How to Suppress Word’s Header and Footer on Specific Printed Pages

You may need to print a Word document without headers or footers on certain pages, such as a title page, a full-page graphic, or a landscape section. Word does not offer a single toggle to hide headers and footers on individual pages. The solution is to divide your document into sections and then unlink or suppress the header and footer for only the sections you choose. This article explains how to create sections, unlink headers and footers, and remove them from specific pages without affecting the rest of the document.

How Section Breaks Control Headers and Footers

A section break is a formatting marker that splits a document into independent areas. Each section can have its own headers, footers, margins, page orientation, and page numbering. By default, Word links the header and footer of a new section to the previous section so content carries over. To suppress a header or footer on specific pages, you must insert a section break before and after those pages, then unlink the header or footer in that section. This method works for any version of Word that supports section breaks, including Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2021, Word 2019, and earlier.

The key concept is the Link to Previous button. When a section’s header or footer is linked to the previous section, changes you make to one section affect the other. Turning off Link to Previous isolates the section, allowing you to delete the header and footer content without altering the rest of the document. If you only need to suppress the header and footer on the very first page of a document or a section, use the Different First Page option instead of creating additional section breaks.

Steps to Remove Headers and Footers From a Specific Page or Section

Follow these steps to suppress headers and footers on one or more specific pages. The example assumes you want to remove the header and footer from the second page only while keeping them on pages 1 and 3 through the end of the document.

1. Insert a section break before the target page
   Place your cursor at the end of the page immediately before the page where you want to suppress the header and footer. Go to Layout > Breaks > Section Breaks > Next Page. This creates a new section starting on the next page.
2. Insert a section break after the target page
   Place your cursor at the end of the page where you want the header and footer to resume. Go to Layout > Breaks > Section Breaks > Next Page. You now have three sections: Section 1 (before the target page), Section 2 (the target page or pages), and Section 3 (the remaining pages).
3. Open the header or footer in Section 2
   Double-click inside the header area on any page in Section 2. The Header & Footer tab appears on the ribbon. Look for the Link to Previous button in the Navigation group. If it is highlighted, the section is linked to the previous section.
4. Turn off Link to Previous
   Click the Link to Previous button to deselect it. The header or footer in Section 2 is now independent. Repeat this step for the footer by clicking in the footer area and turning off Link to Previous there as well.
5. Delete the header and footer content in Section 2
   Select and delete all text and graphics in the header and footer of Section 2. The header and footer areas will appear empty. Close the Header & Footer tab by double-clicking outside the header area or clicking Close Header and Footer.
6. Verify the header and footer in Section 3
   Scroll to a page in Section 3. Double-click the header or footer to confirm it still contains the original content. If the content is missing, open the header or footer in Section 3 and click Link to Previous to reconnect it to Section 2, then restore the content manually if needed.

Using Different First Page Instead

If you only need to suppress the header and footer on the first page of a section, do not insert extra section breaks. Double-click the header on the first page of the document or section. On the Header & Footer tab, check the box for Different First Page. The header and footer on the first page become empty. You can then type a different header or footer for the first page if desired. This method is faster than using section breaks and works for title pages, cover pages, or chapter openers.

Common Issues When Suppressing Headers and Footers

The header or footer appears on the wrong page after inserting a section break

Section breaks can shift content if you insert them in the middle of a paragraph. Always place section breaks at the end of a paragraph or after a page break. Use Show/Hide (Ctrl+Shift+8) to see section break markers. If a section break pushes the target page to the next page, delete the section break and insert it at a more precise location.

The header or footer disappears from all sections after unlinking

When you turn off Link to Previous, the header or footer in the new section retains the content from the previous section only if you do not delete it. If the header or footer appears blank in Section 3, you may have accidentally deleted the content while working in Section 2. To recover, open the header or footer in Section 3, click Undo (Ctrl+Z), or re-enter the content manually.

Page numbers restart after inserting a section break

Section breaks reset page numbering by default. To continue numbering from the previous section, double-click the footer in the new section, right-click the page number, and choose Format Page Numbers. Select Continue from previous section. If you want to start numbering at a specific number, choose Start at and enter the desired value.

The Different First Page option does not work for pages in the middle of a document

Different First Page only applies to the first page of each section. To suppress a header or footer on a page that is not the first page of a section, you must use the section break method described earlier. Different First Page cannot hide headers or footers on pages 2, 3, or any interior page of a section.

Section Break vs Different First Page: When to Use Each

Item	Section Break Method	Different First Page Option
Best for	Hiding header/footer on any page in the middle or end of a document	Hiding header/footer on the first page of a document or a section
Number of steps	6 steps including inserting two breaks and unlinking	2 steps: check the box and optionally edit the first page
Effect on page numbering	Can reset numbering unless you set it to continue	Does not affect page numbering
Requires unlinking	Yes, must turn off Link to Previous	No, Word handles it automatically

You can now suppress headers and footers on any specific page in a Word document using section breaks or the Different First Page option. If you frequently work with complex documents, consider creating a template with pre-defined sections to speed up the process. For even more control, explore the Different Odd & Even Pages option under Header & Footer > Options, which lets you set unique headers and footers for left and right pages in bound documents.