How to Double Space in a Word Document in Microsoft Word

To double-space text in Microsoft Word, select the text, then choose Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > 2.0. To double-space an entire document, press Ctrl+A on Windows or Command+A on Mac first, then apply the same setting. Double spacing increases the space between lines, making a document easier to read, mark up, or edit; it does not add an empty line after every line of text.

What You’ll Need

A document open in Microsoft Word. These steps apply to Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows; Mac and Word for the web differences are noted below.
Text to format. You can select a particular passage, a section, or the whole document.
If the document has strict formatting requirements, check whether they also specify paragraph spacing, font, margins, or headings. Double spacing alone does not set those other details.

Step-by-Step

Open the document and decide what to change. Double spacing can apply to a single paragraph, a selection, or the full document. Click in the text if you want to change just one paragraph. To change several paragraphs, select them with the mouse or keyboard. If you want to change the main text throughout the document, select all of it before changing the spacing.
Select the text you want to format. Drag over a passage to highlight it, or click at the beginning, hold Shift, and click at the end. To select the whole document in Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows, click in the document body and press Ctrl+A. On Mac, use Command+A. If the first selection only highlights text in a particular area, click in the main document body and try again. Headers, footers, footnotes, and text inside separate text boxes may need to be selected and formatted separately.
Open the line-spacing menu. Select the Home tab on the ribbon. In the Paragraph group, click Line and Paragraph Spacing. Its icon typically shows horizontal lines with up-and-down arrows. If the ribbon is condensed, look for the same button in the Paragraph group or expand the ribbon so the full group is visible.
Choose 2.0. In the menu, click 2.0. The selected text should now have double line spacing. If no text was selected, Word applies the setting to the paragraph containing the cursor. Look at several lines, including a paragraph that wraps onto multiple lines, to confirm the change.
Check the paragraphs as well as the lines. The 2.0 choice controls line spacing, but Word may also add space before or after paragraphs. If the gaps between paragraphs look much larger than the gaps between lines, select the affected paragraphs and open the Paragraph dialog using the small diagonal arrow at the lower-right of the Home > Paragraph group. On the Indents and Spacing tab, check the Before and After settings under Spacing. Set them to the values required for your document; use 0 pt if you need no additional paragraph gap. Leave Line spacing set to Double.
Apply double spacing as you type, if needed. To make new paragraphs in the current document double-spaced, click in a paragraph that has the desired formatting, then open Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing and choose 2.0. Pressing Enter generally carries paragraph formatting forward. If new paragraphs revert to single spacing, check the paragraph style or use the default-setting option below.
Optionally set double spacing as the default. To use it in new documents too, open the Paragraph dialog from the Home tab, set Line spacing to Double, and click Set As Default. Choose whether to apply the change to the current document only or to documents based on the Normal template, then confirm. Changing the Normal template affects future documents and may change their usual layout, so use this option only if you want double spacing to be your regular starting point.

Quick shortcut: In Word for Windows, select the text and press Ctrl+2 to apply double line spacing. In Word for Mac, the equivalent is generally Command+2. Shortcuts can be affected by keyboard settings or application versions, so use the ribbon menu if the shortcut does not work.

Common Mistakes

Adding blank lines instead of setting line spacing. Pressing Enter repeatedly inserts extra paragraphs and can make the document uneven. Use the 2.0 line-spacing option instead; it adjusts the distance between lines within each paragraph.
Changing only the paragraph where the cursor is. If you do not select the rest of the text, Word may change just the current paragraph. Select the intended passage first, or use Ctrl+A or Command+A to select the document body.
Confusing line spacing with paragraph spacing. Double line spacing can coexist with extra space after paragraphs. If the text looks too spread out, inspect the Before and After values in the Paragraph dialog rather than changing 2.0 to a different line-spacing option.
Formatting only some content. Text in headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, or text boxes may not follow a selection made in the main document. Check those areas individually if the requirement applies to them.
Assuming the entire file must be double-spaced. Some assignments require double spacing only in the body, while headings, footnotes, or reference lists may have separate rules. Follow the supplied instructions rather than applying one setting indiscriminately.

Tips

Use the status of the selection to guide you. After selecting text, apply 2.0 and check the beginning and end of the selection. This catches missed paragraphs, especially when selecting across page breaks.
Keep paragraph formatting consistent. If the required layout is double-spaced with no extra gaps between paragraphs, set line spacing to Double and set Before and After to 0 pt for the selected paragraphs. Do not use blank paragraphs to create visual separation unless the instructions ask for them.
Use styles for long documents. If headings or body text keep reverting, the document may use different styles. Modify the relevant paragraph style so new paragraphs using that style follow the required spacing, rather than repeatedly fixing individual passages.
Save a separate copy before broad formatting changes. This is especially useful for a long or carefully formatted document. It gives you a straightforward way to return to the original layout if global spacing changes affect page breaks or other formatting.

Troubleshooting

The text still looks single-spaced. Confirm that the intended text was selected before choosing 2.0. Then open the Paragraph dialog and check that Line spacing actually reads Double. A document can contain paragraphs with different formatting, so test a few points in the text rather than relying on one paragraph as a sample.

There is too much space between paragraphs. Double spacing controls lines within a paragraph; paragraph spacing adds a separate gap before or after each paragraph. Select the affected text, open the Paragraph dialog from the Home tab, and review the Before and After values. If your instructions call for no additional paragraph space, set both to 0 pt while keeping Line spacing at Double.

Only part of the document changed. Check whether the selection included the entire intended range. Click in the document body and use Ctrl+A on Windows or Command+A on Mac, then apply 2.0 again. If some content is in a header, footer, footnote, endnote, or text box, format that area separately. Also check whether different sections use different paragraph styles.

New paragraphs return to single spacing. A style or template may be applying single spacing to new paragraphs. Click in one of the paragraphs that resets, open the Paragraph dialog, and inspect its line-spacing value. For a lasting fix, modify the style used by that text or set the desired default for documents based on the Normal template. Avoid changing the global default if you only need this one file formatted differently.

The spacing command is hard to find. Make sure the Home tab is selected and look in the Paragraph group for Line and Paragraph Spacing. On Mac, the ribbon arrangement may look different; the command is still on the Home tab in the paragraph-formatting controls. You can also use Format > Paragraph on Mac to open paragraph settings. In Word for the web, use Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > 2.0. If a reduced ribbon hides the control, expand the ribbon or use the Paragraph dialog where available.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does double spacing mean pressing Enter twice?
No. Choose the 2.0 line-spacing setting. Pressing Enter twice creates separate paragraphs and blank space, which can become inconsistent as you edit the document.

How do I double-space only one paragraph?
Click anywhere in that paragraph, then choose Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > 2.0. You usually do not need to select the entire paragraph when the cursor is already inside it.

How do I double-space the whole Word document?
Click in the main document body, press Ctrl+A on Windows or Command+A on Mac, and choose 2.0 from the Home tab’s Line and Paragraph Spacing menu. Check headers, footers, footnotes, and text boxes separately if those must also be double-spaced.

Can I double-space in Word for the web?
Yes. Select the relevant text, open Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing, and choose 2.0. The web ribbon may differ visually from the desktop version, but the line-spacing choice is available there.

Will double spacing change the page count?
Usually. With more vertical space between lines, text often flows onto additional pages. Page count can also depend on margins, font, paragraph spacing, and page breaks, so check the whole document after applying the setting.

Can I make double spacing the default for every new document?
Yes. In the Paragraph dialog, choose Double for Line spacing and select Set As Default. Choose the option that applies the change to documents based on the Normal template only if you want future documents to start with that formatting.

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

More in How-to basics

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

Spotted an error in this guide? Let us know.