How to Eliminate a Blank Page in Word | The Four Causes That Keep It There

A blank page in Word is almost always a hidden paragraph mark, page break, or section break — deleting that formatting character removes it in seconds.

A blank page that Word refuses to delete usually has one cause: a hidden formatting character you can’t see on the screen. Learning how to eliminate a blank page in Word means finding that mark—a paragraph symbol, page break, or section break—and removing it. The right method depends on where the blank page sits and what’s causing it, but the fix takes under a minute once you know which tool to use.

What Actually Causes A Stubborn Blank Page?

A blank page appears when Word stores invisible formatting that pushes content onto a new page. The three usual suspects are an extra paragraph mark (¶) that got typed, a manual page break inserted by mistake, or a section break set to start on a new page. Less commonly, the final paragraph mark at the end of a document gets forced to its own page because of its font size or the space around a table.

Identifying which one you’re dealing with is the main step — the fix for each is straightforward and doesn’t affect the rest of your document when done correctly.

Eliminate Blank Pages in Word: What Each Method Handles Best

Four main methods cover almost every blank-page scenario. The table below shows which method fits which situation, so you can pick the right one immediately.

The Quickest Way — Delete Any Page With Ctrl+G

The Go To method selects an entire page in one shot, making it the fastest option when you know which page you want gone. It works on any page anywhere in the document.

1. Click anywhere on the blank page.
2. Press Ctrl+G (Windows) or Option+Command+G (Mac).
3. Type \page in the “Enter page number” box.
4. Press Enter, then select Close.
5. Verify the page content is highlighted, then press Delete.

The page disappears and the document closes up — if the page was blank, nothing else changes.

Delete A Blank Page By Hand (Show/Hide ¶)

When the Go To method doesn’t work or you want to see what’s happening, turning on formatting marks reveals the hidden character. This is the most reliable approach for understanding what you’re deleting.

1. Go to the Home tab and click the Show/Hide ¶ button (the Pilcrow symbol). You’ll see dots between words and ¶ marks at every paragraph.
2. Scroll to the blank page. You’ll likely see a ¶ mark, a Page Break line, or a Section Break line.
3. Place the cursor right before that character.
4. Press Delete (Windows) or Backspace (Mac).

Microsoft’s official Word delete page guide confirms this as the primary troubleshooting step for any persistent blank page.

The ¶ or break line disappears, and the blank page collapses into the previous page.

What To Do When The Very Last Page Won’t Delete

A blank page at the very end of a document is the most common complaint — and the easiest to fix once you know the trick. Word always keeps a final paragraph mark at the bottom of the document, and sometimes that mark gets pushed to its own page. You can’t delete it, but you can shrink it to invisibility.

1. Turn on Show/Hide ¶ (Ctrl+Shift+8 on Windows, Command+8 on Mac).
2. Scroll to the very bottom of the document. You’ll see a single ¶ mark on the blank page.
3. Select that ¶ mark.
4. In the Home tab, set the Font Size to 0.1 and press Enter.
5. Turn off Show/Hide ¶ by clicking the button again.

The blank page merges into the previous one. The ¶ still exists but is too small to create its own page.

How To Fix A Blank Page From A Section Break

Section breaks control where new sections start, and their default setting is “New page.” If you have a section break at or near the end of your document, that setting is what creates the blank page.

1. Enable Show/Hide ¶ so you can see the section break line.
2. Go to the Layout tab and click the Page Setup dialog launcher (the small arrow in the bottom-right corner of the group).
3. In the dialog box, click the Layout tab.
4. In the Section start dropdown, change it from New page to Continuous.
5. Click OK.

The blank page disappears, and the content from before and after the break flows together. Check your headers and footers afterward — if they were section-specific, they may need adjustment.

Common Mistakes That Keep The Blank Page Around

Even with the right method, a few small errors can leave the blank page stubbornly in place. This table shows what to watch for.

Which Method Should You Use?

The right fix depends entirely on where the blank page lives. Here’s a quick decision guide for the most common scenarios.

• Blank page in the middle of a document: Use the Go To (Ctrl+G) method — it works in one shot and doesn’t require hunting.
• Blank page at the very end: Try the font size 0.1 fix on the final paragraph mark first. If that doesn’t work, check for a section break.
• Blank page after a table: Adjust the row height or font size in the last table row.
• Blank page you can see a break line on: Use Show/Hide ¶ and delete the break character directly.
• Any situation after a fix: Press Ctrl+Z immediately if something goes wrong — Undo restores the page and the formatting in one step.