Add a New Page in Word Without a Header: Step-by-Step

To add a page in the middle of a Word document without a header on that page, isolate it in its own section: insert a Next Page section break before it and another after it, then unlink and remove the header in the page’s section. This keeps the change local instead of removing the header throughout the document. The steps below are for Word in Microsoft 365 on Windows; Mac menu names are noted where they differ.

What You’ll Need

A Word document with a header you want to keep on other pages.
The text or content for the page, or a clear idea of where the new page should go.
Permission to edit the document. If it is shared or important, save a separate copy before changing section breaks.

Step-by-Step

Decide where the header-free page belongs. Click at the point where the new page should begin. If you are inserting it between existing pages, identify the content that should appear on the new page and what should follow it. A page break alone only starts a new page; it does not give that page an independent header, so you will use section breaks instead.
Show formatting marks before editing. On Windows, select Home > ¶ Show/Hide, or press Ctrl+Shift+8. On Mac, select the paragraph-mark button on the Home tab or press Command+8. The marks make section boundaries visible and help you avoid removing the wrong break later. They do not print.
Start a new section at the beginning of the page. Place the insertion point immediately before the content that should begin on the header-free page. Select Layout > Breaks > Section Breaks > Next Page. Word starts a new section on the following page. On Mac, use Layout > Breaks > Next Page; if the ribbon is arranged differently in your version, look for the Next Page option in the Breaks menu. Avoid adding a separate page break at the same spot, because the extra break can create an unwanted blank page.
End the new section after the page’s content. Click after the final text or object that belongs on the header-free page, but before the content that should follow it. Insert another Next Page section break using the same Layout > Breaks command. This creates a separate following section, so later pages can have a header again. If the page is at the end of the document and there is no following content, you do not need this second break.
Make the following section’s header independent first. Click in the header on a page after the header-free page. Double-click inside the header area if it is not already open. On the contextual Header & Footer tab, check whether Link to Previous is on. If it is, turn it off while the existing header is still visible. This preserves a separate copy of the header in the following section before you remove the one from the middle section. If there is no later section, skip this step.
Unlink the header in the new page’s section. Click inside the header on the page that should have no header. Word displays the Header & Footer tab. Select Link to Previous to switch it off if it is selected. The label Same as Previous should disappear from that header. Do not delete anything until the link is off: while sections are linked, editing a header can change it in another section too.
Remove the header from that section. With the cursor still in the header of the header-free page, select Header & Footer > Header > Remove Header. Alternatively, select the header text and delete it, but use this only after confirming the section is unlinked. Close the header area with Close Header and Footer or double-click in the document body. The page’s main text remains in place; only its header is removed.
Check the pages before and after. Scroll through the document and confirm that the page has no header, earlier pages still show theirs, and later pages still show theirs. If the next section is blank, reopen its header and add or restore the appropriate text, logo, or page-number field. Save the file after checking the layout.

If you are adding a header-free page at the very beginning of a document, there is a simpler option: open the header and footer, select Different First Page on the Header & Footer tab, and leave the first-page header empty. This setting applies to the first page of the section, not to any arbitrary page in the middle.

Common Mistakes

Using a page break instead of a section break. A page break moves content to another page but leaves it in the same section. Headers are controlled by sections, so a page break by itself cannot make one page’s header different.
Removing the header before unlinking. A new section is normally linked to the previous section by default. If you remove a linked header, Word may remove it from the earlier section as well. Turn off Link to Previous in the section you intend to change first.
Forgetting to protect the section after the header-free page. If the following section remains linked to the now-empty section, its header may disappear too. Unlink the following section while its original header is still present, before removing the middle section’s header.
Inserting two kinds of breaks at the same point. A page break immediately followed by a Next Page section break can push content farther than expected. Use the section break to start the next page; add a normal page break only when you have a separate reason for one.
Deleting a section break while tidying up. A section break stores layout and header settings. Removing it can merge sections and change headers, margins, orientation, or page numbering. Keep the break that isolates the page.
Assuming the footer will also disappear. Headers and footers have separate controls. Removing a header does not automatically remove a footer or page number at the bottom of the page.

