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Need to remove headers, footers, or page numbers from your PDF document? Whether you have unwanted headers from conversion, page numbers you want to replace, or footers that clutter your document, our free online tool lets you delete header and footer content easily. No software installation, no registration, and no watermark on output.
Our powerful editing tools allow you to select and delete any text or graphics in header and footer areas. You can also use advanced detection to automatically identify repeating headers and footers across all pages. Perfect for cleaning up documents, preparing files for publishing, or creating clean versions without page numbers. Works on any device – desktop, tablet, or smartphone.
DonePDF offers comprehensive PDF editing tools. Combine header/footer removal with compressing, adding watermarks, rotating pages, or editing content – all in one free platform.
Did you know? Headers and footers are often added automatically during PDF creation or conversion. Removing them can significantly improve document readability and professional appearance, especially for publishing and distribution.
Why choose DonePDF for header/footer removal: Unlike competitors that add watermarks or charge for editing, DonePDF provides unlimited header/footer removal with no hidden fees. Your privacy is protected – all uploads are encrypted and auto-deleted after 1 hour.
Smart Detection Technology: Our advanced tools use cross-page analysis to detect repeating headers and footers automatically. Text appearing in the same position across multiple pages is flagged for easy removal. For optimal performance with large documents, use our split tool to process PDFs in chunks.
Discover when and why you might need to remove headers and footers from your PDF documents:
Remove unwanted headers and footers from converted documents to create clean, professional files. Perfect for eliminating automated page numbers and repetitive text.
Tip: After cleanup, use add page numbers with custom styling.
Remove page numbers and headers from documents before publishing to create clean, formatted content without distracting elements.
Extract clean content for analysis or repurposing by removing headers and footers that add noise to extracted text.
Remove headers containing confidential company names, document IDs, or tracking information from documents before sharing.
Remove template headers and footers from documents before reusing them as templates for new content.
Legal professionals remove headers containing case numbers, court names, or other identifying information from legal documents.
After OCR processing, remove headers and footers that were detected as text to improve the accuracy of text extraction.
Remove original language headers and footers before translating documents to avoid mixing languages in headers/footers.
Remove page numbers from presentation PDFs when creating handouts or sharing slides without navigation elements.
Remove header and footer noise when archiving documents for long-term preservation and historical records.
Pro Feature – Automatic Detection: Our tool automatically detects repeating headers and footers using cross-page analysis. Text appearing in the same position across ≥70% of pages is flagged as a header or footer for easy removal.
Advanced Technique – Manual & Auto Combined: Use automatic detection to identify headers and footers, then manually refine the selection using our edit tool for precise control.
Complete Document Workflow: After removing headers and footers, you can compress the PDF, add watermarks, or convert to Word for further editing.
Upload Your PDF Click the "Remove Header & Footer Now" button or drag and drop your PDF file onto the upload area. Your file is encrypted with TLS and automatically deleted after 1 hour. Supports up to 50 MB and 200 pages per document – completely free.
Select Removal Method Choose "Automatic Detection" to let the tool identify repeating headers and footers across pages. Or choose "Manual Selection" to select and delete specific header/footer content using the content editor.
Preview & Confirm Review the detected headers and footers. The tool shows you exactly which content will be removed. You can add or remove selections before confirming deletion.
Apply Changes & Download Click "Remove" to delete all headers and footers from your PDF. Download your cleaned document instantly. No watermarks, no limits, no registration. Continue with editing or compressing if needed.
Pro Tips for Header/Footer Removal:
Header and footer removal is fast and efficient – your cleaned document is ready in seconds with no quality loss to the remaining content.
Technical detail: The detection algorithm uses cross-page analysis comparing candidate regions. Headers and footers are identified by their consistent position and content patterns across multiple pages.
Compatibility: Cleaned PDFs work with Adobe Reader, Foxit, Chrome, Edge, Safari, and all major PDF viewers. All content types are preserved.
Many tools claim to offer free header/footer removal, but they often include watermarks, file size limits, or registration requirements. Here's why DonePDF is the smarter choice:
DonePDF provides the most intelligent header/footer removal with zero cost. Our entire PDF toolkit is completely free with no hidden premium tiers. For advanced features like custom detection rules and batch processing, try our Organize PDF Pro – still free with no watermark.
DonePDF offers 80+ free PDF tools: Merge, Split, Compress, Edit, Delete Pages, Extract, Add Page Numbers, Add Watermarks, Sign, and more – all free, no watermark.
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After removing headers and footers, you might need these additional free tools – all with no watermark, no signup, and no limits:
Explore all 80+ PDF tools on DonePDF – completely free, no strings attached, and no registration required.
Explore detailed tutorials for every page management task:
Use our free Edit PDF Online tool. Upload your PDF, use the content editing tool to select and delete headers, footers, and page numbers. No registration, no watermark on output, completely free.
You can remove page numbers, document titles, company names, dates, chapter titles, legal disclaimers, and any other text or graphics in the header and footer areas of your PDF pages.
No. Removing headers and footers only deletes the selected content; the remaining content keeps its original quality. The process is completely lossless and preserves all other document content.
Yes. You can remove headers and footers from scanned PDFs using the redaction tool to cover or erase header/footer areas. For better accuracy, consider applying OCR first.
Our advanced tools use cross-page analysis to detect repeating headers and footers. Text that appears in the same position across multiple pages (≥70% of pages) is automatically identified as a header or footer for easy removal.
Yes. Files are uploaded via TLS encryption and automatically deleted after processing. We never store your documents. Learn more about our privacy policy.
Yes. Use our batch processing feature to remove headers and footers from multiple PDFs simultaneously. This is perfect for cleaning up large document collections.
Page numbers are removed along with the footer. If you need new page numbers, use our add page numbers tool after removing headers and footers.
Yes. After removing headers and footers, you can compress the PDF, add watermarks, rotate pages, or extract specific pages – all in one session.
Use the undo feature (Ctrl+Z / Cmd+Z) to revert changes. If already saved, reload the original PDF. Always keep a backup before removing content.
No limits. Remove headers and footers from as many PDFs as you need with no watermark, no sign-up, and no hidden fees. We support files up to 50 MB and up to 200 pages per document.
Yes. Our tools can remove watermarks from PDFs. You can also use our remove watermark tool specifically designed for this purpose.
Upload your PDF, remove unwanted headers and footers, and download your clean document instantly. Secure, fast, and completely free. No signup, no watermark, no limits. Trusted by millions of users worldwide for document cleanup.
No credit card required. No premium tiers. Everything on DonePDF is 100% free – forever.
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