How to Mail Merge Labels, Envelopes and Name Tags in Word

To mail merge labels in Word, go to Mailings, Start Mail Merge, Labels, pick your label vendor and product number, connect your Excel list with Select Recipients, insert an Address Block into the first label, then click Update Labels so every label on the sheet gets filled. Envelopes work the same way from Start Mail Merge, Envelopes, and name tags are simply labels on badge stock.

Below are the exact steps for each, followed by the problems people run into most: only one label filled, text creeping off the labels, and envelopes printed on the wrong side.

Before you start: prepare your address list

Labels, envelopes and badges all read from the same kind of list. In Excel:

Put the headers in row 1 and one person per row below, with no blank rows.
Split the address into separate columns: FirstName, LastName, Company, Address1, Address2, City, State, ZIP, Country. Word's Address Block can then arrange them in the right order and skip the empty ones.
For badges, add the columns you want to print, such as Company or Role.
Close the workbook before you connect it in Word. An open file can block the connection.

ZIP codes with a leading zero (02134) often arrive in Word as 2134, because Excel stores them as numbers. Format the column as Text before typing, or fix it in Word with a number switch, explained in how to format mail merge fields.

How to mail merge labels in Word

Open a blank document and go to Mailings, Start Mail Merge, Labels.
In Label Options, choose the Label vendors entry that matches your paper size (for Avery, "Avery US Letter" or "Avery A4/A5"), then the Product number printed on the label pack. Avery 5160, for example, is the common 30-per-sheet address label (1" x 2-5/8"); Avery L7160 is a 21-per-sheet A4 label. If your labels are not listed, click New Label and enter the measurements from the pack.
Click OK. Word fills the page with a table, one cell per label. If you cannot see the cell borders, turn on View Gridlines on the Table Layout tab.
Click Select Recipients, Use an Existing List, pick your Excel file and the sheet, and keep "First row of data contains column headers" ticked.
Click into the first label and choose Address Block. Pick a name format and check the preview on the right. If a line is missing, click Match Fields and tell Word which of your columns is the address, city and so on. Alternatively, build the label yourself with Insert Merge Field, for example «FirstName» «LastName» on one line and «Address1» on the next.
Click Update Labels. Word copies the first label to every other label on the sheet and puts a «Next Record» field in front of each copy, so each label takes the next row.
Click Preview Results and page through a few records.
Choose Finish & Merge, Edit Individual Documents to get a document with all sheets that you can check and save, or Print Documents to print directly.

Before printing a whole batch, print one page on plain paper, hold it against a label sheet in front of a window and check that the text sits inside each label.

How to mail merge envelopes in Word

Go to Mailings, Start Mail Merge, Envelopes.
On the Envelope Options tab, choose the Envelope size (Size 10 is the standard US business envelope, DL and C5 are common in Europe). You can also set the font and position of the delivery and return address here.
On the Printing Options tab, pick the feed method that matches how your printer takes envelopes: which edge goes in first, face up or face down, and which tray. Word shows a picture of each option. If you are unsure, check your printer's manual or the marking on the tray.
Click OK. Word turns the page into an envelope. Type your return address in the top left corner (Word may already show the mailing address saved under File, Options, Advanced).
Click Select Recipients, Use an Existing List and connect your Excel file.
Click in the middle of the envelope, where the delivery address area is (turn on Show/Hide with Ctrl+Shift+8 to see its paragraph mark), and insert an Address Block or your own merge fields.
Click Preview Results, then Finish & Merge, Print Documents. Choose "Current record" first to test a single envelope.

Envelopes need no Update Labels step: each record gets its own envelope page. If your printer jams or smears on envelopes, a common alternative is to print the addresses on labels instead and stick them on.

How to make name tags and badges in Word

Word has no separate name tag feature. Badges are labels, so you use the label mail merge with badge stock:

Go to Mailings, Start Mail Merge, Labels and choose the product number of your badge sheets (for example Avery 5395 adhesive name badges, eight per sheet). For badge inserts or cards, look up the number on the pack, or create a New Label with its measurements.
Connect your list with Select Recipients.
In the first badge, insert the fields one by one with Insert Merge Field: «FirstName» large on its own line, «LastName» below, and «Company» or «Role» smaller underneath. To add a last name field, click where it should go, open Insert Merge Field and choose the column; if it is not in the list, check the header in row 1 of your sheet.
Format each field by selecting the whole field including the « » chevrons, then setting the font and size. To center the text on the badge, select the first cell and click Align Center in the Alignment group of the Table Layout tab.
Add a logo if you like: insert the image into the first badge. Everything in the first badge is copied to the others in the next step.
Click Update Labels, then Preview Results and check the longest names. A long name that wraps can push the badge layout apart; reduce the font size or widen the line.
Finish & Merge, Print Documents, after a test page on plain paper.

If badge text should differ by role (for example "Speaker" only for speakers), use Rules, If...Then...Else. Changing the colour or layout of the badge per record is impractical in Word; run a separate mail merge per role instead, filtered in Edit Recipient List.

Common problems and how to fix them

Only the first label is filled

You skipped Update Labels, or you changed the first label after clicking it. Click Update Labels again whenever you edit the first label. If every label on a page shows the same person, the «Next Record» fields are missing, usually because the fields were pasted into the cells by hand. Delete the content of the other labels and use Update Labels instead.

You see «Next Record» or { MERGEFIELD } on the labels

«Next Record» is visible while you design and does not print in the finished mail merge. If labels show codes in braces such as { MERGEFIELD FirstName }, field codes are switched on: press Alt+F9 to switch them off. If you see «FirstName» instead of a name, turn on Preview Results.

Text drifts down the sheet or misses the labels

Wrong product number or paper size. US Letter and A4 sheets with similar labels have different measurements. Compare the number in Label Options with the pack.
Printer scaling. Print at 100% or "Actual size", never "Fit to page" or "Shrink oversized pages".
Too many lines. If an address has more lines than the label can hold, the table row grows and every label below shifts. Reduce the font size, set paragraph spacing before and after to 0 pt, or remove a line.
Printer offset. Some printers shift everything by a millimetre or two. Adjust the top or side margin in Label Options, Details, and test again.

Blank lines or missing parts in addresses

Address Block leaves out empty parts (for example a missing Address2) automatically. If you built the address from single merge fields, an empty field can leave a blank line; either switch to Address Block or use an IF rule around the optional line, explained in the mail merge formatting guide.

Envelope printed on the wrong side or upside down

The feed method in Envelope Options does not match your printer. Mark one envelope with a pencil cross on the top front edge, print a single test, and see where the address landed. Then choose the matching picture on the Printing Options tab.

Labels, envelopes and badges without the Word setup

If you would rather skip Label Options, Update Labels and printer feed settings, MailMergic does the same job in the browser from your Excel, CSV or Google Sheets list. Nothing has to be installed.

Envelopes and one-per-page badges: upload a Word document set to your envelope or badge size, place your fields, and MailMergic creates one page per row, as a PDF ready to print or as individual files. Start with your Word template.
Label and badge sheets with many per page: save your blank label sheet as a PDF (in Word: File, Save As, PDF), upload it as a PDF template, place your fields once per label, and choose Fill until full, then continue with next document. Your rows fill every label on the page before the next sheet starts. See Fill Until Full: Mail Merge for Label and Badge Sheets.
Designed badges and tickets made in Canva or a design tool can be filled as images; see image mail merge.

The free plan lets you generate 100 documents a month (with a watermark), no credit card needed, so you can print a test sheet from your own list first.