also open the Navigation pane from View > Navigation Pane to see whether the first heading is still in the expected order. The Navigation pane does not show empty space as a heading, but it can help confirm that the document’s text has not been rearranged.

If you want a blank page only in the printed copy, but not in the file, consider whether the receiving organization accepts a PDF with a blank first page. Exporting or printing to PDF preserves the page in the output, while editing the Word document changes its pagination for everyone who opens it. Check the required format before choosing between those approaches.

Control Page Numbers, Headers, and Footers

Adding a blank first page does not by itself hide a page number or header. If the document already has a header or footer, the cover may show it too. To suppress header or footer content on only the first page, double-click in the header or footer area and select Different First Page on the Header & Footer tab. The first page then has a separate first-page header and footer, which you can leave empty.

That setting does not necessarily make the second page display the number 1. It changes the first-page header and footer, not the numbering sequence. If page two should be labeled “1,” create a separate section after the cover: put the cursor at the end of page one, choose Layout > Breaks > Next Page under Section Breaks, and then edit the page-number settings in the new section. In its header or footer, turn off Link to Previous before changing numbering. Use Insert > Page Number > Format Page Numbers and set the numbering to start at 1. Section breaks can affect other layout settings, so check the pages that follow after making this change.

For a simple document where page two can be numbered “2,” a section break is usually unnecessary. Use Different First Page if you only need the cover to have no visible header or footer, and keep the existing continuous numbering.

Common Problems and How to Fix Them

The blank page appears in the middle: Undo, move the cursor to the start of the document, and insert the page again. Word inserts at the current cursor position.
There are two blank pages: Turn on formatting marks and look for an extra page break, section break, or several empty paragraphs. Delete only the extra break or paragraph marks; removing a section break can also change formatting in the surrounding sections.
The first page is not completely empty: Check the header, footer, and any floating objects as well as the body text. A header or footer may still appear even when the page body has no text.
A blank page returns after deleting it: A manual break, a section break, or paragraph spacing may be forcing the next content onto a new page. Show formatting marks to identify the cause rather than deleting text blindly.
The cover looks different when printed: Compare Print Layout and print preview, and check the printer’s paper size and margins. A printer can paginate differently from the screen, particularly when the document uses custom paper settings.

Formatting marks are especially useful for diagnosing these issues. A page break appears as a labeled break when marks are shown; paragraph marks reveal empty paragraphs that otherwise look like ordinary blank space. If a table is the last object in the document, Word may also require a paragraph after it, and that paragraph can sometimes spill onto another page. Reducing its font size or paragraph spacing may help, but make a copy first if the document’s layout is important.

Word on Mac and Word for the Web

In Word for Mac, the ribbon command is also generally Insert > Blank Page. The page-break shortcut differs: use Command+Return on Mac rather than Ctrl+Enter on Windows. Keyboard behavior can vary with keyboard layout and Word settings, so the Insert tab is a reliable alternative. On a Mac, the shortcut for showing formatting marks is typically Command+8.

Word for the web has a more compact ribbon, and commands can vary as Microsoft updates the service. If you do not see a Blank Page command, place the cursor at the start and use the available page-break command from Insert; a page break at the beginning moves the existing content onto the next page. For detailed section and page-number controls, open the file in the desktop app, since some layout options may not be available or may be presented differently in the browser version.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add a blank cover page without changing the text?
Yes. Insert the page before the existing content. Word moves the content forward rather than replacing it. Review the first few pages afterward, because page layout and pagination will change.

How do I make page two start at page number 1?
Insert a Next Page section break after the cover, unlink the new section’s header or footer from the previous one, and set page numbering in the new section to start at 1. If you only want to hide the number on the cover, Different First Page is simpler.

Is Blank Page the same as Page Break in Word?
No. Blank Page inserts an empty page at the cursor location. A page break moves the content after the cursor to the next page. Both can create a page boundary, but the page-break option is often the straightforward choice when composing a document from the beginning.

Why does my blank cover page have a header or page number?
Headers, footers, and page numbers are controlled separately from the page’s body text. Use Different First Page to leave the first-page header or footer empty, or adjust section settings if you need different numbering for the pages that follow.

Can I remove the blank page later?
Yes. Turn on formatting marks, locate the page break or section break that creates it, and remove the appropriate break. Be cautious with section breaks because deleting one can change headers, footers, margins, or numbering in nearby pages.

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