Section breaks are great until they leave you staring at a blank page, broken headers, or formatting that refuses to line up. The fix is simple: make the hidden break visible, delete it in the right version of Word, then check the pages around it.
Start with the method that matches where you're working. If the break is causing a blank page but you still need separate section formatting, change the break instead of deleting it.
Remove the section break in Word for Windows
Use this when you're editing in Word desktop on Windows and only need to remove one visible section break. It works in current desktop versions including Microsoft 365, Word 2024, and Word 2021. Microsoft still documents the same steps for Word 2019 and Word 2016, but support for both ended on October 14, 2025, so treat those as out-of-support editions rather than current ones.
Open the document and select Home. Select Show/Hide, the paragraph mark button that looks like ¶, so Word displays hidden formatting marks. Find the line labeled Section Break and place your cursor just before the Section Break.
Press Delete. If the cursor method feels awkward, drag across the Section Break to select it, then press Delete. Review the page above and below the old break because the two sections now share section formatting.
Delete a section break on Mac
Open the document in Word for Mac and select Home. Go to the Paragraph group, then select Show/Hide to reveal formatting marks.
Click just before the Section Break, then press Backspace. If selecting the break is easier, select the Section Break and press Delete. Turn Show/Hide off again when the document view gets too crowded.
Use the keyboard shortcut to show hidden marks
This fixes the part that slows everyone down: finding the hidden break.
Press Ctrl+Shift+8 on Windows or ⌘+8 on Mac. Look through the document for the Section Break label, select the Section Break, then press Delete. Press Ctrl+Shift+8 or ⌘+8 again to hide paragraph marks and other nonprinting characters.
Find stubborn breaks in Draft view
Long documents make section breaks harder to catch in the normal page layout. Select View, then choose Draft to make the breaks easier to spot.
When the Section Break is visible, click directly before it and press Delete. You can also select the Section Break and press Delete.
Draft view is available in desktop Word for Windows and Mac. Word for the web does not provide Draft view.
Make formatting marks stay visible
The most common cause of missed section breaks is simple: hidden formatting marks are turned off.
On Windows, open File, choose Options, then select Display. Under Always show these formatting marks on the screen, turn on the marks you want to see.
On Mac, open Word, choose Preferences, then select View. Under Show Non-Printing Characters, turn on the marks you want to see.
Return to the document and locate the Section Break. Click before the Section Break, then press Delete on Windows or Backspace on Mac.
Open Word for the web files in desktop Word
Open the document in Word for the web and choose Open in Word or Open in Desktop. After the file opens in the desktop app, select Home and turn on Show/Hide.
Click before the Section Break and press Delete. Or select the Section Break and press Delete. This works for OneDrive or SharePoint files when Word desktop is installed.
Change the break instead of deleting it
Sometimes the problem is not the section break itself. A Next Page, Odd Page, or Even Page section break can create an unwanted blank page.
Double select the Section Break, open Layout, select the Breaks dropdown, choose Continuous, then select OK. That keeps the section structure without forcing a new page.
On Windows, click in the section, go to Layout, select the small arrow in the Page Setup group, open the Layout tab, choose a new option from Section start, and select OK.
On Mac, click in the section, open Format, choose Document, open the Layout tab, and choose the section break type from Section start. Word for the web cannot change section breaks.
Remove many section breaks with Find and Replace
Use Find and Replace when a desktop Word document has several section breaks and you want to remove them quickly. Removing every break changes section-level formatting, so check headers, footers, margins, columns, and page numbering afterward.
Go to Home, open Editing, then choose Replace.
In Find what, enter ^b. That code only works with Use wildcards turned off, so select More and clear Use wildcards if it is checked. You can also select Special, then Section Break, and let Word enter the code for you.
Leave Replace with blank. Choose Find Next, then choose Replace to remove the current break.
Choose Replace All only when every matching section break should be removed. If this method fails, open the file in desktop Word and run the replacement there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did my formatting change after deleting a section break?
A section break separates section-level formatting. After you delete it, nearby content can inherit shared headers, footers, margins, columns, or page numbering.
Can I remove a section break in Word for the web?
No. Open the file in desktop Word, turn on Show/Hide, then delete the section break there.
What does ^b mean in Word Find and Replace?
^b is Word's search notation for a section break. Use it in desktop Word's Find and Replace box to find or remove section breaks.
Should I delete the break or change it to Continuous?
Delete the break when you no longer need separate sections. Change it to Continuous when the break only exists to preserve section formatting without starting a new page.