Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 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: Printing Return Address Labels.

Printing Return Address Labels

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 18, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365


A common type of label that people create is a return address label. You can use Word to quickly print return address labels. Simply follow these steps:

  1. Display the Mailings tab of the ribbon.
  2. Click the Labels tool, in the Create box. Word displays the Envelopes and Labels dialog box with the Labels tab selected. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Labels tab of the Envelopes and Labels dialog box.

  4. If you need to change the type of labels on which you are printing, click on the Options button and use the Labels Options dialog box to select the proper label stock.
  5. In the Envelopes and Labels dialog box, make sure the Use Return Address check box is selected. (This check box is near the upper-right corner of the dialog box.) Your return address should appear in the Address area of the dialog box.
  6. Print your labels as you normally do.

If your return address does not appear in step 4, then you may not have set it up in Word. You can set up your return address by following these steps:

  1. Display the Word Options dialog box. (In Word 2007 click the Office button and then click Word Options. In Word 2010 and later versions display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
  2. At the left side of the dialog box click Advanced.
  3. Scroll through the options available until you see the General section. (See Figure 2.)
  4. Figure 2. The General section of the advanced options of the Word Options dialog box.

  5. In the Mailing Address box, enter your return address.
  6. Click OK.

Now you can go back and print return address labels, as described at the beginning of this tip.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (8720) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Printing Return Address Labels.

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. ...

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