In Word, renumbering existing footnotes

Question

In Word, renumbering existing footnotes

Stephen Warr 0

Footnotes in my document did not remain sequential after removing a section of text with footnotes in it. I tried to follow the instructions in "Renumbering existing footnotes," but the "Go to Insert> Footnote" command is greyed out. I checked that Track Changes was not in use.

Charles Kenyon 171.9K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2026-11-05T19:29:27.2566667+00:00

You must have your insertion point in your document. Then on the References tab, Click on Insert Footnote.
Stefan Blom 357.2K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-11-05T19:47:48.1833333+00:00

Which version of Word do you have? Footnote options are more limited if you are using the web version.

1 answer

Your answer

Charles Kenyon 171.9K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2026-11-05T19:29:27.2566667+00:00

You must have your insertion point in your document. Then on the References tab, Click on Insert Footnote.
Stefan Blom 357.2K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-11-05T19:47:48.1833333+00:00

Which version of Word do you have? Footnote options are more limited if you are using the web version.

Answer 1

Delete the footnote reference marks in the document body, not the footnote text itself. Word renumbers footnotes automatically when the reference marks are removed correctly.

If numbering is still wrong, remove and rebuild the footnote references by using Find and Replace:

Place the cursor at the top of the document.
Open Advanced Find and Replace.
- In Word for Windows, press Ctrl+H.
Select the Replace tab.
In Find what, enter ^f for footnotes.
Leave Replace with blank.
Select Replace All.

Important: deleting all footnotes removes every footnote in the document, so use this only if that is intended.

For individual footnotes, find the superscript reference number in the main body text, select it, and press Delete. That removes the associated footnote and Word renumbers the remaining notes.

The provided material does not include a documented fix for the Insert > Footnote command being grayed out.

Delete a footnote, endnote, or separator | Microsoft Support