A broken table of contents is one of the most visible formatting problems a business document can have. A client, board member or procurement panel opening your document will see the TOC before they read a single word of content — and if it shows the wrong page numbers, missing entries or headings that do not match the document, that is the first impression your work makes. This guide covers every reason a Word table of contents breaks and exactly how to fix it — fast. If your document needs a professional fix rather than a manual one, our fix word document formatting service returns corrected documents from 12 hours at £1.95 per page.
What is wrong with your TOC? Start here.
Headings missing from TOC
→ Headings not using Word Styles. See Section 2
Wrong page numbers
→ TOC not updated after editing. See Section 3
TOC entries don’t match headings
→ TOC was typed manually. See Section 4
TOC shows field codes not entries
→ Field display toggled on. See Section 5
Table of Contents
Why Word Tables of Contents Break
Almost every table of contents problem in Word traces back to one of two root causes: headings not using proper Word Styles, or the TOC not being updated after the document was edited. Understanding which one applies to your document is the starting point for fixing it.
| Symptom | Root cause | Difficulty to fix |
|---|---|---|
| Headings missing from TOC | Heading Styles not applied | Medium — requires Styles rebuild |
| Wrong page numbers | TOC not updated / incorrect section breaks | Low — update field or fix breaks |
| Entries don’t match headings | TOC typed manually or not updated | Medium — replace with automated TOC |
| TOC showing {TOC} field code | Field codes displayed instead of results | Low — toggle field display off |
| Too many or too few heading levels shown | TOC level settings incorrect | Low — adjust TOC settings |
Fix: Headings Missing from the TOC
This is the most common TOC problem — and the most frequently misunderstood. A heading that appears visually correct (bold, larger font, looks like a heading) may not be using a Word Heading Style. The TOC cannot detect it because Word does not know it is a heading.
How to check
Click in the heading that is missing from the TOC. Look at the Styles panel in the Home tab. If it shows anything other than Heading 1, Heading 2 or Heading 3 — if it shows Normal, or a font name, or is blank — the heading is manually formatted and needs a Style applied.
How to fix it
For a full explanation of how Word Styles work and why they matter for document structure, see our guide to using Styles in Microsoft Word. For fixing heading Styles specifically, see our guide to how to fix heading styles in Word.
Fix: Wrong Page Numbers in the TOC
Wrong page numbers in a TOC are almost always caused by one of two things: the TOC has not been updated since the document was last edited, or the page numbering itself is incorrect due to broken section breaks.
Fix 1: Update the TOC
Right-click anywhere in the table of contents → Update Field → Update Entire Table. This refreshes both the heading entries and the page numbers. Always do this before saving the final version of any document.
Important: If you choose Update Page Numbers Only, Word updates the numbers but does not check whether headings have changed. Always use Update Entire Table before sending a document to a client or board.
Fix 2: Fix the underlying page numbering
If page numbers are still wrong after updating the TOC, the problem is in the page numbering itself — not the TOC. Section breaks are the usual culprit. Switch to View → Draft to see all section breaks in the document. Remove any incorrect breaks and reinsert them correctly. Our dedicated guide to fixing page numbering in Word covers every section break scenario step by step.
Fix: TOC Entries Don’t Match Headings
If the text in the TOC does not match the headings in the document — different wording, different capitalisation, entries for sections that no longer exist — the TOC was almost certainly typed manually rather than generated automatically by Word.
A manually typed TOC is not a table of contents in any functional sense. It is a list of text that happens to look like a TOC. It will never update automatically, page numbers will always be wrong after editing, and it will fall further out of sync with the document with every revision.
How to replace a manual TOC with an automated one
Fix: TOC Showing Field Codes
If your table of contents is displaying something like { TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u } instead of the actual entries, Word is showing field codes rather than field results. This is a display toggle — not a structural problem.
Fix: Click anywhere in the field code text. Press Alt + F9 to toggle field display off. The TOC entries should appear. If the TOC still appears empty after toggling, right-click → Update Field → Update Entire Table.
Fix: TOC Formatting Looks Wrong
If the TOC itself looks visually incorrect — wrong fonts, inconsistent spacing, dot leaders missing or displaying incorrectly — the TOC Styles (TOC 1, TOC 2, TOC 3) have been overridden with direct formatting or have not been configured correctly.
Fix: Right-click the TOC → Edit Field → Table of Contents → Modify. This opens the TOC Style settings where you can configure the appearance of each heading level in the TOC independently. Alternatively, right-click each TOC Style in the Styles panel and select Modify to adjust font, spacing and indentation.
Formatting tip: Never apply direct formatting to TOC entries — it will be overwritten the next time the TOC is updated. Always modify the TOC Style definition instead. This ensures the formatting persists through every future update.
When to Use a Professional Service
For a short document with a single TOC problem, the fixes above are straightforward. For longer documents — particularly those compiled from multiple contributors, converted from PDF, or with multiple interconnected formatting problems — fixing the TOC manually often reveals further problems underneath. The TOC is frequently a symptom, not the root cause.
If your document has a broken TOC alongside page numbering problems, inconsistent heading styles and mixed fonts from multiple contributors, the most efficient approach is a professional fix that addresses everything at once. Our fix word document formatting service corrects TOC, heading structure, page numbering and font consistency throughout — returning a clean document from 12 hours at £1.95 per page.
For business reports, board packs and legal documents going to a senior audience, a broken TOC is not something to send. If you are not sure what else is wrong with your document beyond the TOC, our free document formatting audit identifies every issue within 24 hours at no cost.
Get your document’s table of contents fixed today
Submit your document via our fix word document formatting service. Fixed quote before work begins. From £1.95 per page, turnaround from 12 hours, available 24/7. Or request a free formatting audit to see every issue first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my table of contents not working in Word?
The most common reason is that headings are not using Word’s built-in Heading Styles. Click in each heading and check the Styles panel — it should show Heading 1, Heading 2 or Heading 3. If it shows Normal or anything else, apply the correct Heading Style and then update the TOC by right-clicking and selecting Update Field. See our guide to fixing heading styles in Word for full detail.
Why does my table of contents show wrong page numbers?
Wrong page numbers are almost always caused by the TOC not being updated after editing. Right-click the TOC → Update Field → Update Entire Table. If numbers are still wrong after updating, the page numbering itself may be broken — see our guide to fixing page numbering in Word.
How do I update a table of contents in Word?
Right-click anywhere in the TOC → Update Field → Update Entire Table. Do this before every finalised version of any document. If the TOC does not update correctly, check that all headings are using proper Heading Styles.
Why are some headings missing from my table of contents?
Headings missing from the TOC have not had a Heading Style applied. Click in the missing heading, check the Styles panel, and apply the correct Heading Style. Then right-click the TOC and update it. For documents with many incorrectly formatted headings, our fix word document formatting service is typically faster than a manual fix.
Can you fix a broken table of contents professionally?
Yes. Our fix word document formatting service corrects broken TOCs as standard — rebuilding heading structure, correcting page numbering and ensuring the TOC updates correctly throughout. From £1.95 per page, turnaround from 12 hours. Contact us with any questions before submitting.
References
- Microsoft (2025). Create a table of contents in Word. Microsoft Support.
- Microsoft (2025). Update a table of contents. Microsoft Support.
- Microsoft (2025). Apply styles to text in Word. Microsoft Support.
- Microsoft (2025). Insert, delete or change a section break. Microsoft Support.
- Document Formatting Services (2026). Fix word document formatting service — scope and pricing.
