How to Add Page Numbers in Microsoft Word

If your Microsoft Word document is long (or book-length), you might want to add page numbers to the header or footer. When you print a document, the headers and footers can be printed as well.

The steps for adding pages numbers is basically the same for Word 2019, 2016, 2013, and Word for Microsoft 365.

Place your cursor at the first page of your document or where you want page numbers to begin. Select the Insert tab. Select Page Number in the Header & Footer group. Select Page Number again from a drop-down menu. Under Position, select Top of Page (Header) or Bottom of Page (Footer) to indicate where to place the numbers on the page. Under Alignment, select Left, Right, or Center. Select OK to save the selections and exit the menu. Select Header or Footer on the toolbar to format the page numbering.   Select a format from the menu options. Double-click anywhere in the document to hide the header and footer areas.

Customize Headers and Footers

You can also customize the headers and footers in all versions of Microsoft Word. You do that from the same area where you added page numbers.

Under Alignment, select Left, Right, or Center.

Select OK to save the selections and exit the menu.

To begin, select Header or Footer to see your options.