How to Delete a Stubborn Blank Page in Microsoft Word

To delete a stubborn blank page in Word, show formatting marks with Ctrl+Shift+8 on Windows or Command+8 on Mac, find the paragraph mark or break creating the page, and remove it or adjust its settings. If the page follows a table, Word may require the final paragraph mark, so make that mark smaller instead of deleting it. These steps help you remove unwanted pages without accidentally changing the rest of your document.

What You’ll Need

Microsoft Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows or Mac, preferably the desktop app for section-break fixes.
Access to the document in which the blank page appears. If it is important, save a copy before changing section breaks or layout settings.
A keyboard or access to Word’s ribbon commands to show formatting marks and edit page layout.

Step-by-Step

Save a copy and locate the blank page. Save your document before making changes, especially if it contains multiple sections, different headers, or landscape pages. Scroll to the empty page and note whether it is at the end, between two pages of content, or immediately after a table. That location often points to the cause. If you cannot find it in Print Layout, open View > Navigation Pane and select the Pages tab to inspect the page thumbnails. In Word for Mac, open View > Navigation Pane as well; the pane may be arranged differently depending on the window size.
Turn on formatting marks. On Windows, press Ctrl+Shift+8. On Mac, press Command+8. You can also select Home > ¶ in the Paragraph group. Word will display paragraph marks, spaces, and break labels that normally do not print. The empty page may now show one or more ¶ symbols, a line labelled Page Break, or a Section Break marker. These symbols are editing aids, not printed characters.
Delete extra paragraph marks. If the blank page contains several ¶ marks and no other content, drag across the extra marks and press Backspace or Delete on Windows. On Mac, press Delete to remove text to the left of the cursor; use Fn+Delete for forward delete on keyboards where that key combination is available. You can also click immediately before an unwanted paragraph mark and press Delete, or click after it and press Backspace. Remove only the empty marks causing the page; deleting a paragraph mark between two paragraphs can merge their formatting.
Remove a manual page break. If Word shows a Page Break line, click just before the break and press Delete, or select the break marker and delete it. If you are at the start of the page after the break, place the cursor there and press Backspace. Check that the following paragraph remains where you want it. A manual break is useful when intentional, so remove it only if you want the next text to move up onto the previous page.
Check for a section break before removing it. A Section Break marker can force a new page, particularly when it is labelled Next Page, Odd Page, or Even Page. Deleting it may remove the blank page, but it also joins the surrounding sections and can change headers, footers, page numbering, margins, or columns. If the section is not needed, save a copy, select the break marker, and delete it. If you need to keep separate section formatting, change the section start instead: open the Page Setup dialog from the Layout tab, select its Layout tab, and set Section start to Continuous where appropriate. On Mac, open the Page Setup dialog from Layout and look for the section-start setting. A continuous section may not suit a section that relies on different columns or page orientation, so check the pages around the change.
Inspect the paragraph after the blank page. Sometimes there is no visible break: a paragraph has been set to start on a new page. Click in the first paragraph after the blank page, then open the Paragraph dialog using the small dialog launcher in Home > Paragraph. On the Line and Page Breaks tab, clear Page break before if it is selected. Also review options such as Keep with next and Keep lines together. These options can push a paragraph or a group of paragraphs onto another page. Do not turn them off indiscriminately; they may be there to keep a heading with the text below it.
Fix the final paragraph after a table. Word requires a paragraph mark after a table, so that mark cannot always be removed. If a table reaches the bottom of the page, its required final paragraph can spill onto a new page and look like a blank page. Turn on formatting marks, click the paragraph mark after the table, and set its font size to 1 pt using Home > Font Size. If needed, open the Paragraph dialog and set spacing before and after to 0 pt and line spacing to Single. Do not delete the table or repeatedly press Backspace; shrinking the required mark is usually the safer fix.
Check the result and hide the marks. Scroll through the pages around the change and confirm that no text, table, or header has moved unexpectedly. Use Print Preview, or select File > Print without printing, to check the page count and layout. Turn off formatting marks with Ctrl+Shift+8 on Windows or Command+8 on Mac, or select Home > ¶ again. Save the document after confirming the unwanted page is gone.

