How to Remove a Blank Last Page in Microsoft Word

The key is to identify what is occupying the blank page before deleting anything. A paragraph after a table needs a different fix from a section break.

These Windows shortcuts and ribbon steps cover desktop Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2024, and Word 2021. Save a separate copy of your document before changing breaks, especially in a resume or a report with custom headers and page numbers.

1. Show what is on the blank page

Select Home > Show/Hide ¶, or press Ctrl+Shift+8. Word's formatting-mark display reveals hidden paragraph markers, spaces, and tabs. Leave it on while you investigate.

Look at both the last blank page and the bottom of the page before it.

What you find	Next check
Several empty ¶ marks	Remove only the extra empty paragraphs
A manual Page Break	Delete that break
One final ¶ after a table	Make the final paragraph smaller
A Section Break label	Review the section formatting first

Use the matching branch below. A blank-looking page can contain more than one of these items, so check again after each change.

2. Remove extra paragraphs or a manual page break

For extra empty paragraphs, select only the unwanted paragraph marks and press Delete. Keep the surrounding text and table out of the selection. Word's page-deletion guide supports deleting selected content, including empty paragraphs.

For a visible manual Page Break, double-click the break to select it, then press Delete. Microsoft documents this in its Windows page-break instructions.

Word also creates automatic page boundaries as content fills a page. Those cannot be deleted like manual breaks. If no manual break is visible, continue to the final-paragraph check rather than selecting the whole page.

3. Shrink the required final paragraph

Word requires an end paragraph. If it spills onto a new page, trying to delete it repeatedly will not solve the problem.

This is the branch to try when a table ends the previous page and a lone ¶ remains on the last page:

1. With formatting marks visible, select only that final ¶.
2. On Home, click inside the Font Size box.
3. Type 1 and press Enter.
4. Check whether the mark now fits on the preceding page.

This is Microsoft's 1-point end-paragraph method. The table's text should keep its original size because you selected only the paragraph mark.

If the page remains, check the paragraph's Page break before setting:

1. Keep the empty paragraph selected.
2. Open Layout > Paragraph using the small dialog launcher in the Paragraph group.
3. Select Line and Page Breaks.
4. Clear Page break before if it is selected, then choose OK.

Microsoft's paragraph pagination settings explain this option. Change it for the empty paragraph you identified; there is no need to clear every pagination setting throughout the document.

Example: a table followed by one blank page

Imagine a two-page workshop handout. The content and a table fill page 1. Page 2 contains only the final paragraph mark.

This is an illustrative diagnosis and expected result, not a recorded Word test:

• Before: two pages; the table is followed by a lone ¶ on page 2.
• Change: select that ¶ and set its font size to 1 point.
• Expected result if it fits: one page; the ¶ moves below the table on page 1.
• Check: all table rows and text remain present, and the table's font size has not changed.

If the mark stays on page 2, the example's expected result has not been reached. Check for another break or the paragraph setting above before changing the overall page layout.

4. Handle a final section break carefully

A Next Page, Odd Page, or Even Page section break can create an unwanted final page. If the break is at the end and you decide it is unnecessary, place the cursor directly before it and press Delete. Microsoft's blank-page guide describes this end-of-document case.

Before doing that, understand the consequence: deleting a section break combines the sections, and the combined section takes the formatting of the section that followed the break. Microsoft's section-break warning explains why formatting can change.

Check headers, footers, page numbering, margins, and orientation immediately afterward. Press Ctrl+Z to undo if the layout changes in a way you did not intend.

If the section is needed for a different header or page layout, keep it and review the document's section design. Removing the visible blank page is not a successful fix if the report's formatting becomes wrong.

5. Verify the finished document

Press Ctrl+Shift+8 again to hide the marks, then review the document in Print Layout. Confirm that:

• The unwanted final page is gone.
• The final sentence, table rows, and any closing content are still present.
• Headers, footers, page numbers, and page orientation still match your original.
• Any PDF you create afterward has the intended page count and last page.

Save the corrected copy after those checks. Keep the original until you are satisfied.

If the page is still there, turn formatting marks back on and identify what remains. For a document that must keep an exact layout, stop before making broad margin or font changes and ask its creator to review the final paragraph and section settings.

Once the document looks right, you can use our Google Drive view-only sharing guide to share it with the intended readers.