Tips

Use a clear editing sequence. Add both section breaks, preserve the following section’s header by unlinking it, and only then unlink and clear the target section. This order reduces the chance of losing a header that you need later.
Remember that section breaks affect more than headers. Page orientation, margins, columns, and some page-number settings can also vary by section. If the new page suddenly has different margins or landscape orientation, compare its Layout settings with the surrounding pages.
Check first-page and odd/even settings. If Different First Page or Different Odd & Even Pages is enabled, Word can have more than one header type in a section. Review each header type that appears on the target page and unlink it where needed. Repeat the check in the following section if its headers change unexpectedly.
Use the navigation view to inspect long documents. In Word for Windows, select View > Navigation Pane to move between headings and find the relevant area. The pane does not show section structure, so keep formatting marks on when checking the breaks themselves.
Keep page numbers in mind. Page numbers may be fields in the header or footer. If the page number is part of the header you remove, it will disappear with that header. If it is in the footer, it will remain unless you change the footer separately.
Save a copy before major layout edits. Section breaks can influence several pages at once. A duplicate file gives you a safe version to return to if the document’s layout becomes difficult to restore.

Troubleshooting

The header disappeared from every page. The target section was probably still linked to the earlier section when you removed the header. Undo immediately with Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac, if possible. Then reopen the target header, turn off Link to Previous, and remove it again. If the edit has already been saved or more changes have been made, restore the header in the other section manually or use a saved copy.

The later pages have no header. Click in the header on a later page and check whether it says Same as Previous. If it is linked to the blank section, add the original header content back there. If the following section was not unlinked before the target header was removed, you may need to recreate the header rather than simply switch the link off after the fact.

A blank page appeared. Turn on formatting marks and look for extra Page Break marks, empty paragraphs, or more than one section break in a row. Remove only the redundant break. Keep the section breaks that isolate the header-free page. Also check whether the target content itself is too long to fit on one page; Word may naturally push part of it onto another page.

The header is still visible on the target page. Make sure you clicked inside the header on the page itself, not in the body or on a nearby page. Check that the correct section’s Link to Previous setting is off. If different first-page or odd/even headers are enabled, inspect the particular header type displayed on that page; each can have its own link setting.

The following section has the wrong header or page number. The section may have inherited a blank header, or its page numbering may have restarted. Restore the intended header content in that section. To review numbering, click a page number and use Page Number > Format Page Numbers to check whether numbering should continue from the previous section. Avoid changing numbering settings if the numbers are already correct.

The break option is missing or the layout looks different on Mac. Confirm that you are editing the document in the desktop Word app, not viewing it in a limited preview. On Mac, the Breaks controls may be arranged differently, but choose the section break named Next Page, not the ordinary page break. If you cannot locate the control, use Word’s command search to find the Breaks command and verify the selected break type before inserting it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I remove the header from just one page without affecting the others?
Yes. Put that page in its own section with Next Page section breaks, unlink its header from the previous section, and remove the header there. If later pages follow, preserve their header in a separate section too.

Will a page break make the new page header-free?
No. A page break starts a new page within the same section, and the section’s header settings continue. Use a section break when you need one page to have a different header.

Can I make only the first page header-free?
Yes. In that section, select Different First Page on the Header & Footer tab and leave the first-page header empty. This is simpler than making a separate section when the page is the section’s first page.

Does removing a header also remove the footer?
No. Word handles headers and footers separately. Remove or edit the footer separately if you also want to hide footer text or a page number at the bottom of the page.

Can I do this in Word for the web?
Some layout and header controls may be limited or arranged differently in Word for the web. For precise section-break editing, open the file in the Word desktop app, make the changes there, and then save it to your shared location.

Why is the header-free page showing a different margin or orientation?
Section breaks can carry independent page-layout settings as well as header settings. Select the affected section and compare its margins and orientation with the neighboring sections, then set them to match if needed.

Try it: the Date Difference Calculator: days, months, years and weekdays between two dates, with the DATEDIF formulas.

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Sources: Function behaviour and menu paths: Microsoft Support documentation for Excel. Method & sources

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