Common Mistakes

Deleting a section break without checking what it controls. A section break can carry different page orientation, margins, columns, headers, footers, or numbering. Removing it may fix the page but make other pages look wrong. If those settings matter, try changing the section start to Continuous or adjust the layout deliberately rather than deleting the break.

Assuming every blank page is caused by an empty paragraph. A page can be created by a manual page break, a section start, paragraph pagination settings, or a table’s required final mark. Show formatting marks first so you can identify the actual cause.

Deleting the final table paragraph. Word keeps a paragraph after a table. Trying to erase it can move the table or change nearby content without solving the issue. Reduce its font and spacing instead.

Removing all paragraph marks around headings. A mark can hold paragraph formatting, such as spacing or heading style. Delete only the extra blank paragraphs, and inspect the layout after each change.

Tips

Make one change at a time, then check the page. This makes it easier to undo the specific change if the layout shifts.
Use the Undo command immediately if a deletion merges sections or moves content in an unexpected way. On Windows, press Ctrl+Z; on Mac, press Command+Z.
If a blank page appears between sections, inspect both the break at the end of the previous section and the settings of the first paragraph in the next one.
When the page is caused by a table, consider reducing cell margins or adjusting the table slightly only if shrinking the trailing paragraph is not enough. Avoid making the text too small to read just to save a page.
Formatting marks remain visible only while the display option is on; they do not appear in a printed document or PDF.

Troubleshooting

The page is still there after deleting a break: Turn formatting marks back on and inspect the whole page and the paragraph immediately before it. There may be more than one break, or a paragraph may have Page break before enabled. Check the Paragraph dialog’s Line and Page Breaks tab and review any keep-together settings.

The blank page appears only in Print Preview: Word may repaginate differently from the view on screen. Check for a final paragraph after a table, a section break, or a paragraph pushed by keep-together settings. If you recently changed fonts, margins, or paper size, confirm those settings are intentional under the Layout tab.

Deleting the section break changed headers or page numbers: Use Undo immediately. Reinsert or retain the section break, then change its start type only if a continuous section is suitable. Check Header & Footer options, including whether sections are linked, before editing numbering or headers again.

The controls are missing in Word for the web: Some advanced section and layout controls are limited in the browser version. Open the file in the desktop app using Open in Desktop App, make the change there, and save it. If you only need to remove an ordinary empty paragraph or manual page break, the web app may offer the necessary editing controls, but the desktop app is more reliable for diagnosing complex pages.

The keyboard shortcut does not work: Use the ribbon instead: select Home > ¶ to show formatting marks. Laptop keyboards and customized shortcuts can affect key combinations. On Mac, use Command+8 or the ribbon button; on Windows, use Ctrl+Shift+8 or the ribbon button.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why won’t Word let me delete the blank page?
The page may be caused by a section break, paragraph pagination setting, or the required paragraph after a table. Turn on formatting marks to see which one is responsible. A final table paragraph cannot simply be deleted, but you can shrink it to 1 pt and remove its extra spacing.

How do I delete a blank page at the end of a Word document?
Show formatting marks and remove extra empty paragraph marks or a manual page break at the end. If the document ends with a table, select the paragraph mark after it and reduce its font size and spacing rather than trying to delete it.

Will deleting a section break change my document?
It can. The sections may have different headers, footers, page numbers, margins, orientation, or columns. Save a copy first, and use Undo if the layout changes. When appropriate, change the section start to Continuous instead of removing the break.

Can I remove a blank page without showing formatting marks?
Sometimes, but it is harder to identify the cause. You can try deleting extra blank lines or a visible manual break, but displaying marks with Home > ¶ or the keyboard shortcut makes hidden breaks and paragraph marks easier to spot.

Do formatting marks print?
No. Paragraph marks, spaces, and break indicators are nonprinting editing symbols. Turn them off with Home > ¶, Ctrl+Shift+8 on Windows, or Command+8 on Mac if you do not want to see them while editing.

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