How to Remove Footnotes in Word (One, All, or Separator)

To remove a footnote in Word, delete its reference mark in the body text, not the note text at the bottom of the page. Select the small superscript number or symbol where the note is anchored and press Delete; Word removes the note and renumbers the rest. To remove every footnote at once, use Find and Replace with ^f and leave the replacement blank. The steps below follow Microsoft’s own support pages and add what matters when the document is a manuscript or thesis.

How do I delete one footnote?

Delete the reference mark, because the reference mark is what anchors the note to your text.

1. Find the footnote’s reference mark in the body of the document. It is the superscript number or letter after the sentence.
2. Select that mark.
3. Press Delete.

The footnote text disappears with the mark, and Word renumbers the notes that remain. Microsoft gives the same steps for an endnote: find its reference mark in the body, select it and press Delete. Microsoft lists these steps as applying to Word for Microsoft 365 (Windows and Mac), Word 2024, 2021, 2019 and 2016.

Why did my footnote numbers change, or the mark stay behind?

Microsoft’s support page states: “If you delete the footnote or endnote itself, Word renumbers the notes in a new order.” The Word for the web page is more explicit: “It’s the reference number or mark that you delete (in the body of the text); NOT the footnote or endnote itself.” Delete the reference mark in the body and the note goes with it.

Renumbering is also expected after any single deletion. If your manuscript refers to notes by number in running text (for example, “see note 7”), check those cross-references after you delete notes, because the numbers shift.

How do I delete all footnotes or endnotes at once?

Use Advanced Find and Replace, following Microsoft’s steps:

1. Place the cursor at the top of the document.
2. Open Advanced Find and Replace: press Ctrl+H on Windows, or on Mac choose Find, then Advanced Find and Replace.
3. Select the Replace tab.
4. In Find what, enter ^f for footnotes or ^e for endnotes.
5. Leave Replace with blank.
6. Select Replace All.

^f targets footnotes and ^e targets endnotes, so a document that has both needs the search run once for each code.

Before you run Replace All on a manuscript or thesis

Replace All works across the whole document, so it removes every note of that type, including ones you meant to keep. This is general working advice rather than a Microsoft instruction: save a copy of the file first, and keep the original in your version history, because a thesis chapter that uses notes for citations or for substantive asides cannot be rebuilt easily from memory.

Also check whether your style requires the notes. Notes-and-bibliography systems use them as the citation itself, so deleting them deletes your citations. CASRAI’s guides to Chicago footnote format, MLA footnotes and APA footnotes explain when each style uses them. If your citations come from a reference manager and you are trying to strip its field codes rather than delete notes, see unlinking Zotero citations and removing field codes.

How do I delete a footnote separator?

The separator is the short line that divides the body text from the notes at the foot of the page. Microsoft’s steps for removing it:

1. On the View tab, switch to Draft view.
2. Double-click any note in the body so the notes pane appears.
3. In the Footnotes list, choose “Footnote Separator”.
4. Select the line and delete it.
5. Return to your normal view from the View tab.

Does this work in Word for the web?

The principle is the same: delete the reference number or mark in the body, and the footnote itself disappears. The same goes for an endnote marker. Microsoft’s Word for the web page also says that Word for the web renumbers the notes in a new order after a deletion. The Find and Replace and separator steps above are Microsoft’s instructions for the desktop versions of Word.

FAQ

Do I delete the footnote or the number?

Delete the number (the reference mark) in the body text. That removes the note and triggers renumbering of the rest.

How do I remove all footnotes in Word?

Open Advanced Find and Replace (Ctrl+H on Windows), enter ^f in Find what, leave Replace with blank and select Replace All. Use ^e for endnotes.

Does deleting a footnote renumber the others?

Yes. Microsoft states that Word renumbers the notes in a new order after a deletion.

Can I remove the line above the footnotes?

Yes. Switch to Draft view, open the notes pane, choose Footnote Separator and delete the line.

Sources

• Microsoft Support, Delete a footnote, endnote, or separator (Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2024, 2021, 2019, 2016), checked 2026-10-29.
• Microsoft Support, Delete a footnote or endnote (Word for the web), checked 2026-10-29.