How to Delete a Second Page in Word (And Why It Keeps Coming Back)

A blank second page in Microsoft Word is one of those small frustrations that can eat up a surprising amount of time. You scroll down, see an empty page, hit Delete or Backspace — and nothing happens. Here's what's actually going on, and how to fix it depending on what's causing it.

Why Word Creates Extra Pages in the First Place

Word doesn't add blank pages randomly. Every extra page has a cause, and the fix depends on identifying which one you're dealing with. The most common culprits are:

• An extra paragraph mark sitting below your content
• A page break — either manually inserted or left over from a template
• Section breaks that force a new page
• Table formatting that pushes content onto a second page
• Paragraph spacing set to large values after the last line

Until you know which one you're dealing with, you're essentially guessing.

Step One: Make Hidden Formatting Visible 🔍

The single most useful thing you can do is turn on Show Formatting Marks. This reveals every hidden character — paragraph marks, spaces, breaks — that Word normally hides from view.

To toggle it on:

• Windows: Press Ctrl + Shift + 8 or click the ¶ button in the Home tab
• Mac: Press Command + 8 or find the ¶ button in the Home ribbon

Once enabled, you'll see exactly what's sitting on that second page. This changes everything about how you troubleshoot it.

Deleting a Blank Page Caused by an Extra Paragraph Mark

This is the most common cause. When formatting marks are visible, you'll see a ¶ symbol on the blank page. Click just before it and press Delete (on Mac, Fn + Delete or Forward Delete).

If the paragraph won't delete — which happens frequently at the end of a document — the issue is usually that Word requires at least one paragraph mark to exist. In that case:

1. Select the stubborn paragraph mark
2. Open the Font settings (right-click → Font, or Ctrl + D on Windows)
3. Check Hidden under Effects
4. Click OK

This hides the mark without deleting it, and the blank page disappears.

Alternatively, reduce the font size of that final paragraph mark to 1pt. This shrinks it so it no longer pushes content onto a new line and triggers a new page.

Deleting a Page Caused by a Manual Page Break

If you see the words "Page Break" on the blank page when formatting marks are visible, someone (or a template) inserted one manually.

Fix it:

1. Click directly on the page break line
2. Press Delete

Done. Manual page breaks are the easiest to remove once you can see them.

Deleting a Page Caused by a Section Break

Section breaks are trickier. They appear as "Section Break (Next Page)" or similar labels when formatting marks are on. Section breaks control page layout, headers, footers, and column settings — so deleting one carelessly can reformat surrounding content.

To remove a section break:

1. Click just before the section break marker
2. Press Delete

Watch what happens to the pages around it. If formatting shifts dramatically (headers change, margins go wrong), press Ctrl + Z immediately to undo. Section breaks often exist for a reason — removing them may require you to reapply certain formatting to the preceding section.

When a Table Is Causing the Extra Page

Word has a quirk: a paragraph mark always follows a table, and that mark cannot be deleted in the normal way. If your document ends with a table, that trailing paragraph mark will often push onto a new page, creating a blank second page.

The hidden-character trick works well here too — select that final paragraph mark and set its font size to 1pt, or mark it as Hidden via Font settings.

Paragraph Spacing as a Hidden Cause

Sometimes no break or extra paragraph is visible, but the blank page persists. Check the paragraph spacing settings on your last content block:

1. Select the last paragraph on page one
2. Go to Home → Line and Paragraph Spacing → Line Spacing Options
3. Check the Spacing After value — if it's large (e.g., 72pt or more), it can push content to the next page

Reducing "Space After" to 0pt or a small value often resolves this without touching any breaks.

How Word Version and Platform Affect This

The core behavior is consistent across Word versions, but the interface varies:

If you're using Word Online and can't seem to find the problem, downloading the document and opening it in the desktop app usually gives you far more control.

The Variable That Changes Everything

How straightforward this fix is depends heavily on what created the extra page. A document you typed from scratch behaves differently from one that came from a template, was converted from PDF, or was shared by a colleague whose Word settings differ from yours. 🖥️

Documents with complex formatting — multiple sections, embedded tables, custom styles — can have several overlapping causes at once. In those cases, removing one break might reveal another issue underneath it.

Your specific document's structure, how it was created, and what version of Word you're running all shape which of these fixes will work — and whether any of them will have side effects worth watching for.