How to Remove Header and Footer in Word (3 Methods for Windows and Mac)

Headers and footers in Word are useful for documents that need page numbers, titles, or author information repeated across every page — but when you receive a template with pre-set headers you don't need, or when you're repurposing a document for a different purpose, getting rid of them is a common task.

This guide covers three methods to remove headers and footers in Word on both Windows and Mac, from a quick keyboard approach to the built-in Remove Header/Footer tool. If your document has already been saved as a PDF, Part 3 shows how to remove headers and footers directly from PDF files using UPDF — with no conversion back to Word needed.

Part 1: What Are Headers and Footers in Word — and When Should You Remove Them?

1.1 What are Header and Footer?

A header is the zone at the top of every Word page, commonly used for document titles, chapter names, author information, or page numbers. Depending on the demands of the page, headers might also include components such as logos, photos, and hyperlinks. A footer is the equivalent zone at the bottom. It may include information such as the document's page number, date, and author, among other things. Both are part of Word's page layout layer — separate from the main body text — meaning they repeat consistently across all pages (or can be configured differently for odd/even pages or the first page only).

1.2 Reasons and Scenarios to Remove Header and Footer in Word

• The document was received as a template with headers/footers you don't need.
• You are repurposing content for a different format (e.g., internal draft → public report).
• The header or footer is conflicting with margins or page break formatting.
• You prefer a cleaner, minimalist layout without repeating elements.

Part 2: How to Remove Header and Footer in Word: 3 Methods

Next, we’ll introduce two methods to remove header and footer in Word for both Windows and Mac users.

Method 1: Using the Delete Key

Step 1. Open your Word document. Double-click in the header area (top of the page) or footer area (bottom of the page) to activate the Header & Footer editing mode. The main body of the document will become grayed out.

Step 2. Select all the content inside the header or footer using Ctrl + A (Windows) or Cmd + A (Mac), then press Delete or Backspace to clear the content.

Step 3. Double-click anywhere in the main body of the document to exit the header/footer editing mode. The header or footer will now be blank.

Method 2: Using the Remove Header or Remove Footer Tool

Remove Header and Remove Footer are in-built tools vital in removing the document's Header or Footer. Here are the steps to use these tools:

Step 1. Open the document that you need to remove the Footer or Header.

Step 2. Double-click in the header area (top of the page) or footer area (bottom of the page) to activate the Header & Footer editing mode.

Step 3. Locate the Header and Footer Sections. Then Click on either the Header or the Footer drop-down button.

Step 4. Depending on the drop-down you choose, click either the Remove Header or Remove Footer from the menu.

Method 3: Using the Insert Tool

Here are the steps to follow:

Step 1. Open the document that you need to remove the Footer or Header.

Step 2. In the Toolbar, click the Insert tab.

Step 3. Locate the Header and Footer Sections. Then Click on either the Header or the Footer drop-down button.

Step 4. Depending on the drop-down you choose, click either the Remove Header or Remove Footer from the menu.

Part 3: Extended Reading: How to Remove Header and Footer from PDF Files

If your Word document has already been exported or received as a PDF — or if you're working with a PDF form, contract, or report that has headers and footers baked in — converting back to Word just to remove them and then re-exporting is unnecessary. UPDF handles this directly in PDF format, in one click.

UPDF is an AI-powered PDF editor available on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. Its dedicated Header & Footer tool removes all header and footer content from a PDF document instantly — no conversion required. Let's discuss methods and steps to follow while using this software, UPDF.

Method 1: Using the Header & Footer Option

Step 1: Open UPDF and load your PDF via the "Open File" button or by dragging the file onto the UPDF window.

Step 2: Click Tools in the top toolbar, then select Header & Footer.

Step 3: In the Header & Footer panel, click Remove to strip all header and footer content from the PDF. The change is applied to all pages immediately.

Step 4. Go to Save as Other → Save As to save the cleaned document under a new filename, preserving the original.

Method 2: Cropping the PDF Page

If the header or footer in your PDF is image-based (part of a scanned page or a flat design element) rather than text-based, the Remove tool above may not fully eliminate it. In that case, you can use UPDF's Crop Pages feature to trim the top or bottom margin area of every page, effectively removing the visible header or footer zone.

Step 1: With the PDF open in UPDF, click Tools in the top toolbar → select Crop.

Step 2. In the Crop Pages panel, drag the crop handles inward from the top (to remove a header) or bottom (to remove a footer) of the page preview. Set the margin values numerically for precision.

Step 3. Toggle the Apply Changes option on. Choose whether to apply the crop to all pages or a specific page range. Click Apply to crop.

Step 4. Go to Save as Other → Save As to save the cleaned document under a new filename, preserving the original.

Part 4: FAQs About Header and Footer in Word

Conclusion

The three Word methods above cover the most common scenarios: the Delete key approach for selective removal, the built-in Remove Header/Footer tool for document-wide cleanup, and the Insert menu method. For most users, Method 2 or Method 3 is the fastest route.

If your document is already a PDF, UPDF's Header & Footer Remove tool does the job in one click — and once you're inside UPDF, UPDF can handle any follow-up document operations (compression, watermarking, in-document text edits) without switching tools.

Download UPDF for free and try removing your first PDF header or footer today — no subscription required to get started.