Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. 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: Changing the Way Endnotes Are Numbered.

Changing the Way Endnotes Are Numbered

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 23, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365

Word allows you to control how the endnotes in your document are numbered. Normally, numbering begins at one and progresses upward. You can change both the starting number and how numbering restarts by following these steps:

Display the References tab of the ribbon.
Click the small icon at the bottom-right corner of the Footnote group. Word displays the Footnote and Endnote dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Footnote and Endnote dialog box.

Make sure the Endnotes radio button is selected.
Change the Start At value to reflect where you want Word to start numbering.
Change the selection in the Numbering area to reflect how you want Word to count your endnotes.
Click on Apply, then click on Cancel; otherwise click on Insert to insert an endnote mark at the current location.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6064) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Changing the Way Endnotes Are Numbered.

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...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Character Frequency Count

Word collects a wide range of statistics about your documents, but one of the things it doesn't collect is how many times ...

Discover More

Too-Big Toolbars

Work around Words inability to have a multi-row toolbar.

Discover More

Changing the Color of a Tab's Leader Character

When you set tab stops for a paragraph, you can also specify leader characters to be used with the tab stop. If you want ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Converting to Automatic Endnotes

When you add endnotes to a document, they are automatically maintained and renumbered by Word, as necessary. If you get a ...

Discover More

Formatting Endnote Reference Marks

The reference marks used for endnotes are, by default, formatted "good enough" for most people. If you are one of those ...

Discover More

Inserting Endnotes

Endnotes appear at either the end of a section or the end of an entire document. It is just as easy to insert an endnote ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is nine minus 4?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.