Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Controlling Endnote Placement.

Controlling Endnote Placement

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 18, 2026)

Word allows you to control where your endnotes appear, if you are using endnotes. You can cause them to appear either at the end of each section in your document or at the end of the document itself. If you don't use sections in your documents, then there is effectively no difference between the two choices. If, however, you use sections to break apart your document into chapters (or some other arbitrary division), then there is a big difference between the two placements.

To control where Word places endnotes in your document, follow these steps:

Display the References tab of the ribbon.
Click the small arrow at the bottom-right of the Footnotes group. Word displays the Footnote and Endnote dialog box.
Choose the Endnotes radio button. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Footnote and Endnote dialog box.

Using the drop-down list to the right of the Endnotes radio button, select where you want Word to place your endnotes.
Click on Apply.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6031) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Controlling Endnote Placement.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

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