How to Restart Word Footnote Numbering at Section Boundaries Without Reset

When you add section breaks to a Word document, you may want footnote numbering to restart at 1 for each new section. By default, Word continues footnote numbering across sections, which can confuse readers in documents with multiple chapters or parts. This article shows you how to restart footnote numbering at section boundaries without resetting the entire document’s numbering scheme. You will learn the correct settings in the Footnote and Endnote dialog and how to apply them to individual sections.

Understanding Word Footnote Numbering and Section Breaks

Word uses two numbering systems for footnotes: continuous across the document or restarting on each page. Neither of these defaults respects section boundaries. To restart footnote numbering at a section boundary, you must first insert a section break, then modify the footnote numbering settings for that specific section.

A section break divides your document into independent formatting zones. Each section can have its own headers, footers, margins, and footnote numbering. The key setting lives in the Footnote and Endnote dialog under the Layout tab. The option “Restart each section” tells Word to begin footnote numbering at 1 for every new section. This setting applies either to the current section only or to the entire document, depending on the scope you choose.

Before you begin, ensure your document already has section breaks where you want footnote numbering to restart. If you do not see section breaks, enable Show/Hide (Ctrl+Shift+8) to view them. Section breaks appear as double dotted lines labeled “Section Break (Next Page)” or “Section Break (Continuous).”

Steps to Restart Footnote Numbering at a Section Boundary

Follow these steps to change footnote numbering for a specific section without affecting other sections.

1. Click inside the section where you want numbering to restart
   Place your cursor anywhere in the section that should start with footnote number 1. Do not click in the header or footer area.
2. Open the Footnote and Endnote dialog
   Go to the References tab on the ribbon. In the Footnotes group, click the small arrow icon in the bottom-right corner. This opens the Footnote and Endnote dialog.
3. Select the numbering option
   In the dialog, under Format, locate the Numbering drop-down list. Choose Restart each section. This option tells Word to begin footnote numbering at 1 for each section.
4. Apply the change to the current section only
   At the bottom of the dialog, find Apply changes to. Open the drop-down list and select This section. If you select “Whole document,” the setting will apply to every section, which may not be what you want.
5. Click Apply
   Click the Apply button to save the change. Do not click Insert unless you want to add a new footnote at the same time. Word immediately updates the footnote numbers in the current section to start at 1.

Repeat these steps for each section where you want footnote numbering to restart. Each section can have its own numbering rule independently.

If the Option “Restart Each Section” Is Grayed Out

The “Restart each section” option may appear disabled if your cursor is not inside a section that contains a section break. Verify that you have inserted a section break before the section where you want numbering to restart. Also confirm that the section break is not inside a header, footer, or text box. Only section breaks placed in the main document body trigger the restart option.

Common Issues When Restarting Footnote Numbering

Footnotes Renumber Across the Entire Document Instead of One Section

This happens when you choose “Whole document” instead of “This section” in the Apply changes to drop-down. To fix it, reopen the Footnote and Endnote dialog, change the scope back to “This section,” and click Apply. Then check each section individually.

Section Break Type Prevents Numbering Restart

Word supports two types of section breaks: Next Page and Continuous. Both allow footnote numbering restart. However, if you use a Continuous section break, footnotes may appear on the same page as the previous section’s footnotes, which can confuse numbering. Switch to a Next Page section break if you want a clear boundary between sections.

Numbering Resets Unexpectedly When Adding a New Section

If you add a new section after setting “Restart each section” for existing sections, the new section inherits the document’s default numbering. The new section will start at 1 only if you manually apply the restart setting to it. Always check the numbering after inserting a new section break.

Footnote Numbering Options: Restart Each Section vs Restart Each Page vs Continuous

Setting	Behavior	Best For
Continuous	Footnotes are numbered sequentially from the first footnote to the last, ignoring section breaks	Short documents or documents with a single chapter
Restart each page	Footnotes start at 1 on every new page, regardless of sections	Documents where each page is a self-contained unit
Restart each section	Footnotes start at 1 at the beginning of each section	Multi-chapter documents, legal briefs, or reports with distinct parts

The “Restart each section” setting is the only option that respects section boundaries without resetting the entire document. Use it when you want each chapter or part to have its own footnote numbering sequence.

You can now restart footnote numbering at section boundaries in Word without affecting other sections. To verify your work, scroll through each section and confirm that the first footnote in each section is numbered 1. If you need to change the starting number to something other than 1, use the Start at box in the Footnote and Endnote dialog. For advanced control, combine section breaks with different footnote numbering schemes in the same document.