How to make name tags in Word with
mail merge

Before you start

Mail merge has been in Word for decades and works well once it’s set up. You need three things:

• Word on a computer. These steps are for the desktop app on Windows and Mac (Microsoft 365 or a standalone version). Where the Mac wording differs, it’s noted. Word for the web doesn’t have the full Mailings tab.
• An Excel list with one header row. Headers in row 1 (First Name, Last Name, Company, Title), one person per row, no merged cells and no blank rows. Save the file and close it in Excel before you connect it.
• The product number on your pack of sheets. Common name badge sheets: 5395 adhesive name badges (3⅜ × 2⅓ in, 8 per sheet), 5392 inserts (4 × 3 in, 6 per sheet) and 5390 inserts (3½ × 2¼ in, 8 per sheet).

Step 1: Set up the label sheet in Word

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   Step 1: Open a blank document

   Start fresh rather than in an existing file: the label layout replaces everything on the page.

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   Step 2: Start a label merge

   On the Mailings tab choose Start Mail Merge → Labels…

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   Step 3: Pick the sheet

   In Label Options set Label vendors (on a Mac, Label products) to Avery US Letter, or Avery A4/A5 for A4 sheets. Choose the Product number from your pack, such as 5395, 5392 or 5390. Details… shows the label size and margins so you can compare them with the pack.

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   Step 4: Click OK

   Word fills the page with a table, one cell per label. If you can’t see the cell edges, turn on View Gridlines on the Table Layout tab.

Step 2: Connect your Excel list

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   Step 1: Choose the file

   Mailings → Select Recipients → Use an Existing List…, then pick your Excel workbook.

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   Step 2: Choose the sheet

   In Select Table, pick the worksheet that holds the list (it shows as Sheet1$ or similar) and keep First row of data contains column headers ticked. On a Mac, choose the sheet in the Open Workbook box.

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   Step 3: Tidy the recipients (optional)

   Edit Recipient List lets you untick test registrations, sort by last name or filter to one group, without touching the spreadsheet.

Word now puts a «Next Record» field in every label except the first. That field is what moves each label on to the next person, so leave it alone.

Step 3: Lay out the first name tag

Everything you put in the first label is copied to the others in the next step, so design it once, carefully.

• Click in the first label and choose Insert Merge Field → First_Name. Word shows your column headers as field names, with spaces turned into underscores. Press Enter and insert Last_Name, then Company or Title.
• Make the first name big and bold. Select the whole «First_Name» field and set the size on the Home tab. For reference, our own templates print first names at up to 42 pt on a 3⅜ × 2⅓ in tag and never below 14 pt. Word won’t shrink a long name for you, so choose a size your longest name fits at.
• Center it. Center the text on the Home tab, then center it vertically with Align Center on the Table Layout tab.
• Logo: Insert → Pictures, keep it small, and set Wrap Text → In Line with Text. Inline pictures copy into every label most reliably; floating ones can end up stacked or shifted.
• Highlight Merge Fields (Mailings tab) shades the fields so you can see what is data and what is fixed text.

Step 4: Update all labels and preview

Click Update Labels (Mailings tab, Write & Insert Fields group). Word copies the first label into every other label, after its «Next Record» field. Then click Preview Results to see real names instead of field codes, and step through people with the arrows.

While previewing, look for the longest name in your list (sort the list in Excel by name length if it’s long), accented names, and anyone whose company is missing. If a label looks wrong, fix the first label and click Update Labels again rather than editing labels one by one.

Step 5: Finish and print

• Finish & Merge → Edit Individual Documents… → All creates a new document with every badge filled in. This is the place to fix a single badge by hand, such as a smaller size for one long name. Save it so you can reprint without merging again.
• Finish & Merge → Print Documents… sends the merge straight to the printer if you don’t need changes.
• Print at 100%. In Word for Windows, the last setting under File → Print is the pages-per-sheet menu: make sure Scale to Paper Size says No Scaling. On a Mac, check that “Scale to fit paper size” is off under Paper Handling. Then print one page on plain paper and hold it against a real sheet up to the light.

The guide to printing name badges that line up covers paper type, alignment and what to do when the labels drift.

Fixing common mail merge problems

Partly used sheet? Word has no start position. The usual workaround is to add one blank row at the top of the list for each label already used, so the merge leaves those labels empty.

Making name tags in Google Docs

Google Docs has no built-in label merge. Several third-party add-ons in the Google Workspace Marketplace (Extensions → Add-ons → Get add-ons, then search for labels) connect a Google Sheet to a label layout, and many list Avery product numbers. Free tiers often limit how many labels you can merge, and each add-on asks for access to your documents, so read what it requests before installing. We don’t recommend a particular one.

Two alternatives: download the sheet with File → Download → Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) and follow the Word steps above, or copy the rows from Google Sheets and paste them into the spreadsheet importer.

When to skip mail merge

Word is a fine choice for an occasional small list, especially if you already know mail merge. A dedicated badge maker saves time when the list is long, changes before the event, or needs roles and QR codes. Here is a fair comparison.

To try the shortcut, upload the same Excel file on the name badges from Excel page (up to 2,000 people per project). Badge layouts compatible with Avery 5395, Avery 5392 and Avery 5390 are ready to pick, and you can browse the name badge templates first. We don’t offer Word (.docx) templates.