Seeing a weird “RUNNING HEAD:” label on page 1 when you just want your title and page number? That usually means Word’s APA 7th-edition short-title header is still turned on. Fix it fast with these steps.
Quick Fix Summary:
Go to Header & Footer Tools → Options → check Different First Page → delete “RUNNING HEAD:” from page 1 only → confirm page 2 and onward only show the short title and page number.
What’s causing this?
Since Word 2016, the APA 7th-edition template sneaks in an optional header that prints “RUNNING HEAD: SHORT TITLE” on page 1 and just “SHORT TITLE” on every other page. If you’ve tried deleting “RUNNING HEAD:” but it keeps coming back, the “Different First Page” setting is still active, waiting for you to finish the APA formatting. Here’s the fix: open page 1’s header, wipe out the label, and keep the short title plus page number on pages 2+.
Here’s how to fix it (Word 2021 & Word for Microsoft 365, build 16.0.17xxx or later)
- Open page 1’s header: double-click the top margin of page 1 while in Print Layout view.
- Turn on “Different First Page”: on the ribbon, choose Header & Footer Tools → Design → Options → check Different First Page. This splits the header into a “First Page Header” and a “Subsequent Pages Header.”
- Delete the running-head text: in the First Page Header box, highlight and delete “RUNNING HEAD:” (including the colon and spaces). Keep the short title in all caps, like
THE EFFECTS OF SLEEP ON MEMORY. - Add the page number: with the cursor still in the First Page Header, press Ctrl+Alt+P (Windows) or Option+Cmd+P (Mac) to insert the page number flush right.
- Check page 2: press Page Down or scroll to page 2. The header should now show only the short title (flush left) and the page number (flush right). Edit the short title here if needed, and it’ll repeat automatically on every remaining page.
- Close the header: double-click anywhere below the header or press Esc to return to the document body.
Still not working?
- Still seeing “RUNNING HEAD:” on page 2+? You probably left the phrase in the Subsequent Pages Header. Repeat steps 1–3, then clear the box on page 2.
- Header vanished completely? You might have clicked “Remove Header” instead of editing it. Reopen page 1’s header and put the short title back in.
- Page numbers reset to 0? Go to Header & Footer → Page Number → Format Page Numbers → Start at 1.
How to avoid this headache next time
- Start with the APA template: download the current APA 7th-edition template from APA Style so the header settings are pre-configured.
- Use Styles for the title page: apply the built-in “Title” style on page 1, then edit the header once. This keeps the formatting consistent when you regenerate the table of contents.
- Pin the header to Quick Access: right-click the header area → Add to Quick Access Toolbar. Now you can double-click the icon to jump straight to the header whenever you need to adjust it.
Run through these steps in Word builds 16.0.17000 and later (Microsoft 365 monthly channel as of 2026) and your APA-style document will display the correct running head every time.
