Watermark can not be deleted using any recommended methods. Can't even be found until I print

Open the document in the Windows or Mac desktop version of Word, switch to Print Layout, expose drawing objects if necessary, and delete the DRAFT graphic directly from each header rather than using Remove Watermark again.

Delete the hidden header graphic

Because No watermark is already selected, do not repeat that command. A Word watermark can remain as a graphic anchored in a header even when Word no longer identifies it through the Watermark menu.^1^

1. Save a backup copy of the document.
2. In desktop Word, select View → Print Layout. Print Layout shows how watermarks will appear when printed.^2^
3. Double-click or double-tap the top margin to open the header.
4. Move the pointer across the area where DRAFT appears in Print Preview. When its selection border or four-way arrow appears, select it and press Delete. This is Microsoft’s documented fallback when normal watermark removal does not work.^3^
5. Close the header, save, and check File → Print again.

If the document contains section breaks, repeat this on every page where the watermark prints. Each section can have separate first-page, odd-page, and even-page headers, so deleting the object from one header might not remove it from the others.^4^

If the graphic remains invisible on desktop

On Word for Mac:

1. Select Word → Preferences → View.
2. Enable Drawings.
3. Return to View → Print Layout, reopen the header, select DRAFT, and delete it.

The Drawings setting controls whether shapes and similar objects appear on screen; such drawing objects can still be configured to print even when hidden in the editing view.^5^

On Windows, check File → Options → Advanced → Show document content for the corresponding drawing-object display option, then return to Print Layout and edit the header. Do not disable Print drawings created in Word as the permanent solution—it only suppresses drawing objects during printing rather than removing the watermark.^6^

iPhone or iPad

Word for iOS should be used in Print Layout View, but its editing support for embedded objects is limited.^7^ If the watermark cannot be selected there, perform the header-object deletion in desktop Word, save the file, and then reopen the saved file on iOS.

If it still prints after the object is deleted

Use these checks to distinguish the remaining possibilities:

• It appears in Word’s Print Preview: another section header still contains the graphic. Recheck first-page, odd-page, and even-page headers.
• It does not appear in Print Preview but appears on paper: inspect the printer’s Properties/Preferences for a driver-level watermark such as Draft and disable it. That watermark is being added during printing, not stored in the Word document.
• The file belongs to an organization and has a sensitivity label: the label may automatically apply a watermark. Change or remove the label only if permitted by the organization’s policy.^8^

Copying the document body can also carry section formatting or header-related content, so the watermark appearing in the copied document does not rule out a header graphic.

References

1. I am familiar with the Design/Watermark/Remove instruction in Word, however this isn't removing the watermark. Any suggestions? - Microsoft Q&A
2. [Web](https://support.microsoft.com/word/training/insert-a-watermark)
3. [Newer Windows versions](https://support.microsoft.com/word/remove-a-watermark)
4. Remove watermark from all pages of a document. When I press remove watermark it only takes it off the first page - Microsoft Q&A
5. Word documents - images and graphics missing - Microsoft Q&A
6. Word Options (Display) | Microsoft Support
7. Word for iPhone features | Microsoft Support
8. Modify the layout of the Header and Footer applied by Sensitivity Labels in Word | Microsoft Support