How to add page numbers in Google Docs: steps, and starting later

Google’s steps, on a computer and a phone

Google’s page on headers, footers, page numbers and footnotes says page numbers can be added in documents that are in pages format. On a computer: open a Google Doc, click Insert, Page elements, Page number, and then click either Page number, to choose where the numbers go, or Page count, which is added wherever your cursor is. The numbers or the count are then added automatically. A More options entry lets you apply page numbers to specific pages or sections, or change their alignment.

On an Android phone or tablet and on an iPhone or iPad, the steps are the same in the Google Docs app: tap Edit, tap Insert, tap Page Number, and choose where the numbers go and whether the first page is skipped. Google adds a note for the phone tabs: you can only see and edit page numbers, headers and footers when the document is in Print layout mode. The same limit appears for the computer: the feature is not available in a document that is in pageless format, so you must make sure it is in pages format.

Starting at page 3, or skipping the cover

For a count that does not begin on the first page, Google’s page gives a separate heading: open a Google Doc, click Insert, Page elements, Page number, More options, and under “Apply to” choose where you want the change to apply, then click Apply. Its tip says that if you do not find the option, you should add a section break. Google’s November 2019 post on the Workspace Updates blog introduced the feature: after creating sections, you can specify which sections get page numbers and which number to start counting from. Its example is a document with cover pages and a table of contents, where you choose to number the body only.

For the first page alone, Google’s page on headers and footers has a Different first page box, which uses different headers and footers on the first page of the document or section, and a Link to previous box to turn off for a different header or footer in a later section. It also describes different headers on odd and even pages, under Options, Apply to Whole document, Different odd and even. Headers and footers are removed by double-clicking them, then Options, Remove header or Remove footer.

What changed, and the Roman numeral question

Stack Exchange has a question, asked on 11 May 2011, about inserting page numbers in a Google Docs document. A comment dated 28 July 2017 on it says that you still could not set custom numbering, meaning from which page the count should start, and that there were no Roman numbers. Google’s 2019 post then added numbers by section and the starting number, which fits the answer above about Apply to. The Google help pages we read do not mention Roman numerals, so we cannot say how to get them; we have not tested it. The 2017 comment is community content and is older than the Google post.

GeeksforGeeks, updated on 6 April 2026, gives the menu route, the choice of header or footer, skipping the first page and starting the numbers from a specific page; it does not explain sections. The people-also-ask box also asks about Ctrl+K, which Google’s shortcut list gives as Insert or edit link, and about automatic numbering, which is a different feature from page numbers and which the pages we read do not cover. For the footnotes that sit on the same Google help page, see how to add footnotes in Google Docs; for Word, the page on page numbers in Word.