A blank page in Microsoft Word almost always comes down to one of four causes: empty paragraph lines, a page break, a section break, or the mandatory paragraph that sits at the end of a table. Hitting Delete over and over often does nothing — not because your document is broken, but because you’re deleting the wrong thing.

That’s why the right way to delete a page in Word starts with identifying the cause. A simple rule of thumb: a blank page at the end of a document is usually empty paragraphs, a blank page in the middle is usually a page break or section break, and a blank page right after a table is Word’s built-in table paragraph, which can’t be deleted at all — only hidden.

Soxvo has broken down every case below. Before you print your Word document, read through the full guide first.

How to Delete the Last Blank Page in Word

This is the most common scenario: your document is finished, but one empty page is left hanging at the end. The culprit is almost always a few invisible empty paragraph lines.

The key is to display paragraph marks (the ¶ symbol) so those blank lines become visible and you can delete exactly the right thing.

1. Open the Word file containing the page you want to remove.
2. Click the Show/Hide Paragraph icon in the Paragraph section of the Home tab, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + 8.
3. Scroll to the blank page at the end of the document, or jump straight there with Ctrl + End.
4. Select all the empty paragraph lines, then press Delete on your keyboard.

Still not deleting? Then what’s on that page isn’t an empty paragraph — it’s a section break. With paragraph marks turned on, you’ll see a line labeled Section Break (Next Page). Click directly in front of that line and press Delete once.

One important note before removing a section break: Word stores header, footer, page number, and page orientation settings per section. Deleting a section break merges two sections together, and the formatting of the earlier section will follow the one after it. For documents with different page-number formats — a thesis, for example — double-check your headers and footers afterward.

These steps work in every version of Microsoft Word, so there’s no need to hunt for a separate guide for the version you’re using.

How to Delete a Blank Page in the Middle of a Word Document

A blank page appearing in the middle of a document is almost always caused by a page break or a stack of empty paragraph lines. This also shows up frequently when you apply different page-number formats within a single document — a thesis layout, for instance — because that kind of formatting relies on section breaks placed mid-document.

The fix is the same as before: reveal the paragraph marks first, then delete the source.

1. Open the Word file with the page you want to remove.
2. Display paragraph marks by clicking Show/Hide Paragraph on the Home tab, or press Ctrl + Shift + 8.
3. Scroll to the blank page in your document.
4. Select all the empty paragraphs, including any page break you find there.
5. Press Delete on your keyboard.
6. Press Ctrl + Shift + 8 again to hide the paragraph marks.

These same steps work as a way to delete a page in Word that has already been separated by a page break. If the line you see says Section Break rather than Page Break, remember the note from the previous section: you can delete it, but check your headers and page numbers afterward.

How to Delete a Page in Word at the End of a Table

If your table ends exactly at the bottom edge of a page, Word automatically adds a blank page after it. This isn’t a bug: Word always places one mandatory paragraph after every table, and that paragraph can’t be deleted. When the table fills the page perfectly, this required paragraph gets pushed onto a new page and leaves your document looking untidy.

Since the paragraph can’t be removed, the solution is to shrink it until it fits on the same page as the table, or hide it entirely. Your table stays intact — no data is changed.

1. Open the Word file you want to fix.
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + 8 to display paragraph marks in the document.
3. Select the paragraph mark sitting immediately after the table.
4. Type 1 in the font size box on the Home tab and press Enter. The paragraph shrinks to 1 pt and the blank page disappears.

Want it even cleaner? With the paragraph still selected, press Ctrl + D, tick Hidden, then click OK. The paragraph still exists, but it won’t be displayed or printed.

An Alternative Way to Delete a Page in Word

Beyond the three methods above, there’s one more approach that comes in handy when you want to delete an entire page — whether it’s blank or full of content — without touching any of the other pages.

This method uses the Go To feature to automatically select the contents of a full page, so you don’t have to drag your cursor manually.

1. Open the Word file you want to edit.
2. Click anywhere on the page you want to delete.
3. Press Ctrl + G, type \page in the field that appears, then press Enter until you see the blue selection highlight.
4. Close the Find and Replace window.
5. Confirm that the highlighted selection covers the page you actually want to remove, then press Delete.

How to Delete a Page in Word on Android

Do you often work on documents straight from your Android phone? The Microsoft Word mobile app can delete blank pages too, so you don’t have to reach for your laptop.

The difference is that the mobile version of Word has no Show/Hide Paragraph button, so you can’t reveal the paragraph marks the way you can on a laptop. It works purely by selecting and deleting.

1. Download the Microsoft Word app from the Play Store.
2. Open the app and the document containing the page you want to remove.
3. Tap and hold on the blank page, then select all the empty paragraph lines.
4. Press Delete on your keyboard.

The same steps apply to Word for iPhone. One limitation to keep in mind: because paragraph marks can’t be displayed on mobile, blank pages caused by a section break or a table’s final paragraph usually can’t be resolved from the app. For those two cases, open the document on a laptop or in the web version of Word and use the methods described above.

Final Thoughts

The bottom line is that blank pages in Word shouldn’t be attacked blindly. Identify the cause first, then pick the right method. Empty paragraphs can simply be selected and deleted, page breaks get removed along with them, a table’s final paragraph just needs to be shrunk to 1 pt, and a section break can be deleted as long as you re-check your headers and page numbers afterward.

If the Delete key feels like it isn’t working, you’re almost certainly dealing with one of those four causes. Once you know which one you’re facing, the fix takes only a few seconds.

We hope this guide from Soxvo helps you clean up your documents before you print or share them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why won’t the Delete key remove my blank page in Word? Because you’re most likely deleting the wrong element. The page is probably held open by a section break or a table’s mandatory paragraph, neither of which responds to a plain Delete press. Turn on paragraph marks with Ctrl + Shift + 8 to see what’s actually there.

What is the shortcut to show paragraph marks in Word? Press Ctrl + Shift + 8. You can also click the Show/Hide Paragraph icon in the Paragraph group on the Home tab.

Is it safe to delete a section break? Yes, but with care. Deleting a section break merges two sections, and the earlier section will adopt the formatting of the one that follows. Always review your headers, footers, and page numbering afterward — especially in documents like a thesis where numbering formats differ between sections.

How do I remove the blank page after a table without breaking the table? Don’t try to delete the paragraph — it can’t be removed. Select the paragraph mark right after the table and set its font size to 1, or press Ctrl + D and tick Hidden. The table itself stays completely intact.

Can I delete a Word page from my phone? Yes, for blank pages caused by empty paragraphs. Tap and hold to select the empty lines, then press Delete. Pages caused by section breaks or table paragraphs usually need a laptop or the web version of Word.

Does deleting a page change my page numbering? Page numbers update automatically after a deletion. However, if you removed a section break, the numbering format itself may change — so check the header and footer of the affected section before printing.