How to have a header only on the first page in Word (and Google Docs)

Applies to: Word in Microsoft 365, Word 2024, 2021, 2019 and 2016 for Windows, Word for Mac, Word for the web, and Google Docs.

Word for Windows: header on the first page only

This is the usual way to make a letterhead, a cover page with a logo, or a title page that looks different from the rest of the document. If the header already contains what you want, select it and copy it (Ctrl + C) first, because the next step empties the first-page header.

1. Double-click the header area at the top of page 1. The Header & Footer tab opens on the ribbon (in older versions it’s called Header & Footer Tools > Design).
2. In the Options group, select Different First Page. The header on page 1 is now labelled First Page Header.
3. Type or paste your header into the First Page Header.
4. Scroll to page 2 and click in its header (labelled Header). Select everything in it and press Delete. This empties the header on every page after the first.
5. Select Close Header and Footer, or press Esc.

The footer follows the same rule. With Different First Page on, page 1 also gets its own First Page Footer, so you can have a footer (or no footer) on page 1 only, independently of the header.

Alternative: the Page Setup dialog

If you can’t find the option on the ribbon, go to the Layout tab and select the small arrow in the corner of the Page Setup group. On the Layout tab of the dialog, under Headers and footers, tick Different first page, set Apply to to Whole document and select OK. Then fill in page 1’s header and clear page 2’s header as in steps 3 and 4 above.

Word for Mac and Word for the web

• Word for Mac: double-click the header on page 1 (or go to Insert > Header). On the Header & Footer tab, tick Different First Page, type the first-page header, then delete the header on page 2.
• Word for the web: go to Insert > Header & Footer, select Options and choose Different First Page. Add your header on page 1 and clear the one on page 2. If the option isn’t offered for your document, use Open in Desktop App (under the Editing menu in most versions) and follow the Windows steps.

Documents with section breaks

Headers in Word belong to sections, not to the whole file. Different First Page affects the first page of the section you turned it on in. In a document with several sections (for example, a report with chapters or a landscape page in the middle), check these points:

• Turn on Different First Page only in the first section if you want the header on page 1 of the whole document and nowhere else.
• Click in the header of each later section. If it still shows text, it may be linked to the previous section: select Link to Previous on the Header & Footer tab to unlink it, then delete the text.
• To see where sections start, turn on Show/Hide (Ctrl + Shift + 8) on the Home tab. Each break shows as Section Break.

The same approach lets you start a header on page 2 or later instead: put a Layout > Breaks > Next Page section break where it should begin, unlink the new section’s header with Link to Previous, and type the header there.

Google Docs: header on the first page only

1. Make sure the document uses pages format (File > Page setup > Pages); headers aren’t shown in pageless format.
2. Click in the header on page 1, or go to Insert > Headers & footers > Header.
3. Tick Different first page.
4. Type your header on page 1, and leave the header on page 2 empty.

To remove a header completely in Google Docs, double-click it and choose Options > Remove header.

If it doesn’t work

• The header disappeared from page 1 too: that’s expected the moment you turn on Different First Page. Paste or retype it into the First Page Header.
• Page 2 still shows the header: page 2 may start a new section with its own first-page header, or its header may be linked to another section. See Documents with section breaks.
• The option is greyed out: the document may be protected or opened in compatibility or read-only mode. Save a copy as a .docx file with File > Save As. If Word itself says it’s unlicensed or in reduced functionality mode, see Word product activation failed.
• Page numbers vanish from page 1: that’s normal, because page 1 now has its own footer. Usually that’s what you want on a cover page; if not, insert the page number into the First Page Footer too.

For more Word shortcuts and formatting tricks, see our MS Word tips and tricks, and to check a long document’s links before you send it, see how to find hyperlinks in Word.

Related guides

• MS Word tips and tricks: 17 ways to work faster in Word
• How to find hyperlinks in Word (every link, fast)
• Word product activation failed: 7 ways to fix it
• How to disable Copilot in Windows 11 (and Office and Edge)

Official sources: for more detail, see the vendors’ own pages:

• Microsoft Support: Change or delete a header or footer on a single page
• Microsoft Support: Delete the header or footer from the first page
• Google Docs Editors Help: Use headers, footers, page numbers and footnotes

Frequently asked questions

How do I remove the header from the first page only?

It’s the opposite of this guide: turn on Different First Page and leave the First Page Header empty. The header on page 2 onwards stays as it was.

Can I have a different header on every page?

Only by putting each page in its own section, using Layout > Breaks > Next Page and turning off Link to Previous in each section’s header. For odd and even pages there’s a simpler option: Different Odd & Even Pages on the Header & Footer tab.

Does this work for footers too?

Yes. Different First Page applies to the header and footer together, so you can give page 1 its own footer, or none, in the same way.

Will the header still be on page 1 when I export to PDF?

Yes. File > Save As or File > Export to PDF keeps the first-page header exactly as it appears in Word’s Print Layout view.