How to Restart Numbering in Microsoft Word

Lists and tables of contents are practically a given in any extensive Word document. However, lists are rarely as simple as 1, 2, 3, and often require inserting various breaks to improve flow. When that happens, learning how to restart numbering in a list in Microsoft Word can make the process much smoother.

Part 1. Microsoft Word – How to Restart Numbering in a List

We’ll assume that you’re working with a regular numbered list that hasn’t been modified in any way. Suppose you need to include some text between two parts of a list, but want to have the latter section restart its numbering scheme.

Step 1. Create a numbered list and make sure that it’s properly formatted as a list (rather than plain text with numbers in front of each line).

Step 2. Right-click on the item from which you want to restart numbering.

Step 3. Select “Restart at 1.”

Step 3a. (Alternative) If you want to restart numbering from a different value, click on “Set Numbering Value” instead. You’ll get a new popup dialog prompting you to enter the new starting value. Simply enter a number and click on “OK” and you’ll get a different starting number.

Note that this can cause some unexpected effects. Restarting from “1” applies to all entries below in the list. However, setting a custom numbering value doesn’t, meaning that all other numbers will simply continue as they were. If you want to truly restart, you’ll need to immediately apply the restart as you’re writing the list, as hitting “Enter” to get more lines will continue from the restart value.

Part 2. Microsoft Word – Start Numbering From Different Page

If you have a lengthy introduction section or don’t want the table of contents and other parts to be included in the document’s page count, you can implement section breaks to start numbering from different pages, essentially telling Word to put custom page numbers.

Step 1. Place the cursor at the end of the page before which you want to start numbering (e.g., if you want to start with the third page being “page 1,” click on the end of the second page.

Step 2. Go to the Layout tab at the top and click on “Breaks,” then select “Next Page.”

Step 3. You should be immediately moved to the next page. Right-click on its header section (above the top margin) and select “Edit Header.”

Step 4. In the new “Header & Footer” tab, uncheck “Link to Previous.” Then, click on “Page Number,” followed by “Format Page Numbers.”

Step 5. In the textbox, select “Start at” and enter a starting value.

Note that once you do this, you may need to manually insert the page number for every header in the section. You can also choose an entirely different numbering format if you want the section to stand out